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Thailand needs the Enfield

AllanB

By AllanB
in Motorcycles in Thailand

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AllanB Gold Member

AllanB

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I know this would politically unpopular as nothing happens without Jap say so, but importing parts from India and building an assembly plant here would be great. I for one would be waiting for the the first to roll off the line.

Or just do a deal with the Indians, like we do with Tata, to get them here with minimum import duty, 350 or 500 at 200k it would fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKTBdigs5M

Knocks HD into a hat on looks, let alone performance, handling, image...........or is it just me?

My mate has one in the UK and it sounds like a bike should, with a crackle.

Have been thinking about the Himalayan trips they do, £2000 quid...2nd on my bucket list, next to owning one.

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ll2 Platinum Member

ll2

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love to have an Enfield here in Thailand.

Actually, Enfield tried to establish something here two years ago. Theu were at Motor Expo and Bike Show but later they disappeared somehow.

Used one in India for months and love the presence and shaky character of the bike.

If they sell an Enfield Bullet 500 around 200 k thb, sure i will buy one.

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guzzi850m2 Platinum Member

guzzi850m2

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Would never work here. When I bought my Enfield in India many years ago I was asked if I wanted a mechanicass an optional extra. Here decent mechanics are too hard to find.

Well the newer models have FI and the whole 9 yards despite the retro look.

Yes they do look cool for sure but never saw them in real life.

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AllanB Gold Member

AllanB

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The future small cc Triumphs to be built in India will (IMO) kill Enfield sales dead!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Enfield is an institution in India and institutions won't die in places like that, the Morris Oxford is still built and sold 50 years on and so will the Enfield, competition is good and forces improvements.

All these retro look modern bikes miss the point, like Rolf Harris painting the Mona Lisa with a distemper brush, or the Phantom or Steed pretending to be a Harley.

I think if you thrash the pants of these old bikes/models they will give you grief, if you treat them with respect they will be faithful to you. This guy who has the Enfield in the UK, had a new Bonneville back in 1979 and he rode all over Europe on that. I am quite new to bikes, but have owned old MGB's TVR's a Lotus 7, SI and SIIA Landrovers, all perfectly reliable and easy to maintain. I now have a 30 year old Honda NV400 custom which still has a few issues and I am sure most old bike owners don't laze around every Sunday either.

Sure you need a tool kit but that's the point, the soundtrack alone is worth any minor irritation.

Edited by AllanB
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harrry Star Member

harrry

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Back in the '60's I cruised around on a 250cc Enfield for a while, it was OK. thumbsup.gif

Should have had the minibullet....went round India and over to europe on one....200cc two stroke...same as the old Villiers.

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transam Star Member

transam

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Back in the '60's I cruised around on a 250cc Enfield for a while, it was OK. thumbsup.gif

Should have had the minibullet....went round India and over to europe on one....200cc two stroke...same as the old Villiers.

The thing I rode was the 250cc single, clip ons, rear sets, goldie muffler. thumbsup.gif

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moe666 Diamond Member

moe666

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If they import them here will they send them to England first to be upgraded. Replace bushings with ball bearings, up grade electrical system and a few other things. This is what they did to the ones being exported to the states.

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ll2 Platinum Member

ll2

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If they import them here will they send them to England first to be upgraded. Replace bushings with ball bearings, up grade electrical system and a few other things. This is what they did to the ones being exported to the states.

I prefer my bike coming straight from india. Thanks.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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ll2 Platinum Member

ll2

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I was going to add that what would be special would be a Continental GT.

...and Lo, and Behold

royal.jpg

Now that would look nice in any bike stable.

continental gt looks good but it is not an original Enfield imo.

I dont really count a modern day cafe racer produce as Enfield. if a classic bike is concern for me, i am purist on this.

prefer Bullet 500 any day also i have memories on that bike too. - no worries, i dont clog the fast lanes with classic bikes like Harley guys do:).

post-184955-0-09531100-1384939722_thumb.

post-184955-0-76315400-1384939743_thumb.

post-184955-0-12009500-1384939752_thumb.

Edited by ll2
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Garry Platinum Member

Garry

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love to have an Enfield here in Thailand.

Actually, Enfield tried to establish something here two years ago. Theu were at Motor Expo and Bike Show but later they disappeared somehow.

Used one in India for months and love the presence and shaky character of the bike.

If they sell an Enfield Bullet 500 around 200 k thb, sure i will buy one.

A friend of mine had a 500 Bullet in the Middle East.. Really nice bike and I would have loved to have owned one, but I had a cruiser at the time. Will try and chase down some photos that I took of it :)

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AllanB Gold Member

AllanB

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The Indians can organise something like this what do we have here? NAL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsTkPiM4f9o

Seems to me there is not a huge reliability problem here and it don't come much tougher than the Himalayas, albeit at a gentle pace, hot India and cold mountains, rough roads, etc..

