Royal Enfield is more than a motorcycle brand. It’s a cultural experience and a way of life in its homeland of India.
Mark Trench, our dealer principal, discovered the Royal Enfield culture on a week-long fact-finding trip to India.
He was representing Orwell Motorcycles which, as one of Royal Enfield’s new UK dealers, was invited to attend its annual international dealer conference.
“Royal Enfield took a handful of dealers from the UK to the conference. We were lucky enough to be invited,” he said.
Mark’s first stop in India was Motoverse, an annual three-day festival in Goa dedicated to all things Royal Enfield.
“Motorverse gives you an idea of the culture of Royal Enfield in India,” Mark explained. “They were trying to get over to us how groups of young Indians are so into Royal Enfield. People are very proud of Royal Enfield, as are the people who work for the company.”
For more than 20 years, fans of Royal Enfield have been coming together to celebrate the iconic brand.
Art, the greatest musical acts of the country, dirt-track and off-road motorsport, hill climbs and slide schools, legendary riders, Royal Enfield gear, merchandise and new model reveals come together with thousands of bikers and machines for what is dubbed the greatest celebration of motorcycling culture on Earth.
“It is a huge event for motorcyclists in India which is everything Royal Enfield and motorbiking. It is the main stage of motoculture,” said Mark.
While in Goa they also visited the Garage Café, Royal Enfield’s motorcycling-inspired café and bar with vintage motorcycles, art by motorcyclists and signature dishes curated by speciality chefs.
After immersing himself in Motoverse, Mark and fellow dealers flew across India to Chennai in the south of the country to visit one of Royal Enfield’s four factories there.
One highlight was watching an employee hand-painting the gold pinstripe on fuel tanks and Mark also tried his hand at this great skill!
“I got to see the whole process, from bringing in blanks to make engine cases there to motorbikes rolling off the production line. Every bike built is road-tested for 1.6km before it gets a tick.”
The visiting dealers also toured a Royal Enfield development facility which was equally impressive.
“The R&D facility is very modern and the level of research and development is astonishing, far higher than I had expected,” he said.
The dealers were also shown the new Himalayan 750 adventure bike, due to be launched later this year. The new engine is also likely to be used in a Royal Enfield Continental GT 750.
“The trip showed me how Royal Enfield has grown into a culture of motorcycling in its own country where it sells 850,000 bikes a year,” said Mark.
“It has so much of its own market and is now pushing outside of India. That growth is going to be in Europe and other markets and it is targeting building more than 1.2 million motorbikes a year.”
Check out the Royal Enfield range at orwell.co.uk/royal-enfield/new-royal-enfield-motorcycle-range
