Royal Enfield Motorcycles - Official United States Website

Maybe. At this stage, what you see in the picture is a Wakan inspired rendition by Oberdan Bezzi, a motorcycle designer over in Italy. He has a website devoted to some of his own designs which he does when he isn’t turning out work for his clients. Check out his incredible Royal Enfield design studies on his Motosketches blog

The Indian Army flagged off a cross-country motorbike expedition here on Friday across war memorials in several Eurasian and West Asian nations to pay homage to the brave and martyr soldiers of the Second World War.

The 10-member team of biking enthusiasts, christened the ‘Lightning Bulleteers’, would be travelling across geographic boundaries of Eurasia and West Asia during their 42 days tour, logging a lengthy distance 12000 kilometres.

“Led by Colonel V K S Tomar, the ‘Lightning Bulleteers’ comprises five senior male Army officers, two lady cadres and three members of other ranks,” said defence officials.

The main objective of the expedition is to pay homage to the brave soldiers slain in the Second World War by placing mementoes at various international war memorials.

Riding high on their heavy-duty, specially designed 500 cc Royal Enfield motorbikes, the team would be traversing smooth roads, rugged mountains and varied landscapes across Greece, Turkey, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

“Basically, the message that we are sending is of universal peace, harmony and the spirit of adventure, which the Indian Army promotes. The expedition will be challenging, given the distance and the weather conditions. But we have taken up this challenge and we will give our best,” said Colonel V K S Tomar.

Beginning the rally from the historical India Gate in New Delhi, the Lightning Bulleteers would zip to Maharashtra’a Mumbai city by road, and take a flight to Turkey.

From Turkey, the team would again resume their travel astride the sturdy two-wheelers after visiting the famous Helles War Memorial and the Twelve Tree Copse Memorial, where there were 1,730 Indian casualties in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915.

The team would be riding across the Monastir Road Indian Memorial and the Phaleron War cemetery at Greece, where more than 200 men of then British Indian army had been slain during the violent movements in Greece and Crete Islands during the Second World War.

Further visits include visit to the New Glasgow War Memorial, the Hollybrook Memorial, The Cenotaph and the Edinburgh Castle in the UK.

The expedition is aimed at spreading the message of universal, international bonhomie, and friendship.

It would also strengthen the Indian Army’s strategic ties with these nations.

The culmination of the expedition will take place on September 28 at New Delhi.

Iron Barrel Alternators

There are basically three alternators that were used in the Iron Barrels. From 1995 until mid 1999 they were affectionalty known as the “3 wire” alternator. It ran the entire bike from headlight to taillight. It had a two piece rectifier and regulator. It was also marginal in terms of being able to keep up with the needs of the bike. This was because all US bikes are wired with the headlight on all the time. This alternator was never intended for this type of load. It had a smaller 7 amp hour battery. The three wires of the alternator were reduced to two wires as they went to the regulator/rectifier. Alternators produced AC current and the rectifier turns it into DC. Two wires in, two wires out. The regulator’s job is to regulate the voltage so that it only charges when needed and does not overcharge the battery. These early units were plagued by weak rectifiers.

In mid 1999 the AC/DC system was introduced. This was a four wire alternator which produced more power. The alternator was split in half electrically with two of the wires providing power only to the headlight and the other two powering the bike through the regulator/rectifier. It has plenty of power to keep the lights and the bike running full time.The headlight could care less if you are pushing AC or DC through it. The headlight circuit has it’s own small voltage regulator under the seat – it looks like a flasher).  The regulator/rectifier units were upgraded from the earlier ones and rarely fail.

When the Electric starter was introduced in 2002 an even more powerful unit was required. Enter the third and final 4 wire alternator. This alternator was used with a 14 amp hour battery right up until the final production of the Iron Barrel. This unit is the “hot” setup for all Bullets. You can use them with any Bullet even the three wire units. The trick is to make sure you also get the upgraded regulator/rectifier that is matched to this alternator.

Changing an alternator and regulator/rectifier units is an easy and straightforward job. The only thing to remember is to make sure that when you tighten the stator coils up that you make sure there is at least 0.006 thousands of an inch between the rotor and stator all of the way around. It is also good practice to change the rotor with the stator as they do lose their magnetism over time.

Lean Burn Alternator

The Lean Burn uses a more powerful alternator of a different design than the old Lucas types that are found in the iron barrels. It also carries the ignition triggering unit as part of the assembly. There isn’t much to know about them and they rarely fail.

