General Whatever

[VCheng]

Modern REs for the most part are giant metal turds.

You can paint a turd in fancy colors. And make it look like the real classics.

It will still remain a turd.

I really have never seen a new RE, let alone ridden one, so I cannot really say anything here, but I will take your word as a fellow rider for this opinion.

 

[Bilal9]

To each their own, of course, but I find retro styling tolerable only when paired with modern technology, and can never bring myself to like cruisers. I just cannot control a motorcycle precisely enough with my feet so far forward given the type and pace of riding that I currently enjoy. Some prefer form over function and style over substance, but to me, function must dictate the form.

The RE cruisers are Super Meteor 650 and Meteor 350, both of which suffer from low power to weight ratio compared to Japanese motorbikes.

The engine design and tuning of RE bikes is long stroke and hence stresses fuel efficiency (Indian trait), which results in the low power to weight ratio, though Japanese bikes are no less fuel efficient and delivers way more torque and power, some say the Japanese engine designs are more evolved and more modern which may be the cause.

The fact that RE bikes are about 25% heavier than equivalent Japanese bikes does not help matters. RE needs to look at shaving off some of the weight.

Style wise the RE Meteor series bikes are nice to look at, but in the US the prices are definitely not cheaper than Japanese bikes which are quite a bit more proven and reliable.

MSRP/MRP is $4300 for the lighter meteor 350 and $6999 for the heavier Super Meteor 650.

That said, all my Stateside Indian friends have bought Harleys, resale value is a bit higher. I don't blame them.

 

[VCheng]

That said, all my Stateside Indian friends have bought Harleys, resale value is a bit higher. I don't blame them.

Half a century old technology that one can fix with a screwdriver, hammer and a pair of pliers still has a certain kind of charm that some still find attractive, maybe?

 

[Bilal9]

Half a century old technology that one can fix with a screwdriver, hammer and a pair of pliers still has a certain kind of charm that some still find attractive, maybe?

Simpler technology has its charms, plus the raw benefit of keeping things running if operations are critical, which for a vehicle is certainly true.

I find analog tech much more simple, reliable and fixable than newer tech, especially if product is made in Japan, Switzerland or Germany.

Still have an Adler typewriter made in Germany/Switzerland that is a marvel of smoothness and balance. It is getting to be close to seventy years old and still performs perfectly.

 

[VCheng]

Simpler technology has its charms, plus the raw benefit of keeping things running if operations are critical, which for a vehicle is certainly true.

I find analog tech much more simple, reliable and fixable than newer tech, especially if product is made in Japan, Switzerland or Germany.

Still have an Adler typewriter made in Germany/Switzerland that is a marvel of smoothness and balance. It is getting to be close to seventy years old and still performs perfectly.

Exactly why I love my old KLR650 thumper with a carburetor still

 

[Sharma Ji]

MSRP/MRP is $4300 for the lighter meteor 350 and $6999 for the heavier Super Meteor 650.

Isn't that a sweet deal for what you get ?

That said, all my Stateside Indian friends have bought Harleys, resale value is a bit higher. I don't blame them.

Resale value ? How about how much those Harleys cost to begin with ?

I realize you stateside lot might not be quite as price conscious as those back home in Desistan but there has got to be quite the price segment bump if you jump from a RE to a Harley.

My friend has the first gen Himalyan, it had problems, apparently.. but not his, still runs a charm. He's since got a continental GT 650 now and has been super happy with it. Another, a firang friend, bought an old Bullet-350 YEARS ago, visits here regularly and swears by just how reliable its been, he done Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Mumbai to Kolkatta/NE states.

I don't get the RE hate. Mast bikes, man.. and pretty decent bang for buck if you're out in the west. Also super customizable, make it your own, I like that bit a lot.

 

[Vsdoc]

Lovely seeing gyaanis here talking about Royal Enfields,

Only on the friggin internet do you find gyaanis who haven't owned a Royal Enfield for a single day, but talk about them as if they Sid Lal's left testicle.

 

[Bilal9]

I don't get the RE hate. Mast bikes, man.. and pretty decent bang for buck if you're out in the west. Also super customizable, make it your own, I like that bit a lot.

There is no RE hate - You don't have Japanese bike or Harley competition in India (not anymore), but they do here in the US (and even in Japan, home of the greatest bikes, Harleys have a different appeal).

I am sure RE are great bikes with great ride qualities - and are bargains to boot. The ride is tuned in their UK R&D outfit.

But if it doesn't say 'Harley' on it, there will be few takers here in the US cruiser market.

Every city in the US has Harley clubs and every weekend they have twenty mile joint rides going through town (mine too) to a far away diner at one end where they go to lunch. It's a lifestyle which RE can hardly offer.

Harley had eighty years of marketing and manufacturing reputation in the US - RE got to the US less than ten years ago.

Even when it was a UK brand (before tooling was sold off to a Chennai company), RE was a niche product in the US. It takes time to establish a reputation. Yamaha at one time tried to copy the Harley exhaust rumble, they got sued hard.

The Japanese bikemakers were established in the US since the 1960's. Even they could not unseat Harleys during all this time with all the cruiser bikes offered, and despite all the technological engine prowess the Japanese mastered.

Harleys are more than the sum of their bike parts, it's a lifestyle that's hard to copy or unseat with cheaper products.

Harleys are the "real thing". No substitute other than the real thing will do.

 

[Bilal9]

By the way, RE started Motorcycle mfg, in Bangladesh through Eicher dealer IFAD motors (Eicher owns RE). The operation will manufacture (assemble?) 30,000 units per annum (mostly 350 cc models which are popular in that market).

https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/royal-enfield-debuts-in-bangladesh-with-manufacturing-and-assembly-unit-124102200524_1.html

 

[Sharma Ji]

Snobs, snobs everywhere...