run on a 50-metre-long assembly line. At the rear end of the lineone can see a complete motorcy-cle assembled by some skilledand swift fitters. Every 20 to 30minutes, a full bike takes shape. After this the motorcycle goesthrough four levels of inspection– static, dyno, track and pre-de-livery inspection.S. Gunasekaran, a vehicle in-spector at the factory, has beentesting bikes since the past 34 years and has seen all types of Royal Enfields rolled out, fromthe traditional Bullet to the con-temporary Thunderbird Twin-spark.“I test the bikes for engine per-formance, brakes, electrical fit-tings and overall aesthetics,” hesays. “I have seen the motorcycleevolve over the years. New motorcycles like the Thunder-bird, with the gears on the left,have revolutionised the ride foreveryone.” Another veteran at the factory is A. Sekar, a senior mechanic atstatic inspection. He checks over30 bikes a day for electrical fit-tings.“The company has gonethrough ups and downs butthings are good now. We are hap-py that the bikes that we producehere are not just popular among the oldies but also the younger lotthese days,” he says.The finished motorcycles aresent out to various dealers spreadthroughout the country.Royal Enfield also has its com-pany-run showrooms in eachcity, with Chennai’s outlet locat-ed in Besant Nagar.Sachin Chavan, Senior Manag-er, Marketing, Royal Enfield, says,“The legendary brand hasevolved over the years in thecountry and its latest models, likethe Thunderbird Twinspark, aredoing extremely well in themarket.”He also informs that Royal En-field has orchestrated several bik-er community events, the mostsignificant among them being Rider Mania and HimalayanOdyssey.“The Himalayan Odyssey, which will begin in mid-June, hasbeen highly subsidised by thecompany solely to promote ridercamaraderie,” adds Chavan.
■
(Made in Chennai is a columnthat showcases the evolution of home-grown businesses that be- gan when the city was Madras.)
1893
- Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited, manu-facturing bicycles, was formed in England.
1949 -
RE models were imported from England to be soldhere.
1955
- Enfield India Limited in Chennai started producingRoyal Enfield motorcycles mainly for the Indian Army un-der license from Enfield Cycle Company, Redditch, En-gland. The motorcycles were put up for sale for the publicfor the first time.
1968
- Royal Enfield collapsed in England.
1973
- The 173-cc Mini Bullet was launched.
1990
- The RE Taurus, a diesel motorcycle, was launched.
1993
- The Bullet 500 was launched.
1994
- Eicher acquired Enfield India, which then becameRoyal Enfield Motors Limited.
2002
– Royal Enfield Thunderbird, India’s first cruiser,was launched.
With inputs from the book Royal Enfield: The Legend Rides On
and the Royal Enfield website.
FACTFILE
Distinctive stripes
If you want to witness for yourself how the RE cycles aremade, don’t miss a chance to visit the factory on Tiruvottiy-ur High Road in Tiruvottiyur on Saturday mornings follow-ing prior appointment. The fee for the visit is Rs. 600 perhead. Call 044 – 42043300/ 42230400 to fix your visit.Those perfect thingolden stripes onfuel tanks and mud-guards that charac-terise Royal Enfieldmodels like the Bul-let and Machismo areinterestingly hand-painted by twobrothers E. Kishoreand E. Jayakumar atthe factory. “In twoshifts I paint stripeson upto 50 tanks,”says Jayakumar, whohas clocked 15 yearsin the factory. Theduo’s penchant forperfection is a sourceof awe and admira-tion for many, in-cluding theircolleagues.
Visit the RE factory
rides on
The Royal Enfield assembly line at the Tiruvottiyur factory in Chennai.
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
E. Jayakumar at work.
PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN
Tuesday,March10,2009
03
Classic in India
The Royal Enfield Classic model, an adaptation ofthe RE vintage model, is likely to enter the Indianmarket towards the end of 2009. At present, theClassic is being exported.
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