Classic Chrome

www.royalenfield.com

r oya l e n f i e l d i n a r g e n t i n a g e a r c h e c k k e e p r i d i n g

october - december 2011

+ Tour of rajasThan

+ souThern odyssey

m a r k e t i n g n e w s l e t t e r

Tour of nepal

rider Mania 2011

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kick start

It is a great pleasure connecting up with all of you through The Beat magazine. When I came on board at Royal Enfield in the month of June 2011, I was welcomed here by a few of our dealer friends also on my first day itself. Yes, you all have

guessed it right that they didn’t want me to be on an “absorption” mode even for the first few days. I think it was indeed a wonderful interaction on my day one to understand the customer voice also. I then also visited a few dealer outlets and met few customers to understand their expectations from Royal Enfield.

The conclusion that I drew was, in order to enable our dealers and field team to face the market challenges and grow our business (numbers); the ‘Industry’ (manufacturing) team had to quickly come together and draw up an action plan on the product quality to retain our customer loyalty and maintain customer satisfaction.

We launched the “CWQA” (Company Wide Quality Assurance) programme as a way forward. We formed 9 cross-functional teams who would address the current irritants and also implement the

earmarked improvements in all our bikes as well as sub systems. I must say that they have by now made good progress in the implementation.

We started off with the ‘painting and plating’ process consistency improvements, and then implemented the supplier base quality assurance structure and ‘mistake proofing’ the assembly defects. We also created benchmarks for these as against some of the best standards available worldwide. There is a momentum which has been set and it is heartening to see the improvements getting implemented in phases

I am confident that that we as the ‘industry team’ would definitely support you all and ‘deliver the promise’ for you to go on full throttle. I shall catch up soon with more news from our front.

Until then, Keep Riding.Warm Regards

B GovindarajanSr. Vice President (Industry)

If you would like to contribute to The BeAT email us at schavan@royalenfield.com editorial team Shaji Koshy, Sachin Chavan, Praveen P Sathaye

Cover photographs by Jaskirat Singh

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If you like to ride steep gradients, catch a glimpse of exotic locales, wild elephants,

bison and deer, get deep into jungles and feel the sea breeze on your face as you cruise along the coast, this is the ride for you. On this trip, water comes in two flavours, fresh and salt.

The Royal Enfield Southern Odyssey 2011 kicks off with a visit to the birthplace of your motorcycle — the Royal Enfield factory in Chennai and also gives you the chance to undergo a riding training session on the MMSC race track with guidance from some of our most experienced factory riders.

The placid backwaters of Kerala, the scenic coastlines of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, not to forget Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian sub-continent; all these are included in the

itinerary of the Royal Enfield Southern Odyssey. Also, on this ride the cavalcade of Royal Enfield motorcycles will pass through the major tea, coffee and spice plantations of South India wher you shall also get a chance to stay over at a tea estate and experience the life in the hills.

The Southern Odyssey gives you a chance to experience your Royal Enfield over these magical roads. Rediscover the South, rediscover yourself.

Royal Enfield Southern Odyssey 2011

The iTineraryD e c 1 1 – D e c 2 3 2 0 1 1

chennai • KaraiKal • rameshwaram • Kaniya-

Kumari • Kottayam • theKKaDi • KoDaiKanal • munnar • Valparai • ooty • maDiKeri

• Bangalore

upcoming rides

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upcoming rides

The Royal Enfield Tour of Rajasthan is a ride far off the beaten track

that provides you with a unique riding experience full of challenges, the fun and adventure of discovering Rajasthan on your Royal Enfield. The Tour of Rajasthan promises to test your grit and build your talent on the famed deserts. Commencing from Jaipur on 6th of February 2012, this ride is guaranteed be an experience that all riders would treasure for life.

The riders will get to pay homage to the Bullet Baba (Om Banna) - a temple devoted to a

Royal Enfield Bullet, will ride over some of the best tarmac in the country and will pass through the famous border road along the battlefields of the 1971 war—the waterloo of Pakistani tanks—where their Royal Enfield motorcycles will perhaps be the only civilian vehicles passing through.

We have charted routes that very few people ever ride on with an exciting mix of desolate smooth roads that stretch straight into the horizon, rustic country roads with surprise sand patches and even more surprised villagers watching at the thundering riders in amazement. The

route shall also traverse through some exciting hilly roads in the ancient Aravalli range, shifting sand dunes and even a dry salt lake. Delicious Rajasthani meals and breathtaking monuments are a treat at almost every stop. The remote routes that we shall ride on are often not even marked on any map—through the Tour of Rajasthan we are happy to present an elusive rider’s paradise that is rife with fun and adventure.

Special emphasis is given on safety in every aspect of this ride especially given the tricky and difficult terrain. With medical and mechanical help

available at hand, the riders are always within assistance range and Royal Enfield will have its experienced pilots guiding the riders to cope with the weather and the terrain.

Royal Enfield Tour of Rajasthan 2012

The iTinerary

F e B 6 – F e B 1 5 2 0 1 2

Jaipur • mahansar • Bi-Kaner • JamBa • Jaisalmer • sam • JoDhpur • KumBhal-

garh • aJmer • Jaipur

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neWs

The style quotient of leisure bikes in India just went up a few more notches. Adding panache are two unique, new bikes from Royal Enfield—the Classic Chrome and the Desert Storm. With their distinctive styl-ing, drop-dead gorgeous looks and a performance to match, both these bikes are poised to be trendsetters on the Indian roads. These motorcycles were unveiled at Mumbai on the 29th of September 2011 and appeared at the select showrooms and dealerships on the same day.

The Classic Chrome recreates the magic of old school bikes while offering the best in class technology. With the design philosophy of showing ‘metal as metal’, a styling that suits the Royal Enfield Classic the best, the Classic Chrome retains the authentic styling with the unique chrome tanks, wide mud guards and oval tool box, apart from the distinguishing tiger lamps that Royal Enfield bikes are famed for. The sprung saddle seat, the unique tail lamp, the Royal Enfield emblems on the engine and even the typeface on the speedometer are all inspired by the original styling of the 1950’s. The stunning Chrome is accentu-ated by the artistic paintwork on the tank, crafted painstakingly by our artisans. Built of old-fash-ioned metal—in Royal Maroon or Black—the clean elegant lines of the Royal Enfield Classic Chrome is a tribute to the retro look of post-war British motorcycles. The Chrome sports a seat with a leather finish and adds to the visual appeal of the motorcycle.

The Royal Enfield Desert Storm ignites the pride and excitement of the battlefield in

the hearts of anyone who rides it. The Desert Storm draws inspiration from the World War II era, with its bold and macho sand colour scheme. The matt-finish paint job, with the Royal Enfield monogram on the tank and the thigh pads, portray the same strength and grit that of a true veteran. The Desert Storm is also equipped with all the technical features of the Classic Chrome like the wide mud guards, oval tool box, the signature Royal Enfield tiger lamps, sprung saddle and the unique tail lamp. Both the models come fitted with the 500cc Twin Spark, unit construc-tion engine and the 27.2 bhp power output is made available with the Electronic Fuel Injection system.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Shaji Koshy, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing said, “Our customers have been demanding the ‘Chrome’ model of Royal Enfield for quite some time now. Both Classic Chrome

and Desert Storm are meant to bring more thrills to the customer. With leisure riding catching up rapidly, both these bikes will offer a unique choice to biking enthusiasts.”

Talking about the new bikes, Dr Venkatesh Padmanabhan, CEO, Royal Enfield said, “When we launched the Classic in November 2009, we had not imagined in our wildest dreams that this new product would occupy almost 40 per cent of our

total sales within a year of its launch. During this time we have feverishly engaged ourselves in burnishing this gem. The fruits of this labour are now manifested in the Classic Chrome and Desert Storm.”

Classic Chrome and Desert Storm, being limited edition prod-ucts, would be available at select brand stores and dealerships across the country. Please check www.royalenfield.com for more details on these motorcycles.

Royal Enfield Launches the Classic Chrome and Desert Storm in India

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Independence Day ride, Mumbai On a slightly overcast day on 15th August 2011, over 500 enthusiasts got together to celebrate our Independence Day at Mumbai. When over 450 wrists gunned their throttles, the morning resonated with the roar of Royal Enfield motorcycles saluting the spirit of nationalism. Riding 50 kilometres through the city from Bandra to the Gateway of India and then back via Nariman point along the road adjoining the sea, the bikers carried with them a sense of fulfilment, ready for the future, living with in the present and in touch with their past.

