With the Himalayan, the Indian classic bike manufacturer boldly makes its way into the adventure bike segment.

Royal Enfield motorcycles are known for going rugged places, and these classic models are often found thumping their way slowly but steadily up the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. So it’s only logical that Royal Enfield designs a motorcycle specifically to take on these same ‘pahaadi’ high passes. The Himalayan will be launched in the Indian market on March 16, 2016. 

Classic adventurer

Not the best kept of secrets, but the Royal Enfield Himalayan has been spied innumerable times with its distinctive adventure-bike styling standing out like a sore thumb. There’s something very Royal Enfield about the Himalayan, with styling that harks back to the adventure bike of the century gone by, than modern day. There’s a philosophy Royal Enfield has long subscribed to – recognising that serious Indian bike tourers often end up in obscure, inaccessible rural surroundings, where modern motorcycle servicing is no where to be found. However, when called upon to repair an Enfield, roadside mechanics in India will seldom shy away from the job, thanks to its simple, old-school engineering.

In the words of Siddhartha Lal, owner and visionary behind the revival of Royal Enfield: “We started with a clean sheet of paper to build a motorcycle that was as comfortable fording a rocky river as it was to crunch hundreds of highway miles; substantial enough to hold its line in high cross winds, and to carry a pillion and lots of luggage, but light enough to pick it up when it falls; simple enough to mend a broken part yourself (as a result of that previous fall!) or to start even if the battery is dead (seriously, you can push start it and put on your headlamp even if the battery is missing!).”

Practical pahaadi

You can see practicality written all over the Himalayan, a bike that has been built tough, with Royal Enfield telling us all excess flab has been shaved. There’s a front windscreen, easily readable instruments, the convenience of on-board luggage carrying capability and space to clip on fuel and water jerry cans, or even extra front-mounted panniers, all of which makes for good touring capability. The heft of the Himalayan engine counters its otherwise tall center of gravity and Royal Enfield has thought of the motorcycle's off-road prowess, deploying a longer, 15-litre capacity fuel tank that is slim enough to allow standing on the Himalayan foot pegs for better control when riding over the really rough stuff.
 

Hillbilly bike

The  new Royal Enfield single-cylinder engine is four-stroke, 411cc, 2-valve, long-stroke and air-cooled, with a carburettor in place. The Himalayan engine is designed to deliver a flat, easy to access torque curve, delivering 3.3kgm at 4,500rpm to supply the rider with ample power at low engine speed, without having to rev the motor hard. It’s a button-started powerplant with 24.5bhp of maximum power available at 6,500rpm. Royal Enfield claims reduced moving parts, with more use of modern materials, ensuring this will make a low-maintenance, efficient bike, that can go a full 10,000km between oil change intervals.

The Himalayan gearbox is five-speed, with a cable-fed clutch to back it up. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a drive chain. The engine sounds unlike any Royal Enfield you ever heard, with quicker revving, and a quiet, yet pleasantly punchy note.

Cliffhanger

The Himalayan comes with a comfortable, upright riding position. Keeping the average height of Indians in mind, Royal Enfield has built its new adventure bike to be accessible enough, yet giving it generous ground clearance. A steel construction frame holds the new bike together, with 200mm travel 41mm telescopic suspension in front, and a monoshock, with linkage for improved damping in any conditions, supported by a steel fabricated swingarm at the rear. The Himalayan comes with on and off-road tyres, and you find a larger 21-inch wheel in front, and a 120/90 x 17-inch unit at rear; both rims using wire spokes. Single rotor disc brakes are provided front (300mm) and rear (240mm).

Royal Enfield tells us the Himalayan will deliver equally well on-road and off it, and we can’t wait to take it out for a test ride.

Rugged, comfortable and solidly built adventure bikes are perfectly suited to Indian roads, which are often as good as off-road. And one has to salute Royal Enfield for boldly plunging into a segement that most other manufacturers turned a blind eye to, save for Hero who pioneered the segment with the Impulse. Even KTM has failed to cash in on its rich off-road legacy, not bringing in a bike on these lines yet.

Luck favours the brave, so you can be sure the Himalayan will pay Royal Enfield handsome dividends when it launches on March 16, 2016, in addition to cementing their position in a market space set to take off and soar as high as the mountains.

Courtesy : Autocar

Yamaha India has stricken the carburetted versions of the FZ-S and Fazer, along with their scooter, the Ray, from their rosters.

Just recently, Yamaha has chosen to discontinue the carburetted version of their ever-popular FZ-S, as well as its semi-faired cousin, the Fazer, in India. The news isn’t shocking, as the updated models that Yamaha had launched in 2014 in the form of the fuel-injected version 2.0s were receiving relatively better responses from Indian motorcycle buyers.

The version 2.0 motorcycles feature a new version of the original FZ’s 153cc single-cylinder motor, which is built around Yamaha’s BlueCore philosophy that the company claims is to maximise fun without compromising efficiency. And efficiency is one area where the new bikes really outdo the older ones. So it was natural that Yamaha chose to discontinue these older models. However, the base model in the FZ family, the FZ16, which is basically the first one of these which Yamaha had launched back in 2008, is now the only non-fuel injected of these still on sale in the country.

Yamaha has also pulled the plug on its first-ever scooter for the Indian market, the Ray. The Ray was specifically designed with women riders in mind, and the company launched a more male-oriented version in the form of the Ray-Z later on. Sources in Yamaha India also said that the company was looking to now focus more on their latest scooter, the Fascino, which is apparently making waves as a ‘fashion-segment scooter’. In any case, Yamaha India is looking to launch the Ray-ZR, a new version of the Ray – which was unveiled at Auto Expo 2016 – in the next couple of months. This new scooter features the same 113cc Blue Core engine from the Ray, but gets an optional disc brake at the front, alloy wheels along with revised body panels and styling. As of now though, the Ray-Z still continues to be on sale.

