ROYAL ENFIELD has been manufacturing motorcycles continuously, and arguably longer than any other brand, producing its first two wheeled powered contraption in 1901.
While Enfield produced many and varied machines over the decades, they are best known for single-cylinder thumpers with classic styling dating back to the 40s and 50s. It was the Royal Enfield 350 that kept the iconic ‘made like a gun’ name going in the lean times. Contracts with the Indian army and police saved the marque.
Production facilities shifted part time then permanently to Chennai (formerly Madras). When sold in civilian guise, the 350 mobilised the largest democracy in the world. Today, Indian streets echo to the sounds of single cylinder thumpers, mostly 350s.
Royal Enfield now has R&D facilities and gurus back in the UK…
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Retrobike (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 45