I love the attitude "You are doing this or we are leaving you here"

Edited by AllanB
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Richard-BKK Platinum Member

Richard-BKK

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The untold story about the Thai entrepreneur who wanted to bring Royal Enfield to Thailand. After a few meetings with Royal Enfield in India and in Thailand, the papers where signed and our Thai entrepreneur was officially the Thai distributor of Royal Enfield.

Now the problem started, our entrepreneur had little experience in the Thai automotive industry, and like many as you expect was quickly lost in the maze of rules, regulations and uncooperative civil-servants. But with seer luck and lots of motivation he got pretty far and even imported a badge of Royal Enfield motorcycles.

The real problem started when he, and the rest of motorcycling Thailand, found out that motorcycles produced in India are pretty expensive after being imported to Thailand. So he looked for an alternative, he found the alternative be importing the motorcycles in parts... Now he only needed a official registered/licensed company that could assemble the motorcycles in Thailand.

Our Thai Royal Enfield entrepreneur found, in his eyes, the right Thai company that could assemble the motorcycles. Now things go really wrong, as the Thai assembling company saw the potential of selling Royal Enfield motorcycles in Thailand... They rather simple to assemble and have a global status. So the Thai assembling company also started to contacted Royal Enfield HQ in India. Of course Royal Enfield is not a shaggy company so they where directly informed that Royal Enfield already had a distributor for Thailand.

So in a nasty move the Thai assembling company informed Royal Enfield, and they even traveled to India, to show papers that they where contracted to assemble the motorcycles and that the Thai entrepreneur who had the Thai Royal Enfield distribution rights had absolutely no experience with motorcycle distribution – had actual has a successful construction company and a few more enterprises. So after the sales of the bikes where stalling as the price of fully imported motorcycles where on the high on price. And the Thai assembling company not very motivated to help our Royal Enfield entrepreneur on how to get things rolling a bit quicker... They had the simple idea if the current distributor fails they would take over. So the end of the story is that indeed the Thai distributor failed as everybody seemed to work against him. The Thai assembling company who was sawing the legs of his chair where also rejected as potential distributor... I think I can remember that Royal Enfield said something like “the way they do business doesn't fit into the Royal Enfield mindset”.... could be wrong was said bit long ago...

Of course the whole story is a bit longer and not everybody was maybe not as bad as I picture, still the truth is we had almost Royal Enfield in Thailand if a few people had helped our entrepreneur. To be honest I also did not do anything... had a contract with another company and it would have looked inappropriate....

P.S. Another thing is that I never received the information that the distribution contract with our Thai entrepreneur was canceled. So maybe he is liking his wounds to come back soon with more knowledge and more products....

Edited by Richard-BKK
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Gsxrnz Platinum Member

Gsxrnz

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Have ridden a few of the Indian jobs in NZ where they are exported to, this was maybe 10 years ago.

I wouldn't take one if it was a Christmas present. If I wanted to relive the olden days and ride an old style bike, I'd rather buy a Norton or Triumph.

You'll get the same riding experience on a genuine old school bike as you would on a RE (poor handling, no power, piss-all brakes, uncomfortable), including the same routine breakdowns, failing brakes, and bits falling off them.

But you'll look cooler on a Triumph or Norton. rolleyes.gif

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BirdsandBooze Silver Member

BirdsandBooze

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I rode a couple of Enfields in India. A 350 in Bombay and a diesel throughout Kashmir. Both bikes were very reliable, go anywhere machines and work in India due to their sheer simplicity. I'd feel happier on rough terrain in the back of beyond riding an Enfield than I would a heavy, modern adventure bike. Honestly, people going on about not having good mechanics here in Thailand! These are ridiculously easy bikes to work on yourself with the most basic of tools and part of the ownership experience is tinkering with them. I'd buy the Continental 535 at the drop of a hat and when not riding it it would sit in my lounge as an ornament.

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jkinbkk Silver Member

jkinbkk

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Just my little contribution here.


Theres a guy in Roi Et who from time to time has Royal Enfields for sale.



Additionally when i was living in India I took one the old factory tours in Chennai.



Fascinating to see, really old school production as one might expect and very little Health & Safety issues especially in the paint shop.

Particularly fascinating are the guys who apply still the tank pin stripes by hand. handed down for three generations.


They have just finished a new factory (modern) to cope with Global demand. Shortly ( I was informed) they will stop offering tours of the old facility which is a shame as it accompanies so well the character and essence of the Brand





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VocalNeal Star Member

VocalNeal

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Particularly fascinating are the guys who apply still the tank pin stripes by hand. handed down for three generations.

There is no substitute for craftsmanship. Except maybe the Enfield badge I saw on one Indian bike that had holes for rivets but was crudely tacked on.

Rolls Royce coach lines are still done by hand by one man!

Edited by VocalNeal
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