Courtesy : Autocar

Indian Air Force inspires Royal Enfield’s new Squadron Blue-coloured Classic 500

Royal Enfield, the world’s oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, has introduced a new colour – Squadron Blue – for its Classic 500 range of motorcycles.

The bikemaker says the inspiration for the new colour variant has come from the Indian Air Force and is a tribute by Royal Enfield for its longstanding history with the soldiers of the skies.  Commenting on the choice of colour, Rudratej Singh, president, Royal Enfield, said, “The Classic 500 Squadron Blue is a tribute to Royal Enfield’s war-time presence and association with the armed forces. We wanted a variant with a genuine armed forces heritage for our customers and for this, Royal Enfield turned to the Indian Air Force for inspiration.

We had to be very particular about the colour to create an authenticity and also provide the motorcycle its post-war appeal. This inspiration led us to create the Classic Squadron Blue which is now available at price of Rs 186,688 on-road Delhi.” Royal Enfield’s tryst with the armed forces began way back during the World Wars where the motorcycle was extensively used by the British Army. The manufacturer received its first-ever order from the Indian Army in 1952 for 800 motorcycles. The company started production in India from 1955 onwards and has been supplying to the Indian Army ever since. The Indian Air Force also started using Royal Enfield in the 1950s and it has been most popularly used by the Air Force Police. Royal Enfield's motorcycles continue to be one of the commonly used motorcycles in the Indian armed forces and also state police. The Classic is one of the most successful products in the Royal Enfield stable and has been the company’s bestselling model. The new Squadron Blue variant is powered by the 500cc Unit Construction Engine.

The motorcycle is available at an on-road price of Rs 193,372 in Mumbai, Rs 189,350 in Chennai, Rs 198,649 in Bangalore and Rs 196,700 in Kolkata. It may be recollected that Bajaj Auto’s recent move to introduce its V brand of motorcycles, which embodies metal from India’s venerated aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, has seen a handsome  response from motorcycle enthusiasts and the general public. Earier today, the company announced the bike's pricing at Rs 62,000.

Courtesy : Autocar

Iconic Indian two-wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield inaugurated its first dealership in Thailand. The new showroom is located at Bangkok and is the second Southeast Asian dealership for Royal Enfield after Indonesia

Expanding its global dealership network, Royal Enfield (RE) inaugurated its first dealership in Thailand. The new Royal Enfield showroom has been situated in the capital of Thailand at Bangkok. The first RE retail store in Thailand has been set up by General Auto Supply Co. Ltd. The complete portfolio of its motorcycles will be made available at the new dealership alongwith the official Royal Enfield apparel and accessories range. 

Speaking about the new store , Arun Gopal, International Business Head, Royal Enfield said,  “Royal Enfield is today one of the most profitable automotive brands in the world and we believe that our future growth will come from our international markets such as Thailand where motorcycles are a popular medium of commuting. Our phenomenal success in India gives us the confidence to thrive in similar markets like Thailand and Indonesia, which will play an instrumental role in fuelling our growth in Asia. We see a huge potential for our evocative, all purpose, and middle-weight (250-750cc) motorcycles that will allow customers an optimum choice for upgrade”, said Mr

Royal Enfield has been expanding its global retail footprint across UK, Europe, Latin America, Middle-East and now in South East Asia. Its latest store in the Southeast Asian market prior to Thailand was in Indonesia. Royal Enfield announced its entry into Thailand, the fifth largest two wheeler market in the world in Dec 2015, at the Thailand International Motor Expo. The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 has been priced at Rs 3.45 lakh in Thai market while the RE Classic 500 retails for  Rs 3.64 lakh and the Royal Enfield Continental carries a sticker price of Rs 4.21 lakh. 

Courtesy : Zigwheels

Company to commence S340 e-scooter production by end of year; to be sold online only.

Ather Energy, a Bangalore-based start-up, today unveiled an electric scooter called the S340. The scooter is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, has a top speed of 72km/h and a range of upto 60km, according to the company. The S340’s IP67-rated battery can last for as much as 50,000km. The vehicle achieves an 80 percent charge in 50 minutes in fast-charging mode and can be charged from any five-ampere socket.

The scooter gets features such as LED lights that respond to ambient light conditions, a touchscreen dashboard, on-board navigation and drive modes like Sport and Economy to enable a personalised experience. The touchscreen is integrated with a S340 mobile app that keeps the rider connected with the vehicle, and can also sync navigation routes remotely.

The company has a manufacturing unit set-up in Bangalore, and production of the S340 will commence by end of this year. It is planning to build an online-only purchase model with doorstep delivery and service. It will also start pre-ordering in Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune initially in the next quarter. The company is still working on the price of this scooter.

“The future will be connected and inevitably electric, and the Ather S340 has been built as a manifestation of this philosophy,” said Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder. “The electric vehicle has been designed and built mostly in-house with engineering precision,” he added. Ather Energy aims to set-up a public charging infrastructure in every city it operates in, by partnering with government and private enterprises.

The company has been founded by IIT graduates Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 and has received funding from Tiger Global and Sachin and Binny Bansal (Flipkart founders). According to reports, Ather Energy, which has raised Rs 81 crore till date, is planning to invest Rs 25 crore for the manufacturing of this scooter.

Courtesy : Autocar