Ayudh Puja at the Tiruvottiyur PlantAyudh Puja is an integral part of the Navratri festival, a Hindu festival which is traditionally celebrated in India. It is also called ‘Astra Puja’, which means ‘Worship of Implements’. Like every year this year also Ayudh Puja was celebrated with much fervour at the factory in Chennai on 4th October, 2011 where traditional drums and ceremonies marked the celebrations. The equipment and tools were worshipped as a mark of reverence and respect for crafts-manship and sweets were distributed amongst the staff members. The same was also celebrated across India at our workshops and dealerships also.

Ace cricketer on a rideThe ace cricketer Jonty Rhodes was in Chennai recently and being a diehard Royal Enfield fan couldn’t help resist the temptation of riding one in the ‘hometown’ of the mo-torcycle. On 18th September, 2011 he came to the Royal Enfield Brand Stores in Chennai and interacted with our staff and riders who had assembled for an impromptu ride. They rode together to Mahab-alipuram for a quick breakfast and then rode back; Jonty on his favourite motorcycle—a teal green Classic 500—enjoyed the ride and the warm conversations he had with the people he rode with. He went back to his hotel later in the day promising to do more rides with fellow Royal Enfield fans and riders during his next visit to the city.

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TOP 10Dealers

Dhone AutomobilesPune

H.S.R.ServicesBangalore

Soniya Motors Pvt. LimitedMumbai

Shahila Expositions Pvt. Ltd.Guwahati

Teknik MotorsBangalore

Manmohan Auto StoresChandigarh

Sukhdev AutomobilesPatiala

Ess Aar MotorsNew Delhi

East India Agro Industries P LCalcutta

Lamba Enterprise Pvt. Ltd.New Delhi

JUl '11 - seP '11

Royal EnfiEld's nEwEst facilitiEsNew dealerships were recently added to the ever growing Royal Enfield network. Some more addi-tions to the service network were also in the form of new state of the art workshops at some of our established dealers.

1. AbhyudAyA MoTor ServiceS, Mysore2. heAven on eArTh, Manali, Himachal Pradesh3. JSn MoTorS, Surat, Gujarat4. KAyTee AuToMobileS, New Delhi5. voyAge MoTorS, Mumbai Maharashtra6. vrindA AuToMobileS, Solan, Himachal Pradesh7. nP AuToS, Gandhidham, Gujarat

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previeW launch

We had finalized the plan for a preview launch of the Royal

Enfield Desert Storm and Classic Chrome motorcycles. Inspired from the ‘sun’ and the ‘sand’ the idea was to allow the media to have their first sighting in exactly that environment. Obviously you can imagine that such an environment where the sun and the sand meet was not going to be very hospitable. In an effort to make a bit more enjoyable (for us as well) we finally narrowed down to a set of dunes near Jaisalmer with the team staying at a resort called “The Serai”, located 45kms from the town of Jaisalmer. Both the bikes and the Serai complimented each other to bring out the character of an era gone by.

There were about 20 odd air conditioned tents with different levels of pampering including private swimming pools; each tent had its own sit-out, a super luxurious bathroom, and a butler at call! The place had no internet, television or phones, a little hard to adjust but perfect for a getaway to enjoy life disconnected from the rat race of life.

About 40 kilometers from the Serai were the magnificent and secluded sand dunes; there were 2 roads to get there, a narrow tarmac road and scenic trail. The moment we reached there it was clear that the back road trail would be the daytime route and the tarmac route would be chosen to ride at failing light.

Since the recce started before the bikes arrived we took a car and an older thunderbird to the spot. The cab driver (of course) refused to go off road to the dunes and Sachin did a solo ride to the dunes. Manish from our team had gone on the dunes the previous day so we had to rely on his description and Sachin’s sense of navigation to see that on D-day we get to the right spot. We wanted to park the bikes in such a way that the bikes would come into view only after the media crested over a certain set of dunes.

This task however was easier said than done. We went back to the camp and came back

in one of their Gypsys. These were open top, modified for use in forest vehicles and take visitors sightseeing. The driver approached the edge of the dunes, shifted into 4X4 mode and just let it rip. He was quite skillful in dicing around in the sand till we got to as far as the wheezing one-litre engine could take us. After that we set out on foot. Owing to the rains 2 days ago the sand had compacted, making it easy for us climb up with the one bike we had.

The itinerary was planned in such a way that the media would arrive at the dunes before sunset when the light would be just right to expose the bikes. We of course were

there much earlier. The trick was to get the bikes smack bang in the middle of the dunes without leaving any visible tracks; to make matters worse the helicopter refused to fly; just kidding, there was no helicopter in the plan to lift the bikes to the planned spot and we were just on our own. The smart solution we came up; hauling the bikes to the spot using sheer muscle power and using booms and gunny sacks to cover the tracks.

We stopped the trucks carrying the motorcycles about a kilometer from the point of entry to the dunes. It was getting hot now with the rains gone long time and no sign of any cloud cover too. We started unloading the bikes riding each one of them and parking them. By 3 o’clock, (not the right combination of sun and sand that you want) we proceeded to the dunes taking 3 bikes (one of each colour) with us and rode them into the dunes. Riding them this time was much trickier than last as the sun had dried the sand, it wasn’t as compact as before but was much more loosely held giving us the real taste of the desert. We didn’t have the luxury of reducing the air pressure (a-la pseudo balloon tyres) as the bikes were later going to be ridden on the road soon after the unveiling. One bike made it through but the other 2 bikes took a lot of manpower along with horsepower. Wiping the tracks was now a secondary concern as catching our breath and finding shelter from the sun and the sand became the primary one. As we rested on the dunes we noticed the wind do our job by covering our tracks and we were more than happy to leave it at that. Some of the things that happened later can’t really be written about but it was fun for sure.

Desert Sojourn–The Serai Ride TexT by D RavikiRan PhoTogRaPhs by sachin chavan

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motor shoW

More than 1,38,000 motor sport enthusiasts and

vintage fashion fans flocked to this year’s Goodwood Revival to take in the atmosphere at the world’s largest historic motor race meeting, that took place during September 14th to 16th 2011. The Revival is the world’s most popular historic motor race meeting and the only event of its kind to be staged entirely in the nostalgic time capsule of the 1940s, 50s and 60s that relives the glory days of Goodwood Motor Circuit. It is the biggest and best historic motor racing party of the year. Royal Enfield had a significant presence, with UK distributor Watsonian Squire (who celebrate their centenary in 2012) exhibiting the current

range of all the models as well as some of the UK special editions conceptualised by them.

On the track there was a tribute to the legendary Argentinean racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio—100 years after this birth—with

a grid of rare machines associated with his career, including three spectacular Mercedes-Benz racers, plus two Chevrolets bought over from Argentina specifically for the Revival. Goodwood also staged its largest ever Revival vehicle parade with 100 British-built Fords lapping the circuit as this popular marque celebrated its centenary in the UK. In the skies the 75th anniversary of the Spitfire fighter aircraft was marked with a fitting and emotional tribute as 10 of these iconic

machines flew over Goodwood.For motorcyclists the Barry

Sheene Memorial Trophy race is a highlight, attracting top names riding classic machinery. Two-man teams compete over two races thus making for interesting viewing. Prizes are awarded not only to racers and machinery but also to spectators, including daily awards for the ‘best dressed’ male and female visitors, with finalists parading each afternoon on the Richmond Lawn car walk. Held at the historic Goodwood circuit, which was opened by Lord March in 1948 and hosted professionally-organised motor racing until 1966, the Revival celebrates that golden era of racing and the vast majority of spectators come dressed in the fashions of the period. The organisers even recreated a typical British street from the Sixties, complete with bus depot, supermarket (stocked with brands of the era), clothes shops and coffee bar (loved by rockers).

The Royal Enfield motorcycles on display at this festival blended in with the period scenario with their classic styling, which gives them an aura of timelessness. The spectators also experienced a bit of historical heritage admiring the motorcycles, which harked back to the ‘G2’ Bullet of the early 1950’s. Royal Enfield’s newest models retain the British style that is inextricably linked to the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer.

Watsonian Squire Sales Director Ben Matthews said at the occasion, “Goodwood is a fantastic event for us, because we get to show Royal Enfield to a whole new audience that is passionate about motor vehicles with a heritage. It is also the only time you are ever likely to see me wearing a blazer and cravat!”

The Goodwood Festival

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tour of nh 17

Royal enfielD

TOUR OF NH 17 - 2011TexT by PRaveen P saThaye PhoTogRaPhs by vaRious conTRibuToRs

‘romance the rains – the roy-al enfield way’. These were the words which attracted most of

the riders to join the Royal Enfield Tour of NH 17, a ride from Mumbai to Goa albeit with a twist. Exploring roads lining some of the best beaches and cloud-laden misty hill stations is the primary highlight of this trip, not to forget the experience of riding through the Indian monsoon.

