[wheelguy]

“We are going to launch new products, it will be very controlled with a sharp focus on the midsize segment. We are looking at what more we can do with every platform to meet the requirements of our customers. This is an area of enormous debate within Royal Enfield,” said Siddhartha Lal, managing director, Eicher Motors Ltd.

The full article/interview:

Pune: Royal Enfield motorcycles are equivalent to the bikes manufactured and sold by the Japanese and German companies, Siddhartha Lal, managing director, Eicher Motors Ltd, said on Thursday.

He was referring to the new products launched over the past two years including the 650 Twins - Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 – and the latest model Meteor 350.

“We follow extremely rigorous processes, we do not take any shortcuts in product development and testing. Our motorcycles are world-class, they are equivalent to the Japanese and German offerings,” Lal said, while addressing queries in a post results call on May 27.

“However, we have to continue trying harder because we started late and we are behind them,” he said, adding, “in some ways our bikes are better and that’s why we are outselling the Japanese and German bike makers in several international markets.”

Source

[tanayr]

Lockdown seems to have been especially hard on Mr. Sid Lal's mental health. Perhaps he will recover.

[amvj]

This man is making India proud, making the right moves. Buying Harris Performance, building R&D centre in England, getting Triumph Engineers, getting Engineers from Japan etc. Last but not least, building the right bike at the right price.

The new range RE bikes are built tighter and these are not my words.

That said, IMHO, RE still need to go some distance to call themselves that they are equivalent to Japanese or Germans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GAUo8eUXeU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmIA9BlLelo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAYC9WCb_jU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6sPF1PYPW8

My fav:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6qXM_N34TI

I am not saying newer REs are trouble free but it is surprising to find even Honda bikes are having issues. Here TMF says he is having the following issues with his new Honda Goldwing: TPMS issue, software issue and battery issue etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPFy...yP3tuFk1cV6Mup

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by tanayr

Lockdown seems to have been especially hard on Mr. Sid Lal's mental health. Perhaps he will recover.

Had a good laugh , but I wonder if our mindset is still a few years behind when it comes to RE.

The new generation Royal Enfields has really improved in quality as even international reviews have clearly pointed out. The first video in the above post from Fortnine Canada is one good example of this!

Royal Enfield has been slowly expanding their reach in global markets. The best selling retro motorcycle in the UK for 2020 was the Interceptor 650.

When global leaders like Honda develop direct rivals only against a Royal Enfield product - go as far as getting almost identical bore and stroke specs to match even the sound that the Royal Enfields have become famous for - it is proof that the world is taking notice of the brand. Isn't it?

I don't own one, but there are a few 650s in my close friend circle. If I were to buy one again from the price range they operate in - I currently can't think of a better motorcycle to buy than the Interceptor 650.

[RedTerrano]

I am one of the numerous (ex) owners of a RE. Mind you, this was back when they manufactured nothing but 350cc heavy monsters. Sadly I had to sell my ride as I preferred my new WagonR for commute and could not bear to see the bike standing all alone with leaking oil. I made sure she got an owner who would appreciate and nurture her though.

Today I see RE has broadened their spectrum. From the Himalayan to the exciting Interceptor. Not only do their bikes perform better (as compared to the old days) but look more exciting as well.

I see lot of people have apprehensions about Shri Lal's claim. In fact quite a few have taken it in jest. I look at it as a sign of confidence. If he has made the talk, he and his company are morally obligated to walk.
Considering what they have in the market and what's in the pipeline, I am sure they will pass with flying colors.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

The midsize motorcycle segment, which refers to bikes typically powered by 250cc-800cc engines, is increasingly witnessing new entrants looking to grab a pie of the lucrative market in which Royal Enfield continues to dominate.

Originally Posted by wheelguy

“Midsize motorcycles with 500cc and above engines have grown tremendously over the recent years (globally). Royal Enfield has fuelled this growth and we, clearly, are the leaders in this segment,” he said, adding that the company is heavily banking on its large domestic customer base, which includes several million riders.

Thanks for sharing this interview, wheelguy. Whoever wrote the article at the Economic Times went overboard with filling up the article with unnecessary facts to meet some word count target for the week. Like the sentence above which contradicts Sid's (and the global markets) statement of middleweight / mid size motorcycles!

