Royal Enfield Bullet Classic C5
Remember when Harley Davidson had waiting lists? Well, move over Harley, hello Royal Enfield. It looks like demand for the new Bullet Classic C5 is getting beyond the company’s ability to paint the motorcycles. The Classic takes more more time to paint than some previous models and it’s been selling so well buyers have been asked to wait as long as 6 months to take delivery. Normal production is 4500 units per month but demand is at 6500 units. Besides being popular in the Indian home market, it’s also selling well here in the States. Royal Enfield has been shifting some painting to other plants to meet the demand. Although waiting lists are never ideal, customers are indicating the new Bullet is a winner.
Link: OneIndia
Tinman says
I think I remember reading that these bikes are Pin Striped by hand, That must be one busy guy.!!! Bare in mind that this is a completly new Enfield, Unit Construction and Fuel Injection, so its not just the pretty paint that makes it a Hot seller. Sure shows the demand for a Retro single, This is what the Buell Blast should have looked like.
todd says
The waiting list for a new Enfield in California has been 40 years.
-todd
nortley says
Maybe they could outsource the painting to some depressed labor market….like the US.
Mule says
I’m curious where they found buyers for 6500 units a month for this model? It’s interesting looking and I can imagine 6500 a year, but there must be a market somewhere that’s really gobbling them up! They aren’t cheap so it’s most likely not a third world economy and China would just buy one bike and then copy it to make 40 million units. Is it Europe?
akumabito says
India itself probably still is the largest market by far. Mind you, that’s nearly a billion people right there.. sure, not evyone can afford one, and many people with a little money would rather buy a car, but that’s still a huge market, where Royal Enfield is one of very few companies offering affordable motorcycles.. Price-wise I imagine they’d be smack-dab in the middle between the 100~150cc machines that power most of Asia and the “big bikes” imported from Japan/Europe/America..
Marvin says
The older models of enfeild were capable of up to 100 miles per imperial gallon which is about 83 miles per US gallon. Gasoline or petrol as we know it is now around £1.20 a litre or $1.77 per litre or $7.20 per US Gallon so you can see why they are tempting to us Brits quite apart from appealing to that part of you that wants the bike your cool uncle had when you were a kid! Tinman you are right these are indeed pinstriped by hand I saw them being done on a UK cooker program of all things and it looked like the gent doing the painting was in danger of forgetting to breath he was so careful with the brush. The good MPG is simply a result of a relatively small bore and a long stroke the price you pay tends to be in acceleration. Incidentally at one stage in the TT races history you had to achieve 100 mpg for single-cylinder machines and 80 mpg for twin-cylinder machines after all it was a Tourist Trophy and no one would tour on a bike with poor fuel consumption.
jim says
The Classic has lost that “cobby” look and is in most respects a thoroughly modern machine — timeless styling, decent handling, no leaks, electric starting, solid reliability, with hand-painted stripes, yet. Unless you want 60 horsepower, the Classic is the perfect get-around bike. What’s not to like? So you have to wait a while; ride your old XS 650 while your Classic is being lovingly painted and striped.
Ian says
The Indian home market is the biggest by far for RE. The export market is a paltry few thousand a year vs 50k and growing in India. The classic retails over there for about £1500, not a cheap bike by Indian standards, but the Bullet is becoming India’s first real ‘lifestyle’ bike. Almost like an Indian Harley, they are often a second bike.
They are paying more attention to export as the retro thing takes off and lower power bikes are gaining momentum, so to speak. There is massive potential for them both home and abroad if they can keep on top of the quality, which they are putting a lot of effort into.
lostinoz says
@ Todd
theres hope on the horizon for you!
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/locator/dealers/usa/states/CALIFORNIA
EIGHT locations listed as “coming soon”
I’ve been debating about this bike since I originally saw it. Still am as a matter of fact. Not so much IF I buy one, its a matter of WHICH COLOR (love the robins egg, but that red is awfully nice too). Fortunately I have some time to work it out as the waiting list game is not one I like to play.
Single thumper, fuel injected, modern electronics, disk brake in front. Classic looks, modern reliability, it really does gather attention as well.
joe says
Nice looking bike,almost as cool as the retro Triumphs. Only time will tell as far as the Enfield reliability goes.