This year the second edition of the Tour of NH 17 took off from Mumbai on the 14 August, 2011 with 16 riders on 13 bikes. The

flag-off from Navi Mumbai did consume some time but once the bikers were on the road it was no stopping till they reached Vadkal Naka to take their first break. Rid-ing further from there they ventured into the interiors of Raigad and took a brief stop next to Srivardhan beach, eventually end-ing the day’s ride at the coastal village of Diveagar. The first sight of the sea at Sri-vardhan left many of us spellbound as we spent quite some time in company of the sea breeze and the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds with the calls of the

seagull and sound of crashing waves for company.

The next day 15 August, being the Indi-an Independence day saw us adorning our jackets, helmets and bikes with the tri-col-our, a symbol of our patriotism and respect to the nation. After the national anthem and a short briefing we rode towards the highway and after cruising along for some time stopped over for a brief lunch at Polad-pur. Getting off the highway at Poladpur it was time to climb the Western Ghats as we crossed Pratapgarh fort and ascending to

A ride in the clouds

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First view of the Koyna Backwaters

Great tarmac on the NH 17

Watching over the west coast

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picturesque Mahabaleshwar, the strawber-ry county. Our destination for the day was Tapola, further ahead of Mahabaleshwar and as we rode ahead we encountered the rains. Descending into Tapola camp was quite a tricky bit but with two days of good riding practice behind us we all managed to reach the river camp—a small tented establishment located along the the Koy-na backwaters. After settling down we all came down to the water and indulged in kayaking and boat rides across the lake. The relaxed evening and the water-sports definitely did their bit of rejuvenating our souls.

On 16th august we moved to-wards the Kaas plateau. Lack of road signs and the fact that we

didn’t know the exact route had us roam-

ing around for a while before we could fi-nally find the correct path to Kaas. The small village road kept winding down the slopes occasionally passing through ham-lets with children and fowl running across our paths till we reached Bamnoli and started our climb onto the famed plateau of flowers. The plateau was awash with mist and visibility had dropped drastically. Af-ter a break at the plateau we rode further ahead towards Satara. It was here that we met two riders Hemal and Pankaj from the Royal Enfield club in Satara who had ridden out to meet us. They helped us get back to the highway through a shortcut and also helped us get fuelled up as most petrol pumps in the area had run dry. Once done with lunch we turned off from Satara and descended down Kumbharli ghats to reach the NH 17 again at Chiplun and then pro-

ceeded towards Guhagar, our stop for the night. Guhagar is a laid back small coastal hamlet in the Konkan region which is fa-mous for the Shiva temple, the local cuisine and treatment the folks dish out to visitors and guests. The next day morning, 17th August, we all first went to the beach and spent considerable time walking on the desolate, pristine beach and paid a small visit to the temple also seeking blessings for our onwards journey. After a breakfast comprising of the local delicacies we loaded up one bike into the truck, the rider having taken ill the earlier night hence opting to travel in the back up vehicle. The departure from Guhagar was ceremonial with the ho-tel owner felicitating all the riders with gar-lands and leading us out till the highway on his old Bullet 350.

We took a detour from the main road

tour of nh 17

Group at Flag off

Waterfalls along the roadWaterfalls resplendent in glory

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and proceeded towards the Rai Bhatgaon creek bridge, the usual place where we find ample space to line up the bikes for the group photograph. The final descent into Rai Bhatgaon was quite tasking as the road became steeper and there was loose gravel which posed quite a challenge. It was the sheer riding skills and the ruggedness of the machines that saw all of us through this section. After the customary photographs and a break to enjoy the quiet serene at-mosphere we again proceeded towards Hathkhamba. Once we were back on the highway it was again another stint of rid-ing through on and off rains till we reached Pali and got off the highway to start the climb into the ghats again. This time it was the Amba Ghat that we climbed and wind-ing through the lush green mountains on a road shiny as a black ribbon and riding through swirling mists we reached the for-tress town of Panhala and the legendary fort of Shivaji where we were to stay for the night at a hotel. Once settled we spent the rest of the evening reliving some chapters of illustrious Maratha history through the corridors of the magnificent fort. As even-ing fell and mists encapsulated the fort and surroundings we settled down to sleep off as the next day we had quite a long stretch to cover.

On 18 August as we rode out from Pan-hala, the sight of so many Royal Enfield motorcycles thundering through the fort felt like straight out of a medieval battle as bystanders stood there in awe watching the cavalcade of shiny metal and chrome go past. From Panhala we rode through

some more interior rural roads and reached Anaskura Ghats from where the descent onto the NH 17 started. Lack of road signs and rains caused one of our riders lose his way here but a few phone calls got him back on track. We stopped for lunch at Rajapur and then got off the NH 17 towards Kunk-eshwar and rode alongside the sea. By the time we rode into Malvan heavy rains had hit us and all we could do was admire the sight of the vast beach and crashing waves, a cup of steaming tea in hand watching out from the windows of our hotel, which was so aptly called Sagar Kinara.

O n 19 August, it was time to go to-wards the hills again, and we rode out of Malvan towards Vengurla.

A quick stop at Vengurla lighthouse, some

moments of solace gazing out at the vast open sea, sunlight shimmering on the rip-pling waters, a guided tour of the lighthouse and we were set to go further to Sawant-wadi. As we were having lunch at Sawant-wadi we witnessed one of the heaviest of downpours during the ride, thankfully at a time when all of us were not riding. From Sawantwadi we started our climb into the picturesque Amboli Ghats. Luckily for us this time the slopes were not plagued by landslides like last year which would have resulted in roads being blocked for hours. We rode up in a drizzle and by the time we reached our hotel we were already running through a wall of rain. Sachin Chavan from Royal Enfield joined us at Amboli and had ridden all the way from Chennai just to join us for the last leg of this ride.

The last day of the ride, 20th August saw us waking up rather lazily and after doing little work on the bikes which need-ed attention we started our descent down to Sawantwadi and turned towards Goa. Once we reached Goa the scenery changed with red soil covering the area beside the roads spotted with small wine shops and local pubs. We rode into Vagator and af-ter a quick lunch some of us rushed to the beach, some got to washing and cleaning their bikes after the long ride and some just holed up in the rooms and dozed off. Thus ended the epic romance we had initiated with the rains this side of Western Ghats 6 days back in Mumbai and now ended suc-cessfully in Goa. Each of us would go back with loads of great memories of the ride, and of course rider friends for life.

Group photo at Rai Bhatgaon

Thundering along misty roads

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tour of nepal

High mountains, clear lakes, myriad trekking routes and much more comes to your mind when you think of Nepal. The Royal Enfield tour of Nepal provided us with much more than this; for 10 days we were exposed to very different things Nepal had to offer. We mingled with the local folk, enjoyed local cuisine, learned about their culture, aspirations and dreams and saw much of the countryside, something which would have been impossible if travelling through Nepal by any other means. We all got together at Lucknow on Oct 20th for the motorcycle and riding gear scrutiny, which was a breeze as everyone was well prepared. We collected our T-shirts and prepped up our motorcycles and helmets with

the Royal Enfield tour of Nepal 2011 stickers. By the first day itself the bikers got well acquainted with each other. No one had any inkling that with each passing day this bond would grow stronger and together we would have an amazing experience exploring Nepal.

Royal enfielD

TOUR OF Nepal - 2011TexT by avneesh Malik PhoTogRaPhs by RaghunanDan

Onwards to Chitwan

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tour of nepal

Day 1 At the briefing we were given details about the press and the

flag-off event. Post that all of us navigated Lucknow traffic to an area on the outskirts of the city where after few snacks, a couple of speeches, photo sessions and music we started our ride to Nepal with our first des-tination a border town called Dhangadi around 250 km from Lucknow. It was nice to cruise on the six-lane national highway and then to the state highway where you would often overtake a bullock cart and few trucks. By the evening, the riders passed through Dudhwa national park on the In-dian side of the border. The road inside the national park was a narrow straight road with large trees and anthills on both sides, and a few fortunate riders also had glimps-es of deer and foxes. We reached the India-Nepal border at around 5 PM and after some customary formalities crossed over to the Nepal side where we got temporary per-mits for our vehicles. We moved to our hotel in Dhangadi where an elaborate welcome was organized and the rest of the evening was spent with riders sharing their stories and chatting.

