The Vintagent Trailers: Sixth Street Specials
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They say the first race happened when they built the second motorcycle.
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Vinta...
Himalayan 450 U.S. launch is Aug. 23
CA 1960 engraved by Von Dutch
Royal Enfield Photo of the Week
CA 2015 GT 535
CA 1966 Interceptor
NH 2022 with 1918 Motel T sidecar
KY 2016 with sidecar
MA 2014 535 GT
AZ 2011 Bullet
OH 1956 Tomahawk
VA 2021 Custom 650
CA 2014 GT 535
OH 2020 Trials
FL 2006 ES
WI 2016 500
CA Classic 500
TX 2015 GT 535
CA 1956 Trailblazer
Friday, September 9, 2016
Are Royal Enfield motorcycles Indian enough for India?
What is good for me is not necessarily good for India, of course. So, when a blog item in The Times of India suggests such artifacts of the past as my Royal Enfield may be unhelpful to India, I'm compelled to consider that possibility.
Blog author Francois Gautier describes himself as French, but he obviously knows more about India than I do. He is prepared to point fingers.
"It is probably the British colonization that blunted for good the Indian innovation spirit," he asserts.
"...Take the manufacturing sector, for instance, since Independence, India has often copied English models, such as the Ambassador car, the Royal Enfield Bullet, or the Raleigh cycle, selling them at huge profits for decades and never caring much to improve them."
Gautier's argument, I take it, is that India must innovate from its own strengths to prosper in the modern world.
Makes sense. Take what you have and build on it.
And so, he asks:
"What is that Indian-ness then? And what to do so that Indians become innovators again and not copiers anymore?"
Unfortunately, his solutions are not innovative. He suggests, in effect, that India celebrate its own national history, heroes, religion, sports stars and business spirit. His proof that this will spur innovation seems to be based on the argument that it worked for France.
"...Napoleon is known in India."
In all, I think he's a bit harsh. Napoleon is a special case. So is India.
Today, Royal Enfield is taking steps to insert itself into international markets. Surely a good thing.
In an effort to gain traction globally, the new Continental GT certainly trades on the motorcycle's British heritage. Maybe not innovative design, but smart marketing, I think.
And now the new Himalayan model seems to me to be a pure example of India building on its own strengths (and geography) to innovate.
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those curly bits on the 'E" and the 'D" remind me of a pair of cats with their backs to us, and their tails curled around them!
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