If we remove the junk written by the Economic Times and look at only what Sid Lal has said, it is actually sensible especially when he is talking to the equivalent bikes from the competition in its segment. He is not saying that the quality of the RE bikes are better than a Honda Africa Twin or a BMW S1000RR.

Originally Posted by wheelguy

“We will continue to invest in the 650 Twins. We have captured the entire market above 500cc motorcycles and all the international players are struggling in India in this space,” Lal said, pointing at the 500cc-800cc motorcycle segment.

“While we are going to launch new products, it will be very controlled with focus on the midsize segment. We are looking at what more we can do with every platform to meet the requirements of our customers. This is an area of enormous debate within Royal Enfield. We continue to discuss the unprecedented cost increase, value engineering, among other areas,” Lal said.[/i] [i]

To me this is the real crux of the interview. The sound byte that REs bikes are equivalent to German and Japanese bikes might grab headlines. But this is the real news. Finally there is confirmation that they are focussing on expanding the 650 twins range. Ideally speaking the range should include the
- Interceptor 650
- GT 650
- Scrambler 650 (showcased at EICMA 2019 and overlooked by the motorcycling media! Me want one.)
- Cruiser 650 (multiple spy pics and videos. Come on Royal Enfield, launch it already! I know two people who will book it immediately.)
- Fully faired 650 (fully specced up and raced last year in Britain and won a couple of races)

Originally Posted by amvj

This man is making India proud, making the right moves. Buying Harris Performance, building R&D centre in England, getting Triumph Engineers, getting Engineers from Japan etc. Last but not least, building the right bike at the right price.

I agree! These are investments that are paying off and already working wonders for the company.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The new generation Royal Enfields has really improved in quality as even international reviews have clearly pointed out.

Even international motorcycling forums have ownership experiences of the 650 twins and Himalayans and customers are really happy with the products. The Meteor 350 has just reached US shores and a bunch of reviews have come out. Im waiting to see how the markets react to the launch.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by amvj

getting Engineers from Japan etc. Last but not least, building the right bike at the right price.

The new range RE bikes are built tighter and these are not my words.[/url]

Is there any more details available about these engineers from Japan ? From my experience of working in Toyota and working in Japan this news is highly optimistic at best.

Engineers once join a company would work till their retirement. Hardly any engineers would look at jumping to another Japanese company much less one outside Japan !

[ebonho]

Right from 2004 when he rode on to the white sands of Arambol on the then as yet unlaunched Lean Burn 500 (radically new engine for RE at the time) Sid has always been a party animal.

Happy to see he's still going strong 18 years on.

Cheers, Doc

[amvj]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Is there any more details available about these engineers from Japan ? From my experience of working in Toyota and working in Japan this news is highly optimistic at best.

Engineers once join a company would work till their retirement. Hardly any engineers would look at jumping to another Japanese company much less one outside Japan !

Check this video skip to 2:35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6qXM_N34TI

This is the guy if I am not wrong:


Above screenshot taken from this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIrPVgh2X_4

[rarkit]

I would just like to once again point out that Fortnine Canada video was not exactly scientific. Don’t put too much trust in a sample size of one. That is the problem when you do unscientific test, know that it is unscientific, and still report it with a caveat that it is unscientific because you think it is better for people to have this information than not. Because derived reports will forget that there were certain very important caveats in the original report and then report the results as scientific.

As an Indian it is good to feel that RE is as good as that Fortnine video says, and it may be true, but that Fortnine video is not a proof of that. That video is as good as “my friend has an RE and it is the best of all Bikes he has ever ridden”. It may be true but it is still only anecdotal.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by amvj

Above screenshot taken from this video:
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=gIrPVgh2X_4

Thanks for this info, just checked Yamamoto San’s linked in profile, he is head of engine management systems and has worked with Keihin before

With launch of Honda CB350, competition is heating up for Royal Enfield. Bike has been received well in the market and Honda seems to be doing a lot of things right, with showroom experience, overall quality and refinement and after sales. My prediction is sales would overtake Royal Enfield’s 350 cc offerings in years to come, with the expansion of Honda network and production.

