[Jeff in Kentucky]

The June 2010 issue of Motorcyclist magazine has a new review for the 500cc Royal Enfield. They give it 3 out of 5 stars. It costs $6395 and has a maximum 28 horsepower, with fuel injection, a front disc brake, and a better transmission compared to the older model. They say it has a top speed of 75 mph so it is not good on interstates, it vibrates quite a bit at 60 mph, and it is much smoother at 50 mph. Their last sentence- “While it remains out of its depth compared to modern bikes, this Classic brings Royal Enfield into the 21st century at last.”

They also review the new $20,300 Norton Commando, a $25,000 Metisse, a $17,000 BMW R1200RT, the $17,490 Yamaha Star Stratoliner Deluxe, the $8399 Suzuki RMX450Z, the $9799 Kawasaki ZX-6R, and the $8399 Triumph Bonneville SE, along with a lot of accessories and some quick looks at other bikes.

[stu]

500cc for 28hp… oooh its a one cylinder thumper. I think if I was going for something like that I’d prefer the classic 350.

looking at Royal Enfield every model they offer is a single cylinder.

[Rab]

As I said in a previous post, the Royal Enfield (India) line of motorcycles are a 1950s British design which they’ve continued building in India ever since the 1950s.

After the war, motorcycles were built for transport, not speed or to pose on.

[stu]

I’m not disparaging that, as I said the classic 350 in bright red is super sweet, and its great to see a step up from the 250’s. They just have a very niche market, too expensive for too little imo, and by that I dont mean everyone has to manufacture a 600cc supersport or die out.

[Author]

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