Royal Enfield

[Theboy]

Good news for all real bike lovers, R.E. is coming to Thailand.

Have been talking to them for sometime and at last they have sent me the following :

At the moment, we are planning the launch to happen during December to January with a few showrooms covering Bangkok as well as a showroom in major regional cities in Thailand.

The R.E. bikes are at the moment being tested at the Industrial Standard of Thailand office and the tests are going on well and we expect to be able to have it certified in quite near future before the launch.

[Payboy]

Good news, by the way, does anyone know whether RE have got around to producing a liquid cooled engine yet?

[BKKdreaming]

are you bringing the diesel ones too ?

BK

[Hog Head]

RE discontinued the 1954 UK designed "classic iron barrel engine" and now have a new EFI unit construction model. The overall design is retro, and I am glad to see that they are trying to get back to their roots, but for some reason the unit engine, LH shift, and subtle changes just do not do it for me. See:

My link

The interesting question, as always in Thailand, is what is the cost. Even though a 500, or 350, performance is anemic to say the least, and there are only so many that will go for the retro look. Enfields do not enjoy a stellar reputation for QC, customer service, or reliability and given the choice between Japanese modern engineering and reliability VS a bike made in India the price will have to be very, very attractive. I suspect that they will not try and do business on price alone so sales will be limited. These bikes are not Japanese foolproof so there will need to be a good country wide dealer network, and spares.

IMHO the odds are stacked against RE but good luck to you

I own a classic engined 500 Bullet like this:

[Travelmate]

Wonder much it will sell for?

More than ER6N price?

[RED21]

I guess they'd be having something like this...

Never cranked a bike that way myself...

Here's the "Ye Olde MCN Review"

[edwinchester]

My wife thought a Royal Enfield was where the King kept his chickens:-)

[rodcourt49]

My wife thought a Royal Enfield was where the King kept his chickens:-)

..no 'clutches' there

[guzzi850m2]

I would love to have a R.E. 500 but not at any price, but with showrooms in all major city's maybe price not too high. In India app. 3-3500 us$ which is cheap but here?

For me retro bikes any day, want a Kawa W800 but still no news if it will be sold here or not.

[Hog Head]

The Indian rupee is at an all time low against the USD

Want to bet that that is not reflected in the price

[MRToMRT]

I also suspect that this will be seen as a high price fashion piece of theThai motorcycle world rather than a attempt at market penetration through realistic prices (for what it is).

[userfanRE]

hi all, i just would like to share and i am quite new here so i work in chennai and i just have my royal enfield which is very nice bike 350 classic black on 10 nov 2011 and i am quite happy with it. but then it is very hard to get this bike in my hand as the administration in india is very much with the paper work for this bike it cost me less than 80000 bath ( 120000 rupees ) ans i am quite wonder why the price here is quite high , i would understand that we might need to pay for the tax and some other stuff but still what you are talking it seems to be just a bit high. here you are my bike in chennai

[taichiplanet]

Seems Royal Enfield are teaming up with Tiger to release some products in Thailand

http://www.tigermotorbikes.com/News.htm

[moe666]

All R. E. shipped to the states go to England were they upgraded to meet US emissions and bushings are replaced with bearings. I think about 6 to 8,000US depending on the model. I remember reading a story a few years ago about a fella who decided to ride a Royal Enfield around India. He was told to buy the 350 as it was more reliable but went for the 500 and it broke down rather quickly.

[amrishtony]

Any other updates as to when the launch will happen? Waiting to get my hands on REF

[canopus1969]

Had an email from them last week - they have no idea when, I think the deal they were setting up has fallen through.

[taichiplanet]

That would be a pity if the deal fell through. The last i heard (about a month ago) was that there was a delay with the kits from India, and the Thai end was talking about availability sometime after mid-year.

[PMZ]

Hello

Any new update on the RE entry into Thailand?

Is someone able to share the email address of the RE headquarters in India, so that I can follow up?

I wish to import a Classic 500 but am meeting the usual hassle & cost issues associated with importing.

Thanks

[JoePai]

Hello

Any new update on the RE entry into Thailand?

Is someone able to share the email address of the RE headquarters in India, so that I can follow up?

I wish to import a Classic 500 but am meeting the usual hassle & cost issues associated with importing.

Thanks

[email protected]

[uptheos]

Great bike

[eezergood]

Will we ever see one here?

[PMZ]

Someone has managed it, I saw one on Ekamai a month or two ago, being maintained by a mechanic there.

It was a black Classic 500.

[loserlazer]

i hope we can see one.

it was my Favorited bike while touring 6 months in India.

But we will not see it here it looks like man:(

They were saying like it will be released soon nearly a year ago now!

[DILLIGAD]

Someone has managed it, I saw one on Ekamai a month or two ago, being maintained by a mechanic there.

It was a black Classic 500.

Maybe my Ozzy mate in BKK. I had a ride on it and it sure got everyone looking at it. Although its a modern set-up now, it still sounds like a good 'ol thumper. He has business between India and LOS and organised importation himself (with a little help from friends).

The only thing that didn't impress me was the rear side framework so a lady can sit 'side-saddle'

[BirdsandBooze]

Someone has managed it, I saw one on Ekamai a month or two ago, being maintained by a mechanic there.

It was a black Classic 500.

Maybe my Ozzy mate in BKK. I had a ride on it and it sure got everyone looking at it. Although its a modern set-up now, it still sounds like a good 'ol thumper. He has business between India and LOS and organised importation himself (with a little help from friends).

The only thing that didn't impress me was the rear side framework so a lady can sit 'side-saddle'

The sari guard.

[Richard-BKK]

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI costs in Bangkok 280,000 THB including registration and 1-year basic insurance...

[guzzi850m2]

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI costs in Bangkok 280,000 THB including registration and 1-year basic insurance...

I find that too expensive, below 200k bath is OK but not same price as a Kawa En6. I guess that India is not under the cheap imports brackets.

[dave_boo]

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI costs in Bangkok 280,000 THB including registration and 1-year basic insurance...

I find that too expensive, below 200k bath is OK but not same price as a Kawa En6. I guess that India is not under the cheap imports brackets.

How much of that is simply a status tax?

[PMZ]

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI costs in Bangkok 280,000 THB including registration and 1-year basic insurance...

Thanks Richard.

In India that bike would cost around 85,000 Baht including local taxes, at showroom prices, so the Import Duty and various Thailand taxes are consuming (allowing for transporattion) approx +170K. Wow.

By the way, where in Thailand is it available?

[PMZ]

Someone has managed it, I saw one on Ekamai a month or two ago, being maintained by a mechanic there.

It was a black Classic 500.

Maybe my Ozzy mate in BKK. I had a ride on it and it sure got everyone looking at it. Although its a modern set-up now, it still sounds like a good 'ol thumper. He has business between India and LOS and organised importation himself (with a little help from friends).

The only thing that didn't impress me was the rear side framework so a lady can sit 'side-saddle'

I was reliably informed by the dealership in Mumbai that the Sari Guard is quite separate from the other components and can be easily removed.