We customers will stand best to benefit from this competition

[Singh101]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

My prediction is sales would overtake Royal Enfield’s 350 cc offerings in years to come.

I'm not a betting man but I would happily bet any amount against your prediction. The CB350 is good, but it's just not going to dominate over the 350 line-up, present and upcoming, ever. Not in this lifetime. The tsunami of sales RE is going to get the moment the new Classic 350 goes on sale is not even funny.

As for the 650 twins, they're absolute king of the hill when it comes to the price to performance ratio and it shows. People say it's underpowered. I would know- I was one of them- and I can confidently say that those people need to ride it to understand it or simply look at a different kind of motorcycle. I can say this because I've been riding a 44 hp Duke 390 since 2015 and the 650 power figures didn't look right. Clearly almost twice the displacement should mean almost twice the power, right? RIGHT?!

Oh, how wrong was I. The creamy smooth idle. The soft clutch. The almost imperceptible yet reassuring "click" of a gear being selected. The ready, "tug on your stomach" torque from A-N-Y RPM. The soft rumble on the low end and a raspy top end from those upswept twin pipes. Oof. I instantly recognised it for what it was and it was perfect.

Again, if you're of the camp which complains about lack of LED headlamps, ride-by-wire throttle, traction control and the likes- you're simply missing the point. You're looking at the wrong kind of motorcycle. And you're most definitely in the wrong price bracket.



I was there at Ridermania 2017 when the 650 Twins were unveiled. Sid Lal was a few feet away from me when it was happening and I can tell you this- the man radiates passion. He was chirpy, shaky, excitable to the point where he couldn't properly articulate himself. He was like a child who couldn't wait to show his new toy to his friends.



When he talks about investing more into the platform and expanding their product line, I have nothing but fervent excitement for it (just like he does, I bet). They're not all going to be amazing. There are hits and misses with every brand and product line but as long as they're quick on their feet to address it and course-correct without shame, I foresee nothing but a bright future for Royal Enfield.

And a bigger, better menu card for people like me who prefer grit-gravel-wind to a FATC and an earful of exhaust sound over an 'n'-speaker ICE.

[Phantom 510]

Sid Lal has certainly reinvented the RE over the years, a fact that couldn't be denied even by the people lacking slightest of automotive interests and it certainly shows in their sales figures as well. They are the undisputed leader in the 200cc plus market and will hopefully continue that for many years to come. Their success has shaken many well known competitors which has compelled them to launch similar motorcycles in that price range. However, what's interesting to note is the fact that some of them are so inspired by the RE's that they even sound like one. This Indian maker has made us proud and we must be all supportive and try to point out issues with constructive feedback and not by humiliating them to death. Unfortunately, a section of Indian audience has always been spreading bad name for no reasons whatsoever. Most of them could be forgiven for being naive as they want the RE motorcycles (esp the 350 uce range) to serve like a 100/125/160cc commuter would. Most of the people who keeps whining about RE's are the people who never ridden/owned one or the set of people who bought it to look cool without knowing it well. Every products has their pros and cons but that doesn't mean we should only focus on the negatives, we should make an effort to shift our focus on the positives as well while being aware of their shortcomings. Such an outlook makes life a lot easier and beautiful. Thank you!

[imp!]

I don't own a RE, but, I'd definitely buy an Interceptor 650 if I were looking at something like that.

However, to say that quality is on par with the Germans and Japanese bikes and there is little room for improvement where the 650's are concerned gave me a good laugh. The chassis needs to be improved to accomodate a larger seat width and some degree of repairability in case of a fall, the Ergos need to be fixed and the suspension needs to be improved out of the box.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Singh101

I was there at Ridermania 2017 when the 650 Twins were unveiled. Sid Lal was a few feet away from me when it was happening and I can tell you this- the man radiates passion. He was chirpy, shaky, excitable to the point where he couldn't properly articulate himself. He was like a child who couldn't wait to show his new toy to his friends.

Beautiful post. In Sid Lal and Rajiv Bajaj we have two top honchos of serious mettle and passion and balls.

More power to both of them. And us.

Cheers, Doc