Day 2 The day started leisurely as we fuelled up and rode out on the

Mahendra Highway that serves as a lifeline for Nepal. This two-lane road was good with no traffic except for villagers carrying their produce and children going to school waving out to us. We had to exercise a little extra caution for the cyclists who were weaving in and out of the traffic all the way. Our first stop was at a town called Tikhapur where lunch and a cultural show were organized for us. The route from the highway to Tikhapur was along a gravel road with potholes and large stones, thus giving us the first taste of off-road riding in Nepal. After a sumptuous lunch, we pro-ceeded towards the Bardiya national park on the same scenic Mahendra highway. We reached our final destination for the day passing through water streams, dusty vil-lage tracks, and small wooden bridges. To-wards the end of the journey it rained bringing the mercury down and washing our dusty bikes and bags. The rest of the evening was spent amidst the peace that only a jungle setting could provide.

Day 3 This day saw us back on the Mahendra highway riding for

about 300 km as we reached Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha. Lumbini has

Riders at the Chaumala Bridge

Meandering Gandhaki

Riding across diffficult terrain.

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tour of nepal

an aura of serenity and calmness around it. It was not crowded as one would expect, there were very few monks and tourists, and we spent around an hour here soaking in the calm and enjoying the setting sun. The day wound up at Bhairahwa where we rested for the night.

Day 4 Our adventure with beautiful mountains and clouds began

on this day. It was a short ride of 160 km and the exhilaration grew with breathtak-ing views, clouds blanketing the moun-tains, and the constant rain adding its own charm and adventure all the way to the beautiful tourist town of Pokhara. On reaching Pokhara, we were instructed to take good rest and retire early, as the next day was going to be a very taxing one.

Day 5 At daybreak no one had a clue on how our ride to Jomsom

would unfold; all we knew was that a part of the road to Jomsom was a trek trail. We started the day early at 6:30 AM and it was a smooth straight ride from Pokhara. The fun started after 25 km when we took a di-version from the main road towards a town

called Beni. It was here that the road sud-denly turned into a collection of potholes and we came across a number of water streams. Just 10 km into this road, we hit our first slushy patch caused by the land-slides and incessant rains. At some places, the slush was a good 2-3 feet deep mixed with large stones causing the bike to either skid or have its footrest/brake pedal stuck in the rut. We would struggle to extricate out from one of the slush pits only to enter into another one with no idea of when it would end. By the time we all reached a town called Tatopani it was six in the even-ing, and we were still a good 35 km away from Jomson. Speaking to the trekkers and the locals we learnt that there were three major landslides ahead and we decided to cut short our ride to Jomsom and called it a day there itself.

Slush fest enroute to Jomsom

Descending from Tatopani

Slush dance

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tour of nepal

Day 6 We were slightly disappointed on not making it to Jomsom

but we all had our share of adventure and memories to cherish forever and now we were looking forward to going back along the same slushy route to Pokhara. I guess we all learnt from our previous day’s expe-rience and navigated through the slush and ensuring no bike got stuck. The bikes final-ly saw good roads after a grueling 85 km. It was told to us that if we could ride in those conditions, we could ride almost anywhere in the world! We reached Pokhara early evening and spent time shopping, sightsee-ing, chatting, and relaxing at the Bullet Base Camp—a bar owned by two local Roy-al Enfield enthusiasts.

Day 7 This day we rode over 220 km of hilly scenic route from

Pokhara to Kathmandu with a lunch stop at a beautiful riverside resort. The road to Kathmandu is a well maintained but busy road with numerous tourist vehicles. Reaching our hotel in Kathmandu was a challenge as the town was bursting with people visiting the city for the festivities. For dinner we were treated to a cultural program of local dance at a fine dine res-taurant serving traditional Nepalese food and wine.

Day 8 It was a much needed rest day for the bikes and all the bik-

ers! We spent the first part of the day giving the bikes much-needed TLC and later loi-tering around Kathmandu tourist areas. In the evening few of us managed to pay a visit to Pashupatinath Temple.

Day 9 It was time to head back to the plains, but before we left these

awe-inspiring mountains, we rode to Chit-wan National Park through a town called Daman situated at an altitude of around 2400 metres. The road to Daman was lined with thick forest cover and we passed though some breath-taking cloud forma-tions. The evening was spent at a resort in Chitwan indulging in swimming and relax-ing.

Day 10 It was short ride again on Ma-hendra Highway back to the

town of Bhairahawa near Lumbini. The tour was almost coming to end and the next day would be the last ride of the tour after which we would head back to Lucknow.

As a grand finale on the last day we covered the longest distance of about 480 km in a single day. We all started the day early to ensure that we cross the Nepal-India border early to avoid hassles. We had our last Nepalese lunch at a local shop in Kohalpur. The lunch was simple but tasty and after going around 20 km further we crossed the Nepal-India border around Nepalganj. Lucknow was still 180 km from

the border and we were instructed again to be extra cautious as the sparse traffic we had gotten used to over the past 10 days was very different from what we had here. Most of the last part of the ride was done in groups with all riders riding together and finally we reached our hotel in Lucknow at around 8 pm. Surprisingly no one was feel-ing tired even after the long ride and cel-ebrations followed over the dinner with so many stories being shared.

This ride had definitely been a life-altering one for most of us. It was maiden ride for me and the experience of being on the road in close commune with nature has been extremely therapeutic to me. I came back feeling invigorated with such wonder-ful memories of the journey and the new friends I made. Thanks Royal Enfield for making our dreams a reality!

Pokhara Lake

Water crossing at Bardiya National Park

18

19

20

keep riding

Various rides organized all over the country under the Keep Riding initiative by Royal Enfield

siliguri To lava-rishap

On 20th of August, eight machines and 10 riders headed for a quaint and picturesque village of Lava at an altitude of 6834 m above sea level. The ride started at 11 AM and covered a distance of 218 km. Despite the monsoon the weather was quite sunny for the better part of the ride and after lunch the riders started for Lava riding through fog and landslide-ridden hills. The landscape was breathtaking and The riders reached Lava around 5 PM at sunset.

The next morning the riders started for the Rishap which was just 14 km away but the road conditions were pathetic with mud and boulders strewn all over. The view of the Kanchenjunga range was amazing from Rishap and the riders stopped for a while to click pictures. The ride back to the hotel was 21 km long and quite tiresome.

The riders started the next day for Siliguri after breakfast and took a detour through the Neora valley forests and Neora falls. The road condition was bad but the riders got guidance from the Royal Enfield staff members on their way. The riders had to brave the rain half-way back on the jour-ney. To join our rides from Siliguri, please get in touch with Rajesh Sharma at shar-mar@royalenfield.com

agra To daMoh

This ride from Agra to Damoh was one which marked the end of monsoon in this region. The 20-odd riders assembled early morning and took off from the Agra Sadar Bazaar. As the ride proceeded the the sight of lush greenery all around and intermit-tent monsoon showers refreshed the rid-ers. Passing through Agra, Dholpur, Bari, Surmathura before reaching Damoh and then tracing the same path back, the riders covered 300 km. On their way they also had to ride through some small streams which had overflowed on the road and that added the adventure to the ride. To join our rides from Agra please get in touch with Ehraz Siddiqui at zzesid-diqui@royalenfield.com

21

KolKaTa To orissa

Over a dozen riders started off for Orissa from the main gate of Victoria Memorial at Kolkata on 9th September and for next two days rode across the lush green countryside. They first halted at Ulubaria for breakfast and then onwards to Baleshwar and Pan-chalingeswar for the night. They spent a day riding around other scenic places near-by and did some good off-roading sessions in the slushy landscape around. Their last stop in Orissa was the Devkund Falls which they reached after traversing through some really dense forests. To join our rides from Kolkata please get in touch with Rajesh Shar-ma at sharmar@royalenfield.com

ahMedabad To jhanjhari

A cavalcade of Royal Enfield Bullets too part on the Jhanjhari trip from Ahmedabad on the 7th August 2011. The 127 riders (and pillions) on more than 100 motorcy-cles rode through smooth highways, small towns, village roads and treacherous rocky terrain. The ride to Jhanjhari introduced many new riders to the charm of the Royal Enfield Bullet. After spending sometime in the waterfall, riders rode back to the show-room. It was indeed difficult to capture the spectacle in a single photograph.To join our rides from Ahemedabad please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

ahMedabad To KaThwada

A ride to Pranlal Bhogilal’s vintage car mu-seum at Kathwada was organised in Au-gust 2011 from Ahmedabad. This museum gave the riders an opportunity to have a closer look at some magnificent automo-biles of the era gone by from horse carriages to post-War British and American classics, motorcycles. A day spent in the company of Royal Enfield motorcycles and some of the best classic and vintage cars of the world gave the riders a feeling of actually being in a different era altogether. To join our rides from Ahemedabad please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

keep riding

round Trip froM jalandhar

A round trip was organised from Jaland-har, Punjab from 8-10 October, 2011. 21 riders turned out for this ride kitted out and ready to start the post-monsoon riding season. The first day they reached Barot in Himachal Pradesh after covering a good 238 km. They then proceeded to Billing and rode further to Palampur before call-ing it a day at McLeodganj, the headquar-ters of the Dalai Lama. The 3rd day saw the riders in Naddi exploring Kangra Fort and then the return leg to Jalandhar covering a good 205 km. The riders covered a total of 613 km throughout this ride. To join our rides from Jalandhar please get in touch with Sanjeev Thakur on sthakur@royalenfield.com

ahMedabad To gopnaTh

A ride from sweltering Ahmedabad to cool tidal beaches of Gopnath was organised on the 3rd and 4th of October 2011. The ride started early morning and first stop came at Lothal, an ancient port which is now an archaeological site. The riders were fasci-nated to realise that the ground they were standing on was a sea port hundreds of years ago. The group continued towards the beach, stopping for lunch and tea in between. At Gopnath, the riders all went to the beach in evening and indulged in some off road riding through the fields. The ride back was fun and fast with a wildlife sanc-tuary thrown in between. To join our rides from Ahemedabad please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

ahMedabad To bulleT baba (pali)

