New Royal Enfield has old-time appeal

People used to buy Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles because they were the motorcycle that "they forgot to stop making." The Bullet from India was little changed from the circa-1955 Bullet from Britain.

So why do people buy the newest Royal Enfield motorcycles, with fuel injection, electric start, disk brake and unit constructed engine?

Turns out, the reasons haven't changed a bit. Jason Giacchino, contributing editor at the Motorcycle-USA web site, illustrates this with a story about his friend "Charlie." Charlie went out and bought a new Royal Enfield G5. Why?

As Charlie tells it:

“I’ve always been drawn to the look and simplicity of 1950s motorcycles but got tired of barely getting to the end of the driveway before something would break. I’ve been meaning to replace my Velocette for a few years now but imagined I would do so with an equally ratty Norton or Triumph. When I found out about this brand new 2009, I knew it was time.”

Giacchino took the G5 Classic for a brief cruise around the block and found it to ride pretty much as he expected "for a machine designed to reproduce the ergonomics and experience of motoring back in the 1950s."

He concludes:

"Charlie and I said goodbye and I realized while pulling away that there was some definite logic behind his reasoning. It’s tough to argue against the charms of yesteryear when combined with the reliability of today. To him the Royal Enfield was more about recapturing a moment of his past without all of the associated hassle that accompanied the real thing."

Read the full story here.

Royal Enfield in U.S. recalls G-5 bikes

Royal Enfield G-5 motorcycles in the U.S. are being recalled for a possible transmission fault. According to U.S. importer Kevin Mahoney of Classic Motorworks, no motorcycle in the U.S. has suffered the problem, but all with the unit constructed engine (UCE) are being recalled, as a precaution. The fix involves adding clearance between two parts in the transmission. Mahoney posted this notice Tuesday:

"Last Friday we received a call from Royal Enfield telling us of a recall of some G-5's. We were able to notify all of the owners in the US (only six) by that evening. While the engineers at the factory were quite certain that only the VIN numbers given to us were affected, after much discussion they decided that to be on the safe side they would recall all G-5's. We got that notice this (Tuesday) morning and have been calling dealers who are calling customers as we speak. This is a very aggressive way to handle the problem and will cause some customer inconvenience but it is the 'right' thing to do.

'We want all of our customers to stop riding those bikes right away.'

"For the U.S., any bike with the UCE engine in it will be officially recalled. (See important note below if you are from another country). We want all of our customers to stop riding those bikes right away. The actual official recall will come a bit later. The official notice process involves the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and requires some paperwork and for them to approve the recall letter. The people from that agency have been very helpful. It is one of those cases where someone from the government actually is helpful and not a hindrance. I have been impressed. Royal Enfield and CMW decided that rather than wait for the official notice we would call all of our customers right away to keep them safe.

"The problem involves possible insufficient clearance between the mainshaft of the transmission and third gear. Third gear rotates all of the time on the mainshaft. There has been at least one case where a bike (not in the U.S.) had the gear seize to the shaft. When they replicated the problem at the factory the failure seemed to be preceded by a screeching noise and only happened at highway speeds when the transmission is good and hot. That is not to say that if you ride it slowly it won't happen. The engineers have implemented a fix that involves more clearance between the shaft and third gear as well as a couple of other improvements. It is a good fix and will solve the problem.

"We are now three work days into the process. We have not announced how we are going to handle the repair of these bikes. The reason is simple: when we formulate the final plan we want it to be right, timely and definitive. The fix is a good one so once it is done it will be done for good.

"We don't think that we will be judged because we have a recall , but rather on how we handle it. Royal Enfield and CMW (as well as Watsonian and the other importers) are acutely aware of this. We are all very small companies but we are very confident that we can do this effectively and efficiently.

"If you have any questions you can call us at 800-201-7472 or call your dealer. However we really can't tell you any more that you are reading here nor can your dealer. It has always been our policy to be open and forthcoming with our customers so what information we have will be passed along to our dealers and customers as soon as we know it. Please don't spend time speculating as there is no point. You will know when we know.

"The good news is that this recall will not cover any of the C-5's that we have coming.It also does not cover any other bikes or models we have sold in the past such as Lean Burn models or Cast Iron models...

"IMPORTANT NOTE: This information ONLY APPLIES IN THE US. In other countries other models may be involved, I can't say and I won't speculate. Please contact your dealer in your home country as there may be different issues and different models."

New Royal Enfield gets Military model

The Royal Enfield Military model is very popular in the United States—some dealers tell me it is the most popular model they sell. They were disappointed when, at first, it appeared that the Military would be dropped from production as new bikes began to come off the line at the factory in Chennai, India.

Not so. There will be a Military edition of the new G5 model, with the new motor.

"We initially had a hard time getting the G5 in a Military configuration but we worked with REM and followed through aggressively knowing how many customers were eager for this model. I'm pleased to say that we will have some in stock shortly. The new G5 Military models do not have the engine guard bar or panniers, which gives them a simplified WWII-like look," U.S. importer Kevin Mahoney wrote in his recent newsletter.

"We've been selling new Bullet G5 models since the first of the year. The G5 is the first model to use Royal Enfield's new UCE engine with electronic fuel injection. The new engine is rock solid and offers incredible fuel economy (even better than the impressive mileage of the AVL Lean-Burn) and higher cruising speeds... The G5 models all have a front disk brake.

"Much like the AVL Bullets and the 1955 model Iron Barrel engine bikes before them, the G5 comes in the Classic, Deluxe and Military configurations. They are more expensive than the Lean-Burn, but they're the Bullet to have for those of you who want the latest and greatest," Mahoney writes.

The Royal Enfield G5 motorcycles are priced to start at $5,995 in the U.S. Military models have always been a bit more expensive than the Classic and Deluxe.