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Royal Enfield was the brand of the Enfield Cycle Company, an English Engineering Company . Most famous for producing Motorcycle s, they also produced, amongst other things, Bicycle s, Lawnmower s, Stationary Engine s, and even rifle parts for the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield . This legacy of weapons manufacture is reflected in the logo, a cannon, and their motto "built like a gun, goes like a bullet". It also enabled the use of the brand name Royal Enfield from 1890. In 1955 Enfield of India started assembling Bullet motorcycles under Licence from UK components, and by 1962 were manufacturing complete bikes. The original Redditch , Worcestershire - based company dissolved in 1970 , but Enfield of India, based in Chennai , continued, and bought the rights to the Royal Enfield name in 1995. Royal Enfield production continues. HISTORY In the early 1890s Albert Eadie and R.W Smith formed The Eadie manufacturing company in Hunt End, near Redditch. In 1893 the Enfield Manufacturing Co.Ltd. was registered to sell the Enfield bicycle, built by the Eadie Company. In 1896 The New Enfield Cycle Co.Ltd. was formed to take over all bicycle activities. In 1897 that became the Enfield Cycle Co.Ltd. Eadie Manufacturing Co. then moved to other premises, and the whole of the Redditch works became the premises of the Enfield Cycle Company. 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. {Link without Title} RoyalEnfield Early History (Retrieved 22 October 2006) 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 six hp J.A.P. engines and after WWI 976 cc eight hp Vickers - Wolseley engines. In 1915 came the first of the small Two Stroke 225 cc engines, starting with model 200. {Link without Title} Enfield's own Company History (Retrieved 22 October 2006) The company merged with Alldays & Onions in 1907 and produced cars called Enfield-Allday until 1925 . {Link without Title} CarType History (Retrieved 22 October 2006) Post-war After the war the Enfield Cycle Company came back with the last G and J pre-war models, and the "Flea". In 1947 the Royal Enfield 500 cc Model J was back in production, but was now fitted with telescopic forks with two-way hydraulic damping instead of the old pre-war girder forks. The front axle mountings were offset forward of the fork legs. In 1948 the J2 model, with 'twin exhaust ports' and pipes, was released initially for export only. The J2 exhaust port split into two after the exhaust valve, so the difference was more for appearance. The post-war J models had a rigid rear frame, and a four-speed Albion gearbox with an extra lever that the rider could press to find neutral. This was a simple, solid 499 cc push-rod single with 84 mm bore x 90 mm stroke and a compression ratio of 5.5 to 1. It also used a fully floating White Metal big end, similar to those found in radial aircraft engines, with the usual felt oil seals, Amal carb, and Lucas magneto ignition. The fully floating white metal big end could be replaced with an aftermarket caged roller bearing conversion. By 1950 the compression had been raised to 5.75 to 1, with a claimed power output of 21 bhp at 4,750 rpm. These were essentially torquey sidecar machines. In 1949 the first new models were introduced: the 350 cc full sprung Bullet, and a 500 cc twin. The sportier alloy head, swing arm frame 350 cc Bullet was a sensation. It was the 1954 350 cc Bullet model which was to be made in India until the present (read further down). In 1953 the 500 cc model appeared, using the same bottom end. 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. The Bullet 350 and 500 also used the fully floating big end design. The new swingarm frame 500 cc twin of 1949 would eventually evolve into the Interceptor. The 500's big end had no bearing inserts, the machined con-rod running directly on the crank pin. In the 1956 700 cc Super Meteor, a development of the 500, conventional Babbit bearings were fitted, and were used on all subsequent vertical twins. The 500 cc Bullet engine produced 25 bhp at 5,250 rpm while torque peaked at 29 ft·lbf @ 3,600 rpm, From 2,000 rpm onwards torque did not fall below 25 ft·lbf till beyond 5,300 rpm. Later models like the 250 cc Crusader (1957) and 700 cc Meteor (1955), were followed by the 250 cc Continental GT (1965), the 700 Constellation (1959), available with Royal Enfield's "Airflow" full fairing, and the 736 cc Interceptor (1963). {Link without Title} IanChadwick Enfield (Retrieved 22 October 2006) Royal Enfield Interceptor During the onslaught of the 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 US, but the classic mistake of not being able to supply this demand, added to the demise of this last English made Royal Enfield. {Link without Title} Is-it-a-lemon Enfield Review (Retrieved 22 October 2006) The Redditch factory ceased production in 1967 and the Bradford-on-Avon factory closed in 1970, which meant the end of the British Royal Enfield. After the factory closed a little over 200 Series II Interceptor engines were stranded at the dock in 1970, originally on their way to Floyd Clymer in the US, but unfortunately he had just died, and his export agents, Mitchell's of Birmingham, were left to dispose of them. They approached the Rickman brothers for a frame, and the Rickman brothers' main problem had always been engine supplies, so a limited run of Rickman Interceptors were promptly built. 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. A few of the original Redditch factory buildings remain (2006) and are part of the Enfield Industrial Estate. Enfield Indians From 1955 to 1960 Royal Enfields were painted red, and marketed in the USA as Indian Motorcycles by the Brockhouse Corporation, who had acquired the rights to the Indian name after it went under in 1953. Floyd Clymer, of manual fame, was involved, but Americans were not impressed by the Badge Engineering , and the venture was unsuccessful. It was rather ironic that Enfields went 'Indian' in two different ways. The largest Enfield "Indian" was a 700 cc. The marketing agreement expired in 1960 and from 1961 Royal Enfields were available in the US, still through Clymer, but under their own name, up until Clymer's death in 1970. ENFIELD INDIA
