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HISTORY The first automotive vehicles with the Royal Enfield name were produced in 1898 - a Quadricycle with a De Dion-Bouton 2.75 Hp engine. In 1901 came the Motor Bicycle with a 150 Cc 1.5 hp engine above the front wheel. In 1902 a similar contraption appeared with an Enfield engine of 239 cc 2.75 hp. In 1910 came the first of the famous Enfield V-twins, first with Motosacoche 344 cc 2.75 hp engines, later with Enfields own engine. Until World War I the big twins with 770 cc 6 hp J.A.P. engines and after WWI 976 cc 8 hp Vickers - Wolseley engines. In 1915 came the first of the small Two Stroke 225 cc engines, starting with model 200. The company merged with Alldays & Onions in 1907 and produced cars called Enfield-Allday until 1925 . Interwar Years During the 1920's a mid range of Enfields left the factory: model 350 (350 cc SV), 351 (350 cc OHV) and 352 (350 cc twinport sports). In the 1930's there was a large variety of models from small two strokes to large Side Valve s, from A-Z. A 225 cc two stroke, B 225 cc sv, BO 250 cc ohv Bullet, C 350 cc sv, CO 350 cc ohv, G 350 cc ohv Bullet, H 488 cc sv, J 488 cc ohv, J2 488 cc two port ohv, K 976 cc sv v-twin, L 570 cc sv, T 148 cc ohv, Z (Cycar) 148 cc two stroke and many more variants. WW2 During WWII the production changed to motorcycles for the war machine. Models for the military were: WD/C 350 cc sv, WD/CO 350 cc ohv, WD/D 250 cc sv, WD/G 350 cc ohv, WD/L 570 cc sv and the famous Flying Flea , the 125 cc lightweight motorcycle that was dropped in a tube cage with parachutes from planes. Post war After the war the Enfield Cycle Company came back with the last prewar models. In 1949 the first new models were introduced: the 500 twin (500 cc full sprung parallel twin) and the 350 cc full sprung Bullet. It was the 1954 350 cc Bullet model which was to be made in India until the present (read further down). After 1956 a new frame was introduced in the British made version of the Bullet, making it different from the 1954 model still being produced in India. The British made version was manufactured until 1964. Later on models like 250 cc Crusader (1957) and 700 cc Meteor (1955), were followed by 250 cc Continental GT (1965), the 700 Constellation (1959) and the 736 cc Interceptor (1963). Royal Enfield Interceptor During the onslaught of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in the late sixties and early seventies, the English factories made a final attempt with the 736 cc Interceptor Model , series I and Series II. Made largely for the U.S market, it sported lots of chrome and an engine performance with less than 14 seconds to the quarter mile at speeds well above 175 km/h (105 mph). It became very popular in the U.S, but the classic mistake of not being able to supply this demand, added to the demise of this last English made Royal Enfield. The Interceptor engine was eagerly used in racing machines like the Rickman Metisse and in the American Indian motorcycle during this period. The Redditch factory ceased production in 1967 and the Bradford-on-Avon factory closed in 1970, which was the end of the British Royal Enfield. As far as the motorcycle brand goes though, it would appear that Royal Enfield is the only motorcycle brand to span three centuries, and still going, with continuous production. Indian Enfields , India ]] In 1955 the Redditch company partnered Madras Motors in India in forming 'Enfield India' to make, under Licence , the 350 Cc Royal Enfield ''Bullet'' motorcycle in Madras (now called Chennai). At first machines were assembled from components shipped from England, but by 1962 all components were Indian-made. Now independent since the demise of Royal Enfield in England, it still makes an essentially similar bike in 350 cc and 500 cc forms today along with several Derivative s of it. This was initially sold under the Enfield name but since the 1990's it has once again been sold as the Royal Enfield. These are being imported into the United Kingdom and other western countries in increasing numbers, though the newer versions with electric start are becoming more popular than the 'classic' version which is little changed from 1955. The latest UK import version of the ''Bullet'' is the Electra-X - a 500 cc machine with a ' Lean Burn ' engine incorporating a new cylinder head and piston, alloy barrel, gear oil pump, and roller big end bearing. There are also some styling and frame changes. The main thrust for its development has been increasingly stringent emissions regulations. This lean burn engine should ensure the future of the Bullet for some years to come and will replace the older, original design engine which will become unavailable in the EU/UK in mid 2007. The recently designed 5-speed gearbox and electric start are also part of the package. Other improvements are a more modern (CV) Carburetter , front disk brake, electronic ignition, and new, gas filled rear damper units. First designed around 1947, but still including elements from earlier machines such as the Model G, the ''Bullet'' claims to have the longest continuous production run of any motorcycle. It is also significant that the Indian factory has itself now celebrated its own 50th birthday. A 500 cc version of the Bullet is also sold in India. Lately, the Royal Enfield bikes have enjoyed a resurgence in India after the release of some new models of these bikes with a Constant Vacuum (CV) Carburettor and an Aluminium engine. These models are the Thunderbird and Machismo. A model called Electra, which is a slicker version of the classic 350 cc bike with electric-start kit is also popular. This model is not normally exported to the UK, but is replaced by the 500cc Electra-X. Recent UK models Over the last few years there have been a number of basic models on sale in the UK: - Classic (350 & 500cc) - close to the original 1955 specification with some basic modifications, - Bullet 500 ES - Classic with electric start, - Bullet 65 - Bullet 500 ES with new 5 speed gearbox and left foot gear change, - Bullet Electra-X (500cc) - Much modified/re-designed lean burn, alloy barreled engine with the new gearbox and many chassis modifications. All of these basic models have trials, cafe racer and other derivative models Unfortunately, for noise and emmission reasons, the old engine will cease to be imported into the UK/EU from mid 2007, and the 'lean burn' engine will then become the norm. Fortunately the Electra-X still looks like a Bullet, albeit modified and improved. Egli Super Bullets The Swiss importer of Enfield and renowned bike tuning specialist Fritz Egli designed performance improvements for his own retail sales Bullets. He designed a 535cc version which produces 45bhp and a 624cc racer (47.5 bhp) with a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph). Egli's Enfield Tuning resulted in multiple efficient improvements for the Enfield, like improved ignition performance, aluminum cylinder, Big Bore piston, long stroke crankshafts and many other major and minor modifications. Besides he also offer components for the individual refinement of Enfield, like wheels with aluminum high shoulder rims, Classic saddle, Clubman saddle and much more. EXTERNAL LINKS
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