Friday, November 8, 2024

Decoding Royal Enfield's new Flying Flea

Royal Enfield Flying Flea C6.
Royal Enfield's coming Flying Flea electric is full of surprises.

 Three things strike me from the launch of the electrifying new Royal Enfield Flying Flea

First, it's not a motorcycle. Flying Flea is a new brand of Royal Enfield. The Flying Flea factory will make first the FF-C6 city bike, then a scrambler version called S6. 

Second, this new Flying Flea is no variation on a previous Royal Enfield, although a Himalayan served as a development mule. It's brand new technology -- 28 patents' worth. 

Third is Royal Enfield's continued attention to its unique history. Flying Flea was the nickname of the little two-stroke Royal Enfield built during World War II to serve Britain's airborne units. 

Royal Enfield Model RE drops from sky.
Royal Enfield Model RE, nicknamed Flying Flea.

The look of the model unveiled this week is purposely "retro" to honor that history.

Of course the new Flying Flea is a lot prettier than the olive drab military original. (In 1943 there was no sense putting high style into a thing you were going to drop from an airplane.)

Instead there is a magnesium battery case adorned with fins mimicking an air-cooled motor. Here's some descriptive poetry from the press release:

"The dynamic front fins, arranged in odd sequences, represent innovation and modern technology while the elegant rear fins, placed in even sequences, embody tradition and legacy. Both clusters of fins twist and turn, eventually merging seamlessly into a graceful wing-shaped motif at the center."

New Flying Flea FF-C6.
The Flying Flea FF-C6 has clean, light look.

Sounds like a work of art, and, for a battery-operated appliance, the Flying Flea does look nice.

Unavoidably, it also looks somewhat spindly to me. So did the original Flea, of course, as its purpose for being was to get to the front inside a glider or under the wing of an airplane. It had to be light.

So just accept the new Flying Flea is made to excel under battery power, and it looks that way. Except... well, you know, someone could make battery covers out of plastic and claim they were just as pretty.

There will be a learning curve for those of us raised on gasoline motorcycles. In the launch press release, Royal Enfield CEO B. Govindarajan complimented the in-house development of the "BMS."

That was a new one on me: it stands for Battery Management System.

New Flying Flea S6.
The Flying Flea S6 scrambler will look a bit rowdy.

Battery life, of course, will be an issue. I'm wondering: could I stuff some saddlebags full of laptop batteries and plug them in when I needed a little extra boost to get home?

The press release notes the history of the Flying Flea, being airlifted to the World War II battlefront. "It was later embraced by civilians too, for city exploration purposes."

1947 Royal Enfield Flying Flea (Model RE).
1947 civilian Flying Flea was spindly looking, too.

While it's true that the nickname Flying Flea must have come from its airborne duties, the fact is that the little Royal Enfield was first designed and built for civilian use, being referred to as the Royal Baby. It was only enlisted to serve the military after the war began.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the new Flying Flea (besides its small size and light weight, for a Royal Enfield) is the remarkable girder fork. This no-doubt much improved device pays tribute to the original Flying Flea's rubber-band girder fork.

Girder fork of new Royal Enfield Flying Flea.
Spectacular aluminum girder fork of Flying Flea C6.

Less surprising, but still impressive, is that your smart phone will be how you program the adjustable ride modes, the press release notes. You can choose the throttle, brake and regen modes to suit the riding feel you're looking for.

Being the pessimist I am, I am sure I would make sure all those modes are set to produce maximum range, and I would just put up with how that feels.

I don't need the thrilling experience of not being able to return from the place I got to in an extra big hurry.

Indicative of what all this investment, thought and beauty means is perhaps best summed up by the plan to release the Flying Flea first in Europe and America -- not India. In other words, in  places with lots of disposable income for fun vehicles that only have to be used within their limitations since the rider has other vehicles for daily use.

Putting it gently, the press release says "this is the beginning of a new breed of electric mobility for those who choose to travel in style, for purpose and for fun as well as necessity."

Top down view of new Royal Enfield Flying Flea.
Perhaps the best view is from the rider's seat.

Forget "necessity." Nobody is going to be beating these up delivering pizzas. For one thing, the Flying Flea likely will not parachute into the market at bargain prices.

Royal Enfield's gasoline powered motorcycles have always delivered style (well, of a sort, in the case of the Himalayan) at prices that were attractively low.

The Flying Flea will have be measured on some other scale than price-per-pound if it is to be competitive.

“We’re not betting the entire farm on it,” Royal Enfield boss Siddhartha Lal was quoted as saying at the launch. “We are putting money behind it, but if it doesn’t work, we’ll be okay.”

Watch the video of important moments in the Nov. 4, 2024 launch of the new electric Flying Flea.




Friday, November 1, 2024

Get out of the way! Electric bikes are here

Advertisement for fastest electric bicycle.
How fast does the "fastest" electric bike go? Forty miles per hour.

 Unlike electric motorcycles, a very good idea, electric bicycles are a mixed blessing. 

Electric motorcycles are a coming thing. Inherent advantages over internal combustion powered motorcycles will make them ever more popular. 