Royal Enfield aficionados believe that their motorcycles are not mere machines, but have a heart and soul of their own. This love is exhibited in the Bullet Baba Temple near Pali, Rajasthan. After about 390 km of riding through great stretches of nation-al highways, the riders reached the temple a little before sundown. Legend has it that Om Banna died in an accident while riding his Royal Enfield Bullet on the highway but when the bike was moved from the accident site it strangely reappeared there. After these incidents, the locals made a temple at that place. To join our rides from Ahemedabad please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

22

keep riding

ahMedabad To Thol and nalsarovar

The new Classic duo, the Chrome and the Desert Storm, was launched and the staff and riders from Ahmedabad decided to cel-ebrate the occasion with a ride. Enthusiast riders are always ready for a trip and just need an excuse to hit the highway. The ride covered a distance of over 170 km and cov-ered the two most famous bird sanctuaries and lakes around Ahmedabad. All kinds of roads, from a single lane to complete off-road and six-lane highways, greeted the riders along this ride. The first destination was Thol lake and the bikes were taken to locations around the lake not intended for any bike to visit. After a peaceful time here, the ride was continued onto Nalsaro-var lake. This lake is home to many migra-tory birds and is beautiful anytime of the year. The shine of the Classic Chrome was brighter than the reflection of the sun on the lake and was much appreciated by all the riders. To join our rides from Ahemedabad please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

CoChin To nelliyaMpaThy

On Oct 15th & 16th a total of fifteen riders rode out to Nelliampathy from the Cochin Brand Store. The ride started at 7AM along the recently refurbished Kochi-Thrissur NH47 highway. From Mannuthy in Thris-sur, they turned off the road towards Palak-kad and their next stop to regroup was at Mangalam Jn. near Vadakkencherry. This part of the route however was plagued with lots of potholes, bullying buses and lorries, and not to forget one motorcycle break-down also.From Mangalam the riders proceeded to Nenmara and then to the Pothundi dam. Nenmara is a must-stop place because here one gets the last opportunity to fill fuel as there are no petrol bunks after this on the route. The ride from Mangalam Jn. to Nelliyampathy was amazing with super smooth roads and scenic views. From Pot-hundi dam, the climb to the ghats with the hairpin bends began and the temperature dropped as the riders ascended into the hills. After lunch at Greenland, the ride to a waterfall, about 30 km from the resort,

through the tea plantations, thick forests in chilly weather and occasional drizzles was amazing and after taking a dip in the waterfall the riders returned to the resort by nightfall. The next morning, some of the early risers found time to visit a farm inside the resort. After a hearty breakfast, the riders and their machines took off towards the road to Minnampara and Kaareshwari. The route was about 6 km and had a few locations with breathtaking views. The group re-

turned to the resort at around 1 pm where lunch was waiting after which it was time to pack the bags and get ready for a nice ride downhill. However, the rain gods were not kind enough & decided to show the riders a spectacle of thunder and rain in sync with the sound of the thumping machines. By 9 pm the riders all reached the Royal Enfield Kochi showroom and dispersed with a self-promise of more such weekends.To join our rides from Cochin please write in to: bavijayan@royalenfield.com

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keep riding

gandhinagar To indroda parK

The Indroda Park in Gandhinagar is home to various forms of wildlife and is also fa-mous for dinosaur fossils. This short ride was intended mainly for those with families and Indroda provided a beautiful retreat. Indroda is a quiet and lush area basking in the glory of nature and though the sound of so many Royal Enfield motorcycles did cre-ate a din early morning, the wildlife around was not much moved. The place proved to be a photographer’s delight and many rid-ers indulged in clicking memories through snapshots. To join our rides from Gandhinagar please get in touch with Pradeep Chaurasiya on pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com.

S.NO RIDE FROM RIDE TOSTART DATE

END DATE

CONTACT PERSON CONTACT EMAIL ID

1 Guwahati Ranikor 03-12-2011 04-12-2011 Rajesh Sharma sharmar@royalefield.com

2 Noida Rishikesh 10-12-2011 12-12-2011 K Deepak kdeepak@royalenfield.com

3 Jallandhar Jakhini & Beed 10-12-2011 11-12-2011 Sanjeev Thakur sthakur@royalenfield.com

4 Jammu Sanasar 10-12-2011 11-12-2011 Abhishek Singh Kotwal askotwal@royalenfield.com

5 Chandigarh Dak Pathar 10-12-2011 11-12-2011 Amandeep Singh asingh8@royalenfield.com

6 Agra Ranikhet 11-12-2011 14-12-2011 Laiq Ahmed laiqg2004@yahoo.com

7 Lucknow Mussoorie 11-12-2011 13-12-2011 Ehraz Siddiqui zzesiddiqui@royalenfield.com

8 Varanasi Khajuraho 11-12-2011 13-12-2011 Ravi Asthana rprakash2@royalenfield.com

9 Lucknow Dudhwa National Park 11-12-2011 12-12-2011 Piyush Gupta pgupta4@royalenfield.com

10 Ganganagar Ganganagar 15-12-2011 15-12-2011 Simranjeet Singh sjsbakshi@royalenfield.com

11 Ludhiana Shimla 16-12-2011 17-12-2011 Sandeep Singh Maan ssmaan@royalenfield.com

12 Kolkata Tikarpada 16-12-2011 18-12-2011 Rajesh Sharma sharmar@royalenfield.com

13 Baroda Diu 16-12-2011 17-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

14Yamuna Nagar

Nainital 17-12-2011 19-12-2011 Anil Goyal agoyal@royalenfield.com

15 Kanpur Orcha 17-12-2011 19-12-2011 Ehraz Siddiqui zzesiddiqui@royalenfield.com

16 Indore Punjapura 17-12-2011 18-12-2011 Puneet Singh Banga psbanga@royalenfield.com

17 Ahmedabad Mount Abu 17-12-2011 18-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

18 Jaipur Khatu Shyam Ji 18-12-2011 18-12-2011 Nitesh Singhal nsinghal2@royalenfield.com

19 Ahmedabad Dasada 18-12-2011 18-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

20 Bharuch Sagbara 18-12-2011 18-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

21 Ahmedabad Ahmedabad 24-12-2011 25-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

22 Bhopal Kaliasoth 24-12-2011 24-12-2011 Puneet Singh Banga psbanga@royalenfield.com

23 Ahmedabad Little Rann of Kutch 24-12-2011 25-12-2011 Pradeep Chaurasiya pchaurasiya@royalenfield.com

24 Indore Mandav 25-12-2011 25-12-2011 Puneet Singh Banga psbanga@royalenfield.com

UpcOmiNg RiDeS

24

keep riding

A few of our friends, true blue Royal Enfield enthusiasts in Argentina, came together to ride out as summer season started in the Southern hemisphere. The advent of warm weather and pleasant road conditions defi-nitely egged us on to take out our machines and hit the highways. The first of our sum-mer trips for this year started off on the 16th of September, the first of many that we hope to make during this summer. We spent three days travelling up to Traslasier-ra, and Cordoba astride five Royal Enfield motorcycles, two of them with the versatile sidecars—a total of 10 people.

We started from the Royal Enfield Ar-gentina showroom in Laboulaye, Cordoba on September 16th and after cruising over 360 km on a very windy day reached Mer-lo, San Luis. We spent the night there at a comfortable and scenic mountain hotel and feasted over dinner in this beautiful city.

On the second day, the sky was clear and we had lovely sunny weather to greet us in the morning. We started our engines and planned to spend the whole day just rid-ing through Traslasierra in Cordoba. This is quite a beautiful route connecting some rather charming and quiet towns, located at the foot of the mighty mountains. It was here that the bikes looked and felt very much like an integral part of the landscape.

