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Siddhartha Lal exits Royal Enfield as Eicher seeks to shed 'family-run' tag

Bradster49

Well travelled
Location
Lille France
Kudos to the Lals to have the foresight and honesty to see that the future of the company maybe bigger than their capabilities. India has a manufacturing