Tom says
Makes sense to me. I’ve been looking forward to being able to get one (or two) of these for awhile now. I’ve just got a set time limit before I’m able to. But my anticipation has been even higher ever since Aniket’s project came to my attention. As to why the demand for them? You have only to look at this sites archives to find out why,
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/03/26/mcdeeb-royal-enfield-specials-six-days-thruxton-clubman-brand-new-classics-from-italy/
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2008/12/22/carberry-enfield-double-barrel-v-twin/
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/05/13/hammarhead-volta-102-electric-royal-enfield/
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/04/17/royal-enfield-musket-update/
OMMAG says
Go figure….. I think these things are starting to grow on me…………….
Motorod says
I came up on Cubs & Catalinas, and I must say that I’m looking forward to riding one of these around Southern California. Inline fours and big twins are fine, but the idea of putting along a back road on a thumper like this fills me with longing.
ric says
Here in OZ every year on or about April 25th the BSA club in Victoria holds the All British Rally with entrys of 960 this year with a 500cc AJS as a gate entry prize last year on a very wet weekend 860 was the entry and a Bullet Classic was the prize and the year befor that (2008) 1120 was the entry listand a 68′ BSA Thunderbolt was the prize.This rally has been running more than 30 years and dosent look like it will ever end
Cheers
Ric
navek says
If you want to slow things down and smell the roses this is the bike. I rode the 350cc version many years ago and loved its sound and restful progress. It ain’t gonna go fast so why not just relax and enjoy it? With the hydraulic tappets the thing is minimal maintainance and hopefully the quality has become 21st century.
tom says
Why HDI bought MVAugusta instead of Royal Enfield I’ll never know.
big b says
I’m glad HD didn’t buy Royal Enfield. They seem to be doing fine, you wouldn’t want that messed up would you?
simon says
I’ve been fond of these things ever since I first saw them, and the early models weren’t nearly as nice. I grew up around old Triumphs and BSAs and Matchless and Velocette bikes and have always loved their look. (The little Ducati Diana also had that classic beauty.) I keep thinking that instead of resurrecting old names like Indian and producing bikes that cost in excess of $30,000, someone could do a lot better to come up with a low priced, American-made thumper that was reliable, good excellent mpg, and could cruise at 70. An American Nighthawk 250, if you will. (Maybe even an American version of the old, two-tone gas tank Honda 350s.) That, I think, would sell a truckload of bikes, and provide American jobs, too.
knotlinks says
Having ridden a bunch of different bikes, and having lusted after even more, I have to say this bike is certainly lustworthy. Get a RE, a Ural with Sidecar, and perhaps a flashier bike or two, and be entertained for 40 years. Big, loud bikes only get you so far on the trail, but I guess the same could be said about small, quieter thumpers. I’ll be purchasing a Bullet within the coming year…
Phoebe says
This makes me very happy. Go RE!
One of these days I will own one.
matt g says
These bikes are cool but I couldn’t get one up here in Alberta. I bought a 250 single (WR250) this spring. Not retro exactlyit’s the most fun bike I’ve had in many years! Riding slow is way less stressful.
tom says
Speaking of universal adventure motorcycles, the guys (and gals!) of India regularly take their REs up into the Himalayan back country. (Fun fact: RE’s new fuel injection system is mapped to 18,000 feet elevation!)
BTW, if you’d like to win a “my adventure was better than your adventure” contest with the guy on the next bar stool at Sturgis, you could get in on the 2011 edition of this:
http://www.royalenfield.com/company/events/himalayanodyssey/2010_.aspx
Dan says
I love mine, the waiting list doesn’t surprise me.
randy says
I’ve owned 3 SR500’s. An unbalanced single does have an upper limit for enjoyable cruising. For the SR500 it was about 65mph. Has anyone weighed one of these? Seems like 400+ pounds is heavy for the way it looks.
Kevin Mahoney says
I am the US importer and perhaps can answer some of your questions.
First let me say that in the US the waiting list is non-existent. We order ahead. We ran out of some colors and models last month, but our dealers are stocked and we have more coming in a couple of weeks. They make more margin on export bikes so we are pretty high on the list of bikes to be built.
I also appreciate all of the kind remarks.
I had a good laugh over the 40 year waiting period for CA. RE is supposed to be manufacturing the first two containers of CA bikes this week or next. We have some good dealers coming aboard. We are bringing in a set number of bikes into CA for the first year so If you want one, better jump on it.
