May 23, 2006 04:48 PM
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(Updated May 23, 2006 04:48 PM)
Shylock wasn't an Indian and neither was Scrooge. Yet, the first question I get asked whenever I stop while touring on my Enfield is invariably “Milage kitna deta hai? ( what's the gas mileage).” And no matter what I reply it never satisfies; if I claim 35 kilometres to a litre, it warrants a sceptical look and if I say 20, its an appalling one.
As a result, I started countering such inquiries by asking the querier if he is married and whether he counted how much his wife eats in a month. This way I get looked at as a nut and once almost got roughed up by a sensitive husband, but still it proved to be an effective way to evade the indirect interrogations about my purchasing powers.
The emotions and images evoked by the sole surviving relic of the once goliathic British motorcycling industry can be as confusing as its wiring. The same machine which is being squinted upon as an unreliable gas guzzler is equally revered as a Raja Gaddi (king's carriage), with bystanders lovingly stroking its tank. A one time symbol of Indian machismo, no self respecting hooligan, film star wannabe, Youth Congress activist or milkman was seen without one of the thumbing exhaust singles. Lately, the same motorcycle is retro-fitted with wide eagle stance handlebars by teens and yuppies in a pathetic bid to emulate HD choppers.
Thankfully, westerners and for that matter easterners, as the motorcycle is also exported to Japan, have no such confusions about the Enfield Bullet. They purchase it as a modern-day Classic bike, a dinosaur didn't die out by the virtue of being secluded in a place unaffected by the forces annihilating the rest of it breed. Similarly for most foreign tourists taking an Enfield to tour the sub-continent, it is hardly the classic appeal, but simply market limitations and economics that dictate the choice. In our horse power starved country, its two models are still the most powerful two wheelers around and at approximately 1200-1500 U.S. dollars new, are a bargain difficult to match, anywhere.
It is no secret that mismanagement and lack of foresight helped bury the British motorcycle industry and along with it legendary marques and models like BSA Goldstar and Norton Commando. Whereas, protected by the “License Raj” and a fat army contract, the carry over of the podgy 1958 Bullet, possibly the least exiting model to roll out of the doors of the Royal Enfield plant at Redditch, continued prospering in India. The lethargy of the company's erstwhile owners towards innovation and modernity helping in preserving its originality intact.
The perennial question thus remains whether the Bullet is a Classic, a macho machine or simply an outdated gas guzzler surviving by a fluke ?
Well, as a survivor of the British classic bike era, the Enfield does qualify as a Classic of sorts. But, its aura of machismo (after which Enfield even named their glittery chromed model), would be amusing to anyone with the slightest exposure to the international motorcycle scenario. The grand tourer of the Indian roads, can be at best described only as a mid sized machine, dwarfed by similar capacity rivals from abroad and it is only the absolute lack of competition which enabled it to ascend the roost of power and performance.
As to whether it is outdated and a gas guzzler, again depends widely on the perception. Apart from the usage of computers, injection and modern metallurgy, not much has changed in the actual motorcycle engine technology. Motorcycles like the Harley Davidson and the BMW boxer twins are still featuring age old designs, albeit with constant improvements and refinements. That way the Bullet, whose 350 model is surprisingly fully euro-compliant by the virtue of its original design, cannot be derided as antiquated junk.
Where fuel consumption is concerned their bad reputation is equally undeserved. The kilometers returned by these motorcycles per litre are comparable with many of the modern two-wheelers, sporting much smaller displacements and producing considerably less power. Moreover, it doesn't require an engineer to realise that the motorcycle is grossly overweight for its power and shedding a few kilograms would improve the mileage further.
Now owned by the Eicher group, the Bullet which has had next to no alterations in the last 42 years is yet to sport a new avatar. Sparing the 12 volt electric's, switches, the carburettor and improved brakes, the motorcycle essentially remains a machine of 58. The 350 still produces 18 horses and the 500 barely manages 22 bhp, about half of what contemporary machines of equal capacity put-out.
Similarly, all the talk of collaboration with the Swiss horsepower guru Fritz Egli, appear only to be for the benefit of Auto Journals, while the AVL re-designed Machismo with its air -compressor look alike engine, as well as the ill-conceived cosmetic makeover of the Lightning can hardly be viewed as positive steps in the company’s commitment to modernisation. The Egli modified models which were promised for the last five years never appeared and neither did any specific upgradation in the existing range. What did come out was a spruced up model trying to imitate a chopper look with wide handlebars, a high tank and a stepped seat, with no engine or performance changes.
The all new AVL Machismo too, leaves a lot of questioned unanswered. Firstly it looks hideous, rattles like a pebble crusher and doesn't deliver any performance or fuel consumption figures, which an experienced tuner wouldn't be able to garner from the original engine. Again, the most interesting outcome of the AVL collaboration is that William Hurr, one of the engineers of the Austrian company who worked on the Enfield project, later teamed up with old friend Richard Hurst and formed Norcroft engineering, to manufacture a vee-twin 1000cc motorcycle. And for this venture they are sourcing the 500 cc Enfield cylinder head and the cylinders from Royal Enfield India, identical in design to the 350 one which was replaced in the AVL model.
Continued in the Comments Colomn..........