Clean, quiet, energy efficient and uncomplicated, electric motorcycles also will no doubt feature advanced electronic accessories. I'd expect on-board cameras (or, at least, mounts for them), navigation aids, and communications enhancements. 

But, while electric motorcycles are in our future, electric bicycles are already here. And they are proliferating. 

Electric motorcycles, when they get here, will be limited to adult riders, will have to stay in traffic lanes, and be registered, licensed and insured. 

Electric bicycles are -- at least according to the state in which I live -- just bicycles. Very fast bicycles. 

Children of any age are allowed to operate them. They can legally go on sidewalks and in bicycle lanes, unless forbidden by local ordinance. No license, registration or insurance is required.

Pedals are not required on these so-called "bicycles."

My state, Florida, apparently does limit top speed. The law implies that the fastest electric bicycles are limited to 28 mph, but it doesn't specifically say so.

Apparently, speeds in excess of 28 mph are allowed if they are attained by the rider adding pedaling force (assuming the bike has pedals). Obviously there is no way to enforce such a vague limitation. Is the rider pedaling hard or just spinning?

Riders of electric motorcycles will have to be licensed drivers, with a motorcycle endorsement, having passed tests to prove they know how to operate a vehicle safely.

Not so for riders of electric bicycles.

Electric motorcycles will be required to have basic safety equipment: headlight, taillight, brake light, operating turn signals, a horn, rearview mirror, side reflectors. Electric bikes are free to go without any of these. For that matter there seems to be no law that an electric bike even have a brake for the front wheel.

After all, it's just a "bicycle."

I am not a hater. Electric bicycles are going to give mobility to people who otherwise might not have it, and they will take cars off our crowded roads. On balance, they are good for cities and the environment.

But keep in mind that these newly mobile people do not want to be moving slowly. Humans, whatever our age,  value speed.

That's our history. It's said that the first motorcycle race occurred when the second motorcycle was built.

I don't recall too many motorcycle advertisements that touted slow speed as a feature. Can you imagine such a sales pitch?

"Go slow! Gives you time to enjoy the scenery!"

"Go slow! Avoid unpleasant wind noise!"

"Go slow! Like your mother told you!"

Not likely. Like motorcycles always have, electric bicycles will sell for their power. They'll be souped up by clever hot rodders. They'll be ridden to the limit of their power anywhere they can go. And by children.

It doesn't really matter that we're not ready for this. They're here.

Friday, October 25, 2024

Why Halloween ghouls ride motorcycles

Halloween inflatable motorcycle ghoul.
Motorcycle riding ghouls come out for Halloween.

 What do motorcycles have to do with creepy monsters, ghostly ghouls, flaming skeletons, and living death? Quite a lot, actually, on Halloween. 

It used to be "Halloween Night," but the celebration of doom is now so popular in the United States that October is becoming Halloween Month. 

And motorcycles are part of the fun. 

The best explanation I've read of this phenomenon is a 2016 piece by J. Joshua Placa on Motorcycle.com 

"Most motorcyclists I know have a special fondness for Halloween and all its imagery," he wrote. 

"Maybe it’s a macabre coping mechanism that helps us deal with the grim side of the road. There is just something about death that bikers like to defy. Perhaps it’s just part of our rebel spirit. We’re going to ride until we die, and maybe a couple of days after."

Dressing in studded leather adorned with skulls and cross bones, and incorporating the Grim Reaper into custom motorcycle paint jobs, certainly has meaning, Placa noted.

Intended to be menacing, the everyday "biker" leather and patches get-up is scary enough to wear by itself on any Halloween. So, Placa confides, he just goes as himself.

Asked where in Heaven's name he got his costume, he claims he replied "Heaven's got nothing to do with it."

There have been plenty of horror movies featuring evil motorcycle riders. I can't stand to watch them, but Bryan Wood listed 10 creepy ones for RideApart in 2016. Most you won't ever have heard of ("Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town").

Of the better-known "Ghost Rider" movies he writes:

"These movies don't have a lot of horror in them, but they are just like Halloween candy in that they are easy to consume, and you may regret it later."

1931-1932 photo of motorcycle and skull.

Where did all this start? I found a suitably horrifying 1930s photo of a skull and motorcycle on the Motorcycle Timeline blog. The Northampton Pirates Motorcycle Club had it as a centerpiece on the table at its annual dinner way back then.

It stands to reason that vintage motorcycles would be better at being haunted than new motorcycles. I wrote how my retro 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet is, yes, haunted. The proof is a gearbox oil filler bolt that could not be loosened, even with brute force, that subsequently unscrewed all by itself.

I'll tell that story around the campfire sometime. Nothing like a Phantom Fastener to throw a chill up your spine.

It also seems to me that visiting ghost towns or abandoned highways would be a fine activity on a motorcycle.

Halloween is a deal at Rickety Crickett Brewing, just off historic Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona. The Halloween Costume Party is at 11 p.m. tonight, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 at the restaurant and craft brewery at 532 Beale St.

Just look for the sign of the crazed mechanical man riding his motorcycle.

If you missed it there's no need to wait until next Halloween. He's there every day of the year.

Robot rider on vintage motorcycle.
Doomed to ride, apparently, in the wrong direction.
Follow royalenfields on Twitter