Royal Enfield
Made Like a Gun
From needles from Redditch, England to modern two-cylinders from Chennai. The story of the world's oldest continuously produced motorcycle brand, year by year.
- 1901the first Royal Enfield motorcycle
- 125years of continuous motorcycle production in 2026
- 1932Bullet: the longest produced motorcycle name in the world
- 2technical centers: Chennai and Bruntingthorpe in England
Redditch
Needles, bicycles and an order for the armory. From this came the first motorcycle.
Začátek v Redditchi
Businessmen Bob Walker Smith and Albert Eadie buy George Townsend & Co. from Hunt End near Redditch, England. It is an established manufacturer of sewing needles that had recently ventured into bicycle manufacturing.
Made Like A Gun
The company receives a contract for precision parts for the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield and is renamed the Enfield Manufacturing Company. A year later, its bicycles are given the name Royal Enfield and the Made Like A Gun trademark is created, which the brand still uses today.
The first motor vehicle
Bob Walker Smith designs the company's first motor vehicle, a 1,5 horsepower De Dion four-wheeler. Two years later, the Royal Enfield quad gets a silver medal in a 1,000-mile reliability ride from London to Edinburgh and back.
First motorcycle
The first Royal Enfield motorcycle is presented at the Stanley Cycle Show in London. It was designed by Bob Walker Smith and Frenchman Jules Gobiet. A 1,75 horsepower motor sits in front of the steering head and the rear wheel is driven by a long leather belt. The machine costs 50 pounds and this year marks the start of continuous production of the brand's motorcycles.
The first two-cylinder
Premiering at the Stanley Cycle Show is the first Royal Enfield twin cylinder fork with a 297 cm3 Swiss Motosacoche engine. In the very next season, he collects successes in competitions, among others, in riding from John o' Groats to Land's End.
War production
The brand's first two-stroke motorcycle goes into production. With the First World War, the largest engine in the range, a two-cylinder with a volume of 770 cm3 and a power of 6 horses, takes precedence. Royal Enfield supplies motorcycles to the British, Belgian, French, American and Russian military.
Sports Model 351
The offer has eight models. The new Sports Model 351 is the first Royal Enfield with a 350 cm3 four-stroke engine with OHV transmission and foot shift. Also coming is a women's two-stroke 225 cm3 with a walk-through frame.
Bullet
A name that is still produced today. And a motorcycle that parachuted to the front.
Zrození Bulletu
Introducing Bullet in 250, 350 and 500 cm3 volumes. All versions feature a slanted cylinder, dual-channel head, foot-shifting, and higher compression pistons. A five-stroke with a four-valve head goes 90 miles per hour, or roughly 145 km/h. The Bullet name has been produced non-stop since then.
Today: Bullet 350
Flying Flea
During World War II, Royal Enfield produced over 55 000 military motorcycles. The most famous is the lightweight two-stroke Airborne with a volume of 125 cm3, which is called the Flying Flea. He parachuted in a safety cage with paratroopers, including before the Normandy landings and during Operation Market Garden.
Swing fork and six-day gold
The post-war prototype Bullet 350 gets a rear swingarm with oil shock absorbers, a pioneering solution for its time. Two Bullets ride in the British team that wins the International Six Day Competition in Italy. Both riders take home the gold medal.
India
The Redditch factory is closing. Bullet lives on in Madras.
Journey to India
K. R. Sundaram Iyer establishes Madras Motors and begins importing British motorcycles, including Royal Enfields, into India. In Britain, the new Bullet 350 and two-cylinder 500 Twin go on sale in the same year with a common frame, swingarm and telescopic front fork.
Order for Indian Army
Indian Army orders 500 Bullets 350 for patrols in Kashmir and Rajasthan. The machines prove themselves in difficult terrain and further large orders follow. In the same year, Johnny Brittain wins the prestigious Scottish Six Days Trial on Bullet 350.
Enfield India
The Redditch factory and Madras Motors together form Enfield India. The new Tiruvottiyur plant begins construction near Madras, today's Chennai.
Výroba v Madrásu
The Tiruvottiyur plant begins building Bullets under license. The first machines come from England disassembled in crates and are assembled in India. The production of parts will gradually move to Madras in the following years.
Continental GT
The press team will ride the new café racer 1 000 miles from John o' Groats to Land's End in under 24 hours, including eight laps of the Silverstone circuit. The Continental GT has a laminate racing tank, low handlebars, humpback racing seat and tachometer.
Today: Continental GT 650
End of production in England
At the beginning of the year, only two models remain in the offer, Continental GT 250 and Interceptor 736 cm3. The Redditch factory is closing, the Interceptor is still being produced in an underground plant near Bradford on Avon until June 1970. Then British production ends. In India, the Bullet continues to be produced.
Today: Interceptor 650Bullet returns to Europe
Enfield India begins exporting the Bullet 350 to the UK and Europe. It is quickly gaining a loyal following among fans of classic motorcycles.