Yes the pin stripes are done by hand. Two brothers do all of the work. Here is a link to a video that shows the entire bike being made including the paint. (none of these are the new bikes, the video is a couple of years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoHJhZnYRKg&feature=player_embedded
The bulk of the units are sold within India. As someone else mentioned, the size of that market for motorcycles (two-wheelers as they are called) is enormous. Some say it has grown by 40% this past year. At present about 8,000,000 units are sold in India, mostly 100-150cc. Unlike what some might think India is awash with cash. Not from “job stealing” but from being careful with their money, not letting banks get out of control and plain old entrepreneurial success. At present about 8,000,000 units are sold in India, mostly 100-150cc. Indian made small cc bikes are some of the most rugged high quality bikes in the world. Much of this may seem counter-intuitive, but I have watched India develop for well over a decade.
Actually there has been a multi generational relationship between Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield. Harley helped us a great deal in 1994 getting our bikes through EPA testing. Executives from each company visit each others respective companies. However it is collegial not necessarily business oriented. I am not sure if it goes back to some of the original families but the relationship is warm.
Royal Enfield is essentially owned by one family, the Lals. They are industrialists and among other things have a joint venture with Volvo for trucks etc. Siddartha Lal the leader is a passionate motorcyclist. At present he has no interest in selling the company. He has plenty of money and unlike the US not everything is about growth and Wall Streets expectations. For him it is not about the money (although RE has to remain profitable), it is about pride both personal and nationalistic. His stated goal is to make RE a significant player in niche markets on the world stage. Just this year alone he has invested twenty million dollars in R and D, new equipment, expansion etc, this on top of a similar investments in recent years. I speak highly of him because I have the utmost respect for him and what he is doing. The CEO of the company RL Ravishandran is a brilliant man who has done a great job moving the company forward and surrounding himself with good people.
As the importer, I am treated by RE with total integrity. This company is one of the best I know of in this regard. Our dealers and other importers actually have seat at the executive table when it comes to model development etc. The C5 and G5 (our new bikes) are a direct result of input from dealers in the export markets. It was not anticipated that they would be sold in India initially.
I have seen what they have in the design studio (some in pretty advanced stages of development) and it is thrilling. I cannot say more, but as the importer I am pretty excited.
It is unlikely that I will be able to answer question this post may engender because of my schedule, but thanks for the soap box.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
President
Royal Enfield USA
Division of Classic Motorworks.
Kevin Mahoney says
PS – While 400 lbs may seem heavy, remember this is an all steel bike. No plastic panels fenders etc. You have to ride one to really appreciate how good the original design handled. You will be amazed.
Trevor Clark says
We down under rely very heavily on people like Kevin to broadcast whats happening with Royal Enfield india.
The sheer volume of bikes and parts that he exports from the factory gives him a credible insight into the vision of people like Siddarth lal and RL Ravishandran and the dedicated team at the factory.
India is on the move,its aspirations are huge, the changes that have occured during the six years that we have had association with Royal Enfield have demonstrated their ability to change with the times, lift production techniquies and vastly improve their quality control procedures.
The culmination of all of this as been the introduction of the EFI machines especially the C5, which is a beautiful bike to ride and also to seen on.
Our market in New Zealand is very small but the people buying and owning the new bikes are more than dedicated, they are fanatic, check out our website at the chap doing a wheely on the C5.
Like Kevin I also have been privy to the research and development at the factory and the future is very bright
Anyone contemplating heading this way make sure you make contact
Trevor Clark
Royal Enfield New Zealand Ltd.
todd says
It’s the fact that people like Kevin and Trevor visit this site, read the comments, and post their own that makes this the best motorcycle site on the web. Nowhere else do I get the feeling that the motorcycle industry actually listens to its customers. Now if we could just get someone from all the other players to respond to comments or post candid updates (without their marketing departments providing the red tape) the world would be a better place.
Thanks, Paul (The Kneeslider) for providing us with this excellent opportunity.
-todd
Slacker says
I am so torn between one of these and one of those retro Triumph bonnies. I’m a tall guy (6’5″), and the triumph is a little bigger… that may end up being the only deciding factor for me. I love the look of both bikes.
Rik says
Haven’t noticed a big demand here in the UK, however there’s definitely more talk of the Enfield as an exclusive classic bike to own in rich celebrity garages.
Personal opinion – great looking bike, a look you certainly don’t see often in modern motorcycles.
gene says
Like to see more news about Royal Enfield in California, US. Problems with RE for some years passing CA’s more stringent air controls.