Our journey was marked with breaks where we stopped just to smile and pose for

pictures and long pleasant stretches where we rode with the sense of complete free-dom on our motorcycles, the omnipresent thump of the Royal Enfield motorcycles for company. The only major stop at mid-day was for lunch at a nice outdoor restaurant. After a sumptuous meal and rest we rode back 80 km to Merlo as the sun set over the distant horizon. A grand dinner at a moun-tain restaurant was our way of spending the night at Merlo. We were completely in love with the landscape around us; the feel-ing we got after riding our motorcycles to this place and secretly wished we could stay there for a few more days. But alas, a reality check made us realize we had to head back home the next day.

Thus, on Sunday the 18th we returned and had quite an adventure riding back for almost 360 km just behind a thunder-storm till we ended up catching the showers in the last 40 km of our journey. We were lucky that we didn’t get hit by the rains all through our return journey but had an amazing ride nevertheless. Our ride ended, but on a thought that we would plan out our next ride in the coming weeks as now the summer season had made it so pleasant to venture out in the open..

This ride was such a memorable experi-ence and we have already started planning for the next trip. We definitely look forward to having more and more friends and Royal Enfield riders join us for more to come.

argenTina TexT & PhoTogRaPhs: lucia alvaRez isasi

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dealer profile

Ravi Ambegaonkar the man at the helm of Royal Rhino—the dealer-ship in Vadodara, Gujarat—has

been an avid Royal Enfield enthusiast and a rider for over 20 years. He has been a fan of the legendary Royal Enfield Bullet since his childhood and this self-confessed aficionado admits that he has never looked at any other motorcycle. His dream of having one for him-self was realized when he finally purchased a Bullet 350, an 1980 model, and grew to cherish and treasure the machine. Prior to starting the dealership Ravi was managing a Security Agency specializing in providing private security cover as well as conducting investigations.

It was the day he saw an advertisement in a leading daily about partnering with the ‘leg-end’ that he decided to get more seriously in-volved with the marque and he applied to be a dealer for Royal Enfield. The journey from paperwork to the showroom took a full nine rigorous months but the result was some-thing which he cannot describe in words. He started off with handling sales of about 20 bookings a month slowly increasing to close to 80 as of date. Service started with attend-ing to about 25 bikes in a month and owing to his personal interactions with the customer and well trained and skilled staff this number has been on the rise reaching an impressive 200 a month.

It has been an exciting, adventurous, and a learning year for Ravi in the culturally vi-brant town of Vadodara where traditionally

leisure and adventure motorcycling did not have its roots in the culture but with time the people have been bitten by the bug and today very much are part of Royal Enfield’s ‘Keep Riding’ initiatives. Ravi still believes he has a long way to go, but he is determined to be there at any cost.

Riding has always been a passion for Ravi and he frequently used to go out on long rides, mostly solo and with no prior planning. Now he not only meticulously plans the ride but

also serves as the ride leader teaching the nu-ances of riding safely on the highways and en-joying this activity. Today, ride planning and organizing is his forte along with ensuring safety and maintaining discipline while on the ride. Royal Rhino has actively conducted rides to Mount Abu, Udaipur, Saputara, and even to Goa to attend the 2010 Royal Enfield Rider Mania. His all time favorite motorcy-cle is his customized Machismo 350; a single seater with a matt green finish. He calls it the love of his life and rides it practically every day.

One of the most ambitious rides that he has planned for this year is a ride to Goa to at-tend the Royal Enfield Rider Mania 2011. The regular riders from ‘Royal Rhino’ are all very

excited as this comes to them as one event where all Royal Enfield enthu-siasts come together and celebrate the brotherhood. They are eager to experience this extravaganza and tune in to the ‘Thump that Binds’ vo-ciferating in the atmosphere at Goa. In 2010 Ravi had ridden down with a few people and took back loads of stories back to Vadodara, to inspire people who as a result this year have turned up in quite a sizeable number for this event.

For Ravi, his association with Royal Enfield has been one of the most clos-est to his heart. He has placed the newspaper advert calling for ‘Partnering a Legend’ at his desk which serves as a pleasant reminder of the call that he responded to, and established this showroom and service station; some-thing which marks the journey which started from a phone call and brought him today to a state where he feels he is just ‘living’ his life-long dream.

Royal Rhino

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club

The Royal Pandiyas is the exclusive Royal Enfield club started in Ma-durai by two brothers who also man

the Royal Enfield dealership in this temple city. The idea of a motorcycle club came about from their intense de-sire do something which would be in sync with the pulse of the Royal Enfield enthusiast and their desire to interact and associate with people of same views. It was the ambitious fire in KG Athilingam’s belly, which had always made him do unique things that besides creating hype, eventu-ally became the talk of the town. Thus on September 25, 2010, was born the Royal Pandiyas, a club that was in-spired by the stories about the rides they read on the Royal Enfield web-site. The club immediately focused on riding as one of its most important initiatives as they strongly felt that the bikers can understand their ma-chines, its behavior and performance when they ride it for long trips.

Each club member gets a join-ing kit consisting of riding gear equipment including helmet, knee

guards, elbow guards etc, thus encouraging and enabling him to ride out and ride safe while on these rides. Besides attending the monthly meetings, the members also join up for short trips, motorcycle events, tour-ing holidays and weekend runs and each member is uniquely identified by his club-issued ID card and exclusive T-shirts and bandanas. The membership subscription has been kept low for more members to be able to join up and avail of the benefits. For administrative ease, the club comprises of a complete team of Office Bearers also. They also have an annual magazine, which high-

lights the rides and other activities that the club conducts. From time to time they also conduct blood donation drives and health check camps and have tie-ups with medical organizations for the same.

The major activity of the club is to pro-mote adventure and leisure riding, some-thing that the Royal Enfield culture is strongly identified with. All rides are con-ducted in a systematic way with designated experienced lead riders taking responsibil-ity. A staggered formation is maintained while riding together for safety. Each ride is trailed by a support vehicle for unfor-tunate breakdowns. Usually at the end of the ride the riders chill out with music and a scrumptious dinner. After all noth-ing beats a party at the end of long ride. The after party usually turns out as an interac-tion session amongst the bikers about the performance of their respective bikes, how they maintain the bikes etc. Being attached to the Madurai Royal Enfield dealership, the club also helps riders get their bikes checked and serviced before the ride as

well as earns them fabulous discounts on many services availed.

This club from the culturally vibrant city Madurai started off with less than 10 members a year back and today is already approaching 100. Each ride conducted by them has a specific name coined which signifies the specific as-pect of the ride; Kodaikanal ride was called the ‘Princess of the Hill Stations’ ride and the Yercaud trip was called the ‘Shevroy Express’. Their next biggest ride will be one to Goa for the Royal Enfield Rider Mania 2011. This is a prestigious ride for them as they shall be part of one of the biggest event or-ganized for Royal Enfield enthusiasts and riders.

To join the Royal Pandiyas in Madurai and be a part of their rides and activi-ties get in touch with Mr Athilingam on ggmotors2003@yahoo.co.in or +919994361758

Royal pandiyas

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rider profile

His first solo motorcycle ride was on a Japanese 150cc two-stroke at the age of 12 under the guidance

of his grandfather and William Blacke was hooked on to riding for the rest of his life. He rode various street/off-road motorcycles till his early twenties but they were always the ones borrowed from friends or family. He didn’t get to own a motorcycle until he finished graduate school. Influenced by his grandfather and uncle he ended up getting a Suzuki VStrom 1000 and proceeded to put 58,000-plus miles on it in the next year and a half. Of course he did venture forth eve-rywhere he could; on/off road, but couldn’t help wanting something smaller and lighter that just ‘felt’ better.

His first professional job out of school was with an engineering company where he shared a small cubicle with someone who not only turned out to be one of the best human beings he has ever known, but one who became a very good friend. His name was Manu who came from Hoshi-arpur in Punjab, India. After long discus-sions about how they both longed to ride motorcycles all over the world, Manu began sharing stories about his travels on his be-loved Royal Enfield 350 Bullet that he had to leave back home with his brother. He de-scribed his travels in Kashmir, the trip on his Royal Enfield over Khardung La that culminated in his stay with his holiness the Dalai Lama. Bill begged to see a picture of

the motorcycle and once he saw it, he knew he had to have one. Bill had wanted a bike that would take him anywhere he wanted to go, one that was light, one that had style and most importantly, one that was made by someone’s hand. He longed for a hand-built bike that he could love and cherish as much as those who had painstakingly cre-ated it. The Royal Enfield was everything he wanted.