Today: Bullet 350
The only serial diesel
Enfield India manufactures the world's first and only mass-produced diesel motorcycle. The Enfield Diesel has a fuel efficient 325 cm3 engine of 6 horsepower in a regular Bullet chassis. Next comes the truck version of the Taurus for Indian farmers.
A new era
New owner, new engines and the first own dealership in the world.
Eicher
Commercial vehicle and tractor maker, Eicher group, buys Enfield India and renames it Royal Enfield Motors Limited. The production of light motorcycles ends and the brand has since focused exclusively on medium-volume machines.
Khardung La
Forty Bullet motorcycles take to the Khardung La Pass in Ladakh, then billed as the world's highest passable pass. The expedition gives rise to the annual Himalayan Odyssey and the tradition of expeditions into the most difficult terrain.
Today: Himalayan 450
UCE and Classic engine to Europe
The new UCE engine is coming, which combines the engine and transmission into one unit. Royal Enfield begins exporting to Europe the Classic 500, India's first Euro 3 fuel-injected motorcycle.
Classic
Retro model Classic on platforms 350 and 500 cm3 goes on sale in India. Instantly gaining cult status, sales grow rapidly and the Classic becomes the brand's best-selling motorcycle.
Today: Classic 350
One Ride
For the first time, One Ride, a joint ride of Royal Enfield owners around the world in one day, is taking place. It has been held every year since then. The company buys land in Oragadam for a new factory and organizes an expedition to Nepal for the first time.
Oragadam and Continental GT 535
Production starts at the new Oragadam plant with a robotic paint shop. Forty-eight years after the first café racer, the name Continental GT returns: the frame was designed by the British company Harris Performance, it is powered by a single cylinder UCE 535 cm3.
Today: Continental GT 650
Harris Performance a Milwaukee
Royal Enfield buys British design firm Harris Performance. In Milwaukee, USA, he establishes Royal Enfield North America, the first representative office of his own outside India.
Dnes
Himalaya, twin-cylinder 650 and 125 non-stop flights.
Himalayan
The brand's first motorcycle built specifically for adventure travel. It is powered by a new 411 cm3 SOHC single-cylinder engine, the chassis has long strokes and is built for all roads and none.
Today: Himalayan 450
Bruntingthorpe and the twin cylinders 650
A UK technology center with 170 engineers and designers is opening in Bruntingthorpe near Leicester. The third Vallam Vadagal factory starts near Chennai. At EICMA in Milan, the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are shown for the first time with the new in-line twin.
Today: Interceptor 650
Rekord na Bonneville
Eighteen-year-old Cayla Riva of California drives the Bonneville Salt Flat 157,053 miles per hour, that is 252,7 km/h, setting a speed record in a modified Continental GT 650. The limited edition Classic 500 Pegasus is reminiscent of the wartime Flying Flea.
Today: Continental GT 650
Karakoram
Eleven Indian Army and Royal Enfield riders ride the Himalayas to the Karakoram Pass at a height of 5 540 m, in snow and freezing below minus 30 degrees. No one before them could do it on a motorcycle. The Interceptor 650 takes the title of Indian Motorcycle of the Year.
Today: Himalayan 450
Meteor 350 and the J platform
The Meteor 350 is the first model on the new J platform, jointly developed by the technology centers in Chennai and the UK. The Classic 350, Hunter 350, Bullet 350 and Goan Classic 350 also received the 349 cm3 single cylinder with balance shaft.
Today: Meteor 350
120 years and Project Origin
Royal Enfield celebrates 120 years of pure motorcycling. Volunteers from the UK Technology Center and Harris Performance are building Project Origin, a working replica of the very first motorcycle from 1901.
Hunter 350
Hunter 350 has its world premiere in Bangkok. The shorter wheelbase, lower weight and sharper geometry make it a bike for the city, from Bandra to Brooklyn.
Today: Hunter 350
Super Meteor 650
Cruiser Super Meteor 650 expands the twin-cylinder line with a machine for long highways and city streets. It is quickly gaining popularity in the rider community.
Today: Super Meteor 650
Guerrilla 450, Bear 650 and Classic 650
The Guerrilla 450 debuts in Barcelona and brings the Sherpa 450 engine to the roadster. The Bear 650 scrambler, inspired by the Big Bear Run, and the Classic 650 are coming to EICMA in Milan.
Today: Guerrilla 450
125 flight of Royal Enfield motorcycles
The brand is celebrating 125 years since the first motorcycle of the year 1901. It is the oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production in the world. The anniversary is commemorated by the limited edition Classic 650 125th Anniversary, which you can also view in GARAGE and Bohušovicích nad Ohří.
Today: Classic 650
Come and see the showroom
Motorcycles of all model series, coffee and places to sit. Open Mon-Fri 9:00–17:00, Sat 9:00–13:00.