UCE Alternator

The UCE alternator is similar to the Lean-Burn with some important exceptions. It has a series of magnets around it’s circumference that tell the EFI system where the crankshaft is, what it’s rpm is and whether or not it is accelerating or decelerating. The EFI system then adjusts the timing, fuel flow etc to meet those conditions.

The 7th Annual Reno REunion is upon us! The even takes place onn Labor Day weekend Sept 3rd. thru Sept 6th. All rides will leave from Sun Valley Service Center. Located at 5670 Sun Valley Blvd. Sun Valley, Nevada 89433.

Many rooms are available in both Sparks and Reno, Nevada. Both cities are just 7 milers from the dealership. Early birds will be treated to a ride Friday afternoon to a local lake and BBQ hot dogs.

As in past years, Sun Valley Service Center will provide secured parking for trucks and trailers.

Saturday’s ride will be into the gold country of California. As in past years, the city of Sparks has a world class rib cook-off attracting contestants from all over the world on Labor Day weekend.

Sunday’s ride will be to Virginia City and Lake Tahoe with a BBQ at Guy’s house. We will be providing a chase truck loaded with cold drinks on both rides. We are limiting the event two 30 bikes a charge $15 per person to cover gas, food, and drinks.

For more information please call 775-673-9611 Ask for Guy or e-mail sunvalguy@aol.com

This event is put on by Guy and Jan Coover, owners of Sun Valley Service Center: where you get the bike just the way you want it!

In case you missed it, Royal Enfield was a big hit at this year’s LA Calendar Motorcycle show in Long Beach, California. Special thanks to South Bay Triumph, the California Royal Enfield dealer who organized the appearance at the event and to everyone who came out to check out the… bikes!

Terry from Florida spent a few weekends in the Valley of the Sun (aka Phoenix, AZ) where she rented motorcycles and enjoyed the scenic rides between Scottsdale and Sedona.

The first weekend she took the trip clockwise on a BMW F800ST. The next weekend she wanted to get a different perspective of this scenic route and rode it counterclockwise, but this time on a Royal Enfield C5 Classic.

Here is the experience she came away with:

“Although it has been over a week since I left, my memories of my month out west were most vivid of the four days off which I spent on AZ rental bikes. I just can’t say enough about what fun it was! The first two on the lower F800st were just superb. That is the bike for me, the lower frame was a perfect fit. It was the easiest thing and a joy to ride. Definitely sold me on getting rid of my RT and downsizing to something more nimble.
But when the ST was already taken for my next set of days off, and I took the Royal Enfield on a lark, I just can’t say it loud and long enough,— what an absolute blast that was! That was as much fun as a human being can have alone. It was soooooo much fun! I gave away almost every card you gave me. A real social interaction device, that Enfield. I guess I would have to admit that I had more fun on it than even the ST. It was a stop and smell the cactus kind of bike. I saw more, enjoyed more, and met more people.”

Several news outlets have confirmed that Royal Enfield is bound to serious expansion. According to the recently published data, the expansion plan will nearly double Royal Enfield’s production with increases in capacity over the next three years. The plan forecasts unit production growth from Royal Enfield’s 2010 unit volume of 52,000 to as much as 70,000 units for 2011, followed by up to 90,000 units for 2012 and finally 100,000 units or more for 2013.

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director and CEO, Eicher Motors (left), and R.L. Ravichandran, CEO, Royal Enfield

Kevin Mahoney, president of Royal Enfield USA, said “Consumer response to the new model line in the United States and elsewhere has been remarkably strong and it’s very encouraging to know that Royal Enfield will be ready as the market continues to grow.”

Kevin Mahoney, president of Royal Enfield USA

A dream, a plan, and a Royal Enfield Bullet 500es Classic with Jonathan D. Price in the saddle. Those are the essential ingredients for a Cross-Country adventure.
Curious? Follow him on his blog at http://blackmotorbike.com.

K&N’s 2010 Performance Filters Powersports catalog features this racing Royal Enfield. The skid is performed by a professional, in a closed course race. Don’t try this at home!

The popular Indian Cars & Motorbikes blog recent published an article about the arrival of the Royal Enfield Bullet C5 Military here in the United States.

While the Military C5 is currently only sold in the U.S. market, the article draws attention to world-wide interest in the unique “Battle Green” Classic. The author also underscores the a few of the engineering differences between Indian domestic models and export models produced by Royal Enfield.

Click Here to Read the Article at IndianCarsBikes.in >