His maroon Royal Enfield Classic 500 had been a dream which took quite some time to turn to reality. Sadly, they were not yet being imported into the U.S. when he wanted one and all he could find were tat-tered vintage models. Not trusting his skills at keeping a 50s or 60s bike running, he wanted something newer before he could afford the luxury of having a vintage bike which needed more care and would be rid-den occasionally. In the meantime, he accu-

mulated other motorcycles that suited his needs, but the dream of the Royal Enfield lingered on. Finally, a local scooter shop began carrying Royal Enfield motorcycles and in the spring of 2011, Bill was able to turn his dream into a reality.

The dream took long to realize but he made up for lost time ever since he got the keys in his hand. He didn’t have any idea that this motorcycle would bring him so much joy. Ever since the Classic has joined his fleet his other bikes have just been in the garage. He always carries the Royal Enfield’s keys in his pocket and never re-grets throwing a leg over the thumper and set off for a spin. His Classic 500 has taken him from the high mountains of the Pacific Northwest region to the desert in Oregon for photography, camping and smiles on his Classic 500. He is now planning a trip to Colorado to see his family this fall and expects the trip to be on the Classic 500.

Many of his friends have asked if he has sold off the other bikes and questioned why he is always on the Royal Enfield. On many occasions, he has simply handed them the keys and said “ride around the block... I dare you to come back without a smile on your face”. Never once has he been wrong as the Classic 500 is indeed one of the most fun bikes to ride and after one such ride al-most every single friend of his hops off and asks “how much was it again?” or “where do I get one” or simply “wow”. The best re-sponse he got from a friend with an 180hp Italian bike said “I would not have imag-ined that a bike with 1/6 the horsepower would be 100 times as much fun”.

He has ridden over 160,000 miles in the last 6 years on his various motorcycles. He feels that the last 5000 miles on his pre-cious Royal Enfield Classic 500 have been more enjoyable and more fulfilling than probably the previous 155,000 on all the others.

He is now desperately waiting for a scrambler kit for the Bullet Electra EFI to be made available in the USA as that is the next bike he is going to buy. Being a diehard fan of Royal Enfield he is happy that in the changing times when every other manu-facturer of motorcycles has lost the essence of their class this manufacturer has main-tained the same over years and wishes that even in the years to come each new Royal Enfield shall still make him feel and experi-ence the same charm, appeal and essence of what makes a Royal Enfield motorcycle unique and such a pleasure to ride and own.

The Yankee RiderWilliam Blacke from the USA is one of the most active Royal Enfield riders in the social circle. An avid tweeter, he goes by the name @blackwithane in the twitterverse and lives in Portland, Oregon.

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flashback

although 500 cc single cylinder engine Royal Enfield motorcy-cles were manufactured for the

military during WW II and even after that the Bullet 500 cc ‘single’ basically saw life but as a larger capacity cousin of the legendary Bullet 350 only in the early 1950’s. First seen in 1952 the ‘big’ 500 was powered by an engine which shared the same stroke as the 350 cc engines but had a bigger bore and head. Commercial production of the Bullet 500 started in 1953 in Redditch and the first set of chang-es took place in 1954 itself. The initial 500 cc motorcycles developed 25 BHP, which was quite powerful for singles of that era. 1957/58 saw a completely new Bullet 500 with a redesigned frame and fuel tank as well as graphics and a bigger head earning it the nickname ‘big-head’. This motorcy-cle was in production in the UK till 1961 by which time it was capable of producing 27 BHP from the 500 cc power plant. With the company shifting focus on more powerful

twins, this model disappeared completely until in the early 1990’s it was made by Roy-al Enfield in India as the bigger brother of the Bullet 350. This was also exported to the UK but had a slightly underpowered engine developing 22 BHP. By 2002, it saw more models and variants including the Bullet 500 Army flaunting the olive green war paint and kitted with custom panniers too. A deluxe version with generous chrome was also developed. With the advent of the lean burn engine the Bullet 500 disappeared in

April 2007 and was replaced by the next generation of 500 cc singles from Royal Enfield.

In November 2010, the Royal En-field Bullet 500 saw life again in its tra-ditional black livery with hand painted tank and the traditional Royal Enfield graphics but with a fuel injected 500 CC engine. The motorcycle was launched at the New York Motorcycle Show held in January 2011 and sports the traditional black livery with hand painted pin-

stripes and a fuel injected engine which also finds place in the Classic 500. This motor-cycle today is the culmination of over 8 dec-ades of legacy, of the longest running model in continuous production. The Bullet 500 today is a seamless pairing of the majestic Bullet styling, performance and reliability with the new technology elements like the Electronic Fuel Injection synergized seam-lessly with the period styling. This motorcy-cle is now all about romancing with history on today’s terms.

Royal enfield Bullet 500

29

30

diY

➜ Remove the rear wheel and sprocket.

➜ Open the brake shoes and check liners for wear.

➜ Even if you see 1 or 2 rivets being worn out; it’s time to replaces the worn out liners.

➜ Change liners/ fit new brake shoes.

➜ Fit the rear sprocket

➜ Fit and Tighten rear wheel

➜ Adjust brakes and check play in the brake pedal

➜ Rotate wheel and check for braking efficiency

➜ If required carry out the adjustments

➜ Repeat checks after minor adjustments

This time we are focussing on maintenance of the Brakes.

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➜ Loosen the Disc Pads from the Callipers

➜Remove the Callipers

➜ Check disc pads for wear and tear and dust accumulation

➜ Remove the disc pads and check for wear.

➜ Use a hacksaw to remove dirt and roughen the disc pad surface – Do not use sandpaper or emery paper

➜ Clean and lubricate the Disc brake piston

➜ Put Disc pads back on cal-lipers and fit the same

➜ Check disc for uneven wear, scratches and bends

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We compare 2 bestsellers from the casio Pro Trek range of watches— the PRg 80 and the PRg 240. These watches have been quite popular with travellers, explorers

and adventurers form a part of the arsenal of many a Royal enfield rider.

The Pro Trek PrG 80 since its release back in 2005 has been one of the very best field watches ever made. This watch however had an Achilles’ heel as the chrono-graph & CDT were weak and it also had unsteady thermal compensation (barometer & altimeter) besides few other glitches that needed to be done away with. Enter the challenger in 2010; the new PrG 240

The first and foremost impression the PRG 240 gives you is the relative lack of weight, this watch by no means tries to hide its size, however the watch is surprisingly lightweight, compared to the PRG 80.The primary time display is typical Pro Trek with large clear digits, though a bit smaller than the PRG 80. Clarity of the PRG 240’s display is near perfect given the nature of the duplex LCD, noticeably sharper than the PRG 80. The contrast level is also very good, however the PRG 240’s display is more neutral (grey) versus the PRG 80’s ‘greener’ LCD which just seems allow the digits to pop a little more. The PRG 80 can display day or date, while the newer sibling can either display barometric trend, day or year day and month throughout. The PRG 240 may seem a little more complex to set up than the PRG 80 owing to the broader feature set, and it can also be set to mute which will be important to some. In the PRG 80 you have to live with the ever present “beep” on each push of a button.

World-time on both watches works well, the PRG 240 brings more city locations and displays UTC as opposed to the older PRG 80’s GMT and employs the duplex display to indicate current time in the same 24 hour format. The Chronograph is a full 24 hours,

compared to the PRG 80’s limited 9 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, same with CDT the PRG 240 offers 24 hours, which can be set right to the minute while with the PRG 80 the countdown is only from 60 minutes, however it can be set to repeat which is a very useful feature in its self.

Alarms are pretty much the same (5 alarms & hourly signal), with the PRG 240 being visually easier to set thanks again to the use of the dot matrix display to indicate on/off. As for Alarm volume very few watches beat the PRG 80 on volume, and the PRG 240 is softer and less audible than its older sibling.

In terms of aesthetics, build quality & comfort; the PRG 80 is best described as huge, a behemoth of a watch but the PRG 240 is not far behind, although it does wear much smaller. The PRG 240’s build quality is as with all Pro Trek’s at the very top of Casio’s production, the colour of the watch is a little less interest-ing to the eye in comparison to

the PRG 80’s which under close inspection has a metallic feel with impregnation of an almost “metal-flake” material in the resin case. The buttons on the 240 are positive and do not require effort to use

while the 80, well it`s bruiser in all respects and on a cold day in winter the buttons can be stiff to use on a new watch.

Casio’s implementation of barometers & altimeters is very

different from the majority of the industry. The PRG 240 offers vari-able logging rates which is a bonus for those ascending or descending rapidly, while the PRG 80 offers an altitude alarm which once preset, sounds once you exceed a prede-termined altitude. Barometer so far it has proved to be very accurate straight out the box, no calibration required, as with all Pro trek`s absolute/relative air pressure is displayed, no Mean Sea Level con-version. The PRG 240’s trend graph is again small and lacks resolution, compared to the PRG 80, with its trend graph being three times larger. The PRG 240 uses the duplex LCD as an air pressure differential indicator, combined with the far longer display period. Any rapid change in weather will easily be

seen, by the graph (which can be displayed in primary time) and most importantly the clearer dif-ferential indicator will show rapidly deceasing air pressure. The PRG 80 can do the same but one needs to continuously select the barometer, to get a reading, which in reality is not as practical if both hands are occupied. Compass performs as well as any other ABC available the duplex display on the PRG 240 has a higher contrast ratio compared to the PRG 80. The PRG 240 adds an electronic bearing lock, which is a great addition as new Pro trek`s only display`s the bearing measure-ment for around 20 seconds, then blanks the display. The Older PRG 80 lacks the bearing lock, and will freeze and display the last bearing for a couple of minutes or so.

Both watches are easy to use and live with, the addition of Sunrise/Sunset on the PRG 240 give the watch seven timing displays and three ABC displays not counting any of the setting displays. The PRG 80 has fewer features and subsequently requires less button pushing. Both watches have auto return to primary time and depend-ing on the function the return time varies. The PRG 240 shows the current time in all display screens barring the logging feature, the 80 is similar, with the logging & barom-eter not displaying current time.

The PRG 240 no doubt is Casio`s new definitive field watch, the posi-tives far outweigh the negatives. Casio`s implementation of the barometer & altimeter is unique. The PRG 80 is a little like “Tech-nicolor” offering a warmth and depth of colour a little lost in our new digital age, and something

not to be missed.Rating: PRG 80 3.5 out of 5 and

PRG 240 4.5 out of 5.— SanThoSh Vijay kumar

★ ★ ★

★ ★ ★ ★

Pro Trek PrG 80

Pro Trek PrG 240

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Royal enfield merchandiseFlaunt your affiliation towards the legendary marque by donning the official merchandise and casual wear from Royal Enfield. The following collectibles and merchandise for Royal Enfield aficionados shall be launched in the coming months. Some of these shall be unveiled at the Royal Enfield Rider Mania 2011 and some shall make their way into dealerships and showrooms over next few weeks. This initial line up is just the beginning and there shall be much more coming from the house of Royal Enfield.

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We had announced the “Girl on a Royal Enfield” contest a few weeks back and got huge responses from all the enthusiasts. The theme behind this contest was to share a photograph or a story which dramatically narrated the relation-ship between a girl and the Royal Enfield. The entries varied from blog posts to photographs to stories written on the Facebook fan page. The contest was simultaneously co-hosted by “Girly Hour”, one of the leading girl blogs whose follow-ers and readers also shared their stories on the blog.

The photographs sent in by Aparna Andhare, Preethika Gans, Vaishnavi Prasad and Shruti Sharma fetched those prizes from our side. The entries of Aoyon Chowdhury and Adv Varun Maheshwari were good though they didn’t make it to

the final winners list. Pooja Kopar-gaonkar’s Blog entry earned her the grand prize; a ride on a Thunderbird Twin Spark over a weekend.

In the words of Pooja Koparga-onkar her first Royal Enfield riding experience was one of a kind as she put it: “Well I can never forget the first time I rode a bullet, what a day! My brothers’ friend who had a bullet came home and we all

went to a nearby mountain called Rala Mandal for a hike. It was around 6 in the evening when we were coming back and I begged my brother that I wanted to ride the bullet and after so many no’s he eventually said yes. So we went to the bypass road which was nearly empty, and my brother made me understand the basic things and asked me to kick start the bike! At

first I thought not a big deal, but when I actually tried, it turned out to be a big deal. After many tries I was finally able to start it, and then my brother gave me his helmet and sat behind me and I started riding while his fried choose to stay there. It took me some time to get the fear out and enjoy riding it as it was a dream come true situation for me. I rode for a km and then my brother asked me to take a turn, which was a little tough as I was not in a habit of riding a bike and while we were coming back to where my brother’s friend was standing a truck over-took us as if trying to scare me and yes he was successful because, as soon as I saw the giant truck so close I lost my balance and we both fell. This was our 1st tumble and we both got hurt. I thought my brother would scold me but he stated laughing and as soon as we syncd up with his friend even he started laughing.

We went to a nearby dhaba where we washed our scratches and bruises and were still laughing and everyone was looking at us with shock. The good part was that the bike was alright with just a few scratches and my brother’s friend did not get upset. The only scolding we got was from mom when she saw us but she also cooled down seeing us laughing hard and that we were alright. I still think how we laughed so much even though it was paining, I think our bond was stronger than the pain and the feel-ing of riding the bike did the work for us.”

In the words of Preethika Gans: “One thing from childhood which has never changed in me is the passion to ride or be a pillion on a bike. This passion is what made me explore and learn how to ride a bike. Though I started off with one

girl On a Royal enfield

Vaishnavi Prasad, Chennai

Shruti Sharma,

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of the Japanese bikes, something just dint feel right when it came to being satisfied as a rider. All that changes when one day, my friend gets a Thunderbird 350 and says take it for a ride. That’s the day I attained Nirvana. After that, many years went by without me getting to ride a bike (read that as Royal Enfield). But then times changed, a very close friend of mine got the TBTS and riding THE bike has never stopped since then. I have been to quite a few long distance bike trips and a very regular on Sunday mornings. Nothing can equal the pleasure of riding any of the Royal Enfield bikes. My personal favourite is the Selfism bike (Classic 500) and I’m definitely dreaming to own one of my own soon!”

This contest was run in parallel on the Girly Hour Facebook page

also and we did get a number of en-tries from there too. Following are the ones on this page which caught our attention and won goodies from Royal Enfield:

In the words of Tanvi Hegde : I grew up riding a bicycle, a red BMX and after school we would stay back and do all kinds of tricks and wheelies on those cycles. But every time a motorcycle went past I would stare at it till it disappeared from sight. Bikes have always been a fascination. My dad owned a Bajaj scooter but when my mama bought a bike I would quietly sneak it at night ride on in the colony and keep it. When I started going to college all my guy friends had bikes and I can still count the number of silencer burns and scratches i must have got from adventures on these bikes, each one has a different

story! The best bike ride that I’ve been on was in Goa, summer of 2009, my 12th boards had just got over and I left for Goa it was my second night there and one of my cousin and his friends regularly went for bike rides at night. All of them had Royal Enfield motorcycles and when I heard that ‘dhukk dhukk dhukk’ sound from my window I told my brother that I just had to ride one; no matter what it took! And that night was one to remember, my first Royal Enfield experience. Since then I’ve ridden loads of bikes, accompanied friends to drag races, have had my fair share os spills too but all of that is overpowered when you have that rush of blood in your veins, that wind in your hair, that ‘dhukk dhukk’ sound and that freedom you feel when you ride a bike, nothing can ever beat that. Of

all the bikes that I’ve ridden on, my favourite remains the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 and the Classic 500. Those two bikes give me a high that nothing else does!

Aishuwarya Sudarshan also had her own story to share with us: My rendezvous with the Royal Enfield started as a 3 year old when i would wait near the gate for dad to come back from office, lift me up, put me on the tank and take me for a small ride. That is all i needed to make my day. As i grew into a sturdy *you know what that actually means* woman I started off with the smaller bikes. But my little heart wanted more. It wanted the sound of a 350/500 cc Royal Enfield, to hear the sound that men dreamed off and women drooled over and to feel the breeze in my hair as i would ride on it all around. I have always cherished that feeling and sometimes I do take my dad’s 1982 Royal Enfield Bullet for a spin; but nothing beats having one of my own, even if it is for a short while.

Other interesting stories came in from Preksha Modi, Ojasvee Arora and Priyanka Arora who all won goodies from Royal Enfield for this contest.

A huge number of entries also came in from ‘Hop On Girls’ a unique group which has taken the initiative of teaching girls how to ride and with time master the Royal Enfield motorcycle. This group based out of Bangalore also con-ducts do it yourself workshop ses-sions to teach general motorcycle servicing and basic repair work on Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Aparna Andhare, Mumbai

Pooja KopargaonkarPreethika Gans

Preksha Modi

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“We would like to hear from you about articles published in The Beat as well as what more would you like to read – please mail us your suggestions to schavan@royalenfield.com. If you would like to receive a copy of “The Beat’ at your doorstep, please send complete details including full name, postal address with pin code and your contact phone number to ppsathaye@royalenfield.com”