Royal Enfields had been sold in India from 1949. In 1955, the Indian government looked for a suitable motorcycle for its police and army, for use patrolling the country's border. The Bullet was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 350 cc model Bullets, an enormous order for the time. {Link without Title} IanChadwick Enfield India (Retrieved 22 October 2006) , India ]] In 1955 the Redditch company partnered Madras Motors in India in forming 'Enfield India' to assemble, under Licence , the 350 Cc Royal Enfield ''Bullet'' motorcycle in Madras (now called Chennai). In 1957 tooling equipment was sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components. The first machines were assembled entirely from components shipped from England, but by 1962 all components were made in India. The Indian Enfield uses the 1960 engine (with metric bearing sizes), in the pre-56 design frame. An independent manufacturer since the demise of Royal Enfield in England, Enfield India still makes an essentially similar bike in 350 cc and 500 cc forms today, along with several different models for different market segments. {Link without Title} Royal-Enfield History (Retrieved 22 October 2006) In 1986 UK civil servant Raja Narayan, returned to India and organised an export arm for the company to market the Bullet in England. Starting with a 350 in 1986, he was soon giving feedback that led to improvements. By 1989 the Enfield Bullet appeared in UK motorcycle shows. In 1994 Eicher Group bought into Enfield India. {Link without Title} Royal Enfield ''1991 - 2000 Enfield becomes Royal Enfield'' (Retrieved 30 October 2006) In late 1995, the Enfield India firm acquired the rights to the name Royal Enfield. Royal Enfield of India now sells motorcycles in over twenty countries. They are being imported into the United States, United Kingdom, and other western countries in increasing numbers, though the newer versions (2001) with electric start are becoming more popular than the 'classic' version which is little changed from 1955. There are a few changes: indicators, a 28 mm Mikuni carb, 12 volt electrics, an improved seat and, since 1990, twin leading-shoe brakes. The 2006 the latest top level export 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 as well as a front disk brake. The recently designed left foot change 5-speed gearbox and electric start are also part of the package. Other improvements are a more modern Micarb VM 28 (CV) Carburettor , 280 mm front disk brake, 150 mm rear single leading shoe drum brake, electronic ignition, and new, gas filled rear damper units. Royal Enfield UK Specifications pdf (Retrieved 22 October 2006) This is an export-only model, and in India the top Electra is a 350 cc, though a basic right change four speed 500 cc version is available.[http://www.royalenfield.com/app/IN/downloads.asp] Enfield specifications pdf (Retrieved 22 October 2006) The lean burn 350 cc engine produces 18 bhp @ 5000 rpm, and 32 nm @ 3000 rpm. The 500 cc version produces 22 bhp @ 5500 rpm, and 35.9 nm @ 3000 rpm. The main thrust for its development has been meeting 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. 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. 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 Royal_Enfield_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 outside of India, but is replaced by the 500 cc Electra-X. Recent models Over the last few years there have been a number of basic models on sale in the UK:
All of these basic models have trials, cafe racer, and other derivative models. For noise and emission reasons, the old engine will cease to be imported into the UK/ EU starting in 2008, and the 'lean burn' engine will then become the standard. Unfortunately, even this lean-burn engine may be short-lived in the EU as further emissions restrictions are to be introduced in the form of Euro 3. A new engine will be introduced in the Fall of 2007 called the "Unit Construction Engine" or UCE. It will be fuel injected and the engine casing and transmission will share a single casting. The Royal Enfield has been imported into the USA since 1995. The models which are available in the USA are:
The 350cc bikes were sold for a few years in the USA, but the US market heavily favors the larger 500cc model. The 350cc models are no longer imported into the US. No kick start only models are sold in the US as there was no market demand for them once the Electric Start models were developed. ROYAL ENFIELD MODELS Bullet 500 cc Royal Enfield Bullet specifications
Interceptor
Specifications…(1964)
Antique value The original British manufactured bikes are highly sought after for their odometers (miles), and magneto based systems. These are considered a collector's item. List of Vehicles Manufactured by Royal Enfield, India
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