Let's get some facts out of the way first. Royal Enfield has been doing brilliant numbers. So much that it has given Bajaj a new fixation. The Pune-based bike maker was previously hell-bent on beating Hero at the numbers game, but now it wants what Royal Enfield has. And one can see why. Larger capacity motorcycles mean a higher ticket price, and with it, higher margins. And we all know, the only thing Bajaj really wants is profitability.
What's more, Royal Enfield hasn't been breaking the bank with its 500cc range. It's the 350 that brings in those big numbers. Mostly it is the Classic 350, however, the other number spinners are 350 models as well. But, we have also seen RE struggle. Given that it already does so with its ground-up new models - the Continental GT and the Himalayan – it clearly isn’t good news to be looking ahead.
However, both these bikes had great stories.
Story board
The GT was from an era gone by. It was about freedom and style. And it didn't matter whether it had the latest technology or not, because cafe racers were about being fast and minimalistic. The GT was neither. It wasn't happy doing 100kmph, forget 100 miles per hour. And though it was the best handling Royal Enfield till date, it still wasn't a match for similarly priced motorcycles on any count; besides styling maybe. It didn't sell too well.
Then came the Himalayan. Another great story. Every Royal Enfield owner worth his or her salt had to make a trip to Leh-Ladakh on his or her bike to justify buying a Royal Enfield. Not only has RE made a successful business out of it in the form of the Himalayan Odyssey, other enterprising folks have done the same. Now, you have many that run RE tours to Ladakh and walk away happy, with a load of cash.
So, with a name like Himalayan, and a design that was ideally suited to take on the rough, it should have flown off the shelf. And it did initially. Then it started breaking down left, right and centre. Naturally, no one wanted to touch it thence, even with Himalayans going for dirt cheap in the used space. Thankfully, Royal Enfield made amends, and the Himalayan is a much nicer bike than it was when launched. But, as they say, the damage was already done.
Now, to the 650 Twins. And again, there's a lovely story here.
The Twins
Yes, one can talk about old times, rides to the beach, fun in the sun, or carving up back roads. But, the real story here is accessibility. The RE 650 Twins are to come for a sub-4 lakh price. Which puts them in the same bucket as the Ninja 300, considering both run parallel twins. However, their outputs of 47bhp and 52Nm are significantly more than the Kawasaki. And this should automatically give it more numbers than the Ninja, which hasn't been able to hit three digit sales numbers consistently, if ever.
But, every fellow motoring journalist I spoke to, seems to be extremely bullish about the prospects of the RE 650 Twins. And their arguments stand to reason. For one, the money is clearly on the Interceptor and not so much on the Conti GT. Understandable; after all, the previous GT wasn't exactly a success. Plus, these bikes are largely coveted by a slightly senior clientele who might not enjoy the GT's racier ergonomics.
So, where will the numbers come from? My friends in the press believe that the majority will come from the 350cc owner base which Royal Enfield is currently sitting on. The argument here being that these 350cc riders will eventually need to upgrade. And, honestly, the 500s aren't really significant upgrades, be it performance, design or the riding experience. The 650 Twins with more torque, new chassis, better brakes, and significantly higher horsepower figures, will be worthy upgrades.
Then there's the Triumph connect. You see, Triumph's highest selling models are from its classic range, the likes of the T120, the T100, the Street Twins etc. But, these start at over Rs 7 lakhs. Now, this sum might be okay with some well-to-do born-again bikers. But, many would rather spend less on something that looks similar, promises a similar riding experience, and is cheaper to maintain; at least till they know for sure that motorcycling is in fact something they like after all these years. And, of course, you have upgraders. Riders who want a big bike, but don't have the budget for the likes of the Ducati Scrambler or the Harley-Davidson Street 750 or even the Kawasaki Z650.
The caveat
But, there's a big caveat to the RE 650 Twins' success; a condition almost everyone I spoke to had in place. On one end, there's quality. After what we have experienced with the older GT and the Himalayan, one thing is for certain - if Royal Enfield can't up its quality, and more specifically reliability, the 650s don’t stand a chance at success. The parts can't fail; the engines and gearboxes can't break; and the electronics (however few) can't give up.
The second is performance. Sure, 47bhp of max power and 52Nm of peak torque from an air-cooled twin sounds fine if not great. But, it must translate into something special on the road. No one expects the 650 Twins to pull power wheelies, but we do expect the bikes to do over 160kmph comfortably. And then stop with equal ease. We expect the bikes to be smoother, and more refined than REs of yore. And we expect the gearboxes to shift without the rider having to wrestle them.
The Royal Enfield 650 Twins are a big deal if done right. Because if RE can nail this one, it will see its numbers and profitability continue to soar for many years to come. Moreover, the 650 Twins' success would make things very challenging for the likes of Triumph, Ducati and Harley. They are all looking at launching 300-400cc single cylinder motorcycles around the same price point as the 650. Now, given a choice between the two, a twin with higher desirability and output figures – keeping in mind the above caveat - is the one most would go for.
