What’s new in the world of Enfield

International News

New Website

The official website has recently been upgraded. I think it is more user friendly .It has a bike comparer which is great but for those of us that are outside India is does not serve a huge purpose as we only get the 500cc. Well is creates room for new models to be comapred in the future. Maybe a 750 or 1000cc.

New factory

A new state of the art factory is being built in Chennai. It is due for completion in 2013. This will increase the annual production of Enfields thus meeting the growing demand for these pieces of art.

Local News

Pretoria Distributor

The is a new place to buy Enfields, CIT Motorcycles in Pretoria.

CIT Motorcycles

1222 Pretoria Street,

Hatfield

Contact Ronnie on 012 342 8571

Stock

It seems that the Black Classic is a popular bike. Therefore if you wish to buy a black one you will have to order one specifically. The other colours seem to be available.

Gauteng Showroom Visit

I finally got my butt into gear and made a trip out to the showroom in Germiston.

Firstly is was not as far I as I expected it to be. I was driving from Randburg and it took me less that half an hour to get there. This is not bad considering that sometime it takes me as long to get to Fourways.

The showroom is situated at the Classic Motorcycle Club (CMC) premises. This is the ideal position in my opinion. The showroom is not big but is suitably sized to display several bikes.

 

I met Allan whose is the person to speak to if you are wanting to test ride or buy an Enfield. Allan is a great guy and is very enthusiastic about Enfields (well classic bikes in general). He is also the vice president of the Classic Motorcycles Club. We chatted for several hours about Enfields and bikes in general.

Unfortunately I did not go for a test ride as my learners license has just expired. Poor planning on my part.

The showroom is kitted out with high quality mounted pictures of Enfields. On the back wall was a history of Enfields in picture form. This is great if you want to know more about the heritage of the Enfield.

 

 

It is great to see the bikes in person as photos never do these bikes any justice. In my case I have only see the classic in the green/cyan colour. I initially was keen on the maroon Classic but I have seen many photos where the bike looks candy red as opposed to maroon. Well let me say that there was one in the showroom and it was everything I expected it to be. So I am sold on the maroon colour.

I realised something when I was standing the chatting to Allan, when you buy an Enfield you are not just buying a bike you are buying into a lifestyle. If you buy this bike you need to join a club like the CMC. The CMC have regular meets, outings, etc. This really appeals to me I must say. I intend to bring you more information about the CMC in the near future.

So my advice is this….if you are fond of classic bikes do yourself a favour and visit the showroom. Where can you get a new classic styled 500cc for around R43 000.

If you do happen to visit the showroom, drop me an email let me know what you think of the showroom and the bikes….

Showroom Address

Pavillion sports Centre, Cnr Power and Refinery Street, Germiston.
Contact Alan: 078 1375609

The local Royal Enfield website (www.royalenfield.co.za) is currently under construction but should be live by the end of June so visit it soon for more information on the bike that is built like a gun….

New Enfield Showrooms

Some of you might know that Royal Enfield has an official presence in South Africa again. There are "showrooms" in Durban, Cape Town, Kimberley and Johannesburg.

Here are the details
GAUTENG

Classic Motor Co

Alan on 078 137 5609
royalenfieldjhb@gmail.com
Pavillion sports Centre, Cnr.
Power and Reñnery Street,
Germiston

KWAZULU-NATAL

Headquarters

Brice on 076 361 7615
sales@royalenfleld.co.za
24 Kings Avenue,
Westville, 3629,
Durban

NORTHERN CAPE

Mr Bike

Herman on 082 464 1042
mrbike@telkomsa.net
65 Transvaal Road,
KmberIey

WESTERN CAPE

Thruxton Motorcycles

Garth on 072 436 3642
thruxtonmc@gmail.com
Unit 6, Tazra Park, Somerset
Business Park, Somerset West,
Cape Town

Here are some photos of the Gauteng showroom from the Latestt newsletter

So go and visit you nearest showroom.

It is also important to note that f you are not in those areas and you purchase a bike they will deliver to you free of charge anywhere in South Africa.

In the aftermath….

Technorati Tags: royal enfield,endfield,british motorcycle,south africa,triumph,bonneville,T100

Well as some of you might have seen I have not posted an entry for sometime now.

Well in the aftermath of the official Royal Enfield dealer disappearing, I have been a bit subdued about the whole Enfield thing. Sorry guys I am human after all. I was just bummed about the whole thing. I wrote a post about buy an officially imported bike and now I will have to resort to importing one if I decide to buy a “new” C5…

I confess I have since looked at the Triumph Bonneville T100 as an alternative. But please don’t subject me to a public stoning at mid day…it is after all a British bike. Although the Triumphs are more powerful I feel they lack the charm of an Enfield. The styling IMO is less stylish than that of an Enfield. Take the seats for instance. The split solo and pillion seat on the Enfield is just Classic (excuse the pun). I must tell you, I have this image in my mind of one particular Enfield I saw in the showroom last year. It is problem the one that I should get (if I can find it) as it has been branded in my memory. It sums up the bike and its heritage in one look. Here it is ….. what do you think?

Close up of the fuel tank

Shot of the bike in the background

Fuel tank on its own

Best seen in real life.

I have not been totally removed from Enfields over the past few months. I have a friend who has one. I was in his neighbourhood for business recently. He invited me around to his place to see if we could start it. He had not ridden it for awhile and thought it best to tick the engine over. Well we certainly tried to get it going but could not get it to run for more that a few seconds. Turns out there was a build up in the carb. Hopefully the next time I am there I can hear it running. Trying to start the bike made me long for one of my own. Even if it is to run to the shops and back on a Sunday.

So the quest is on again…..

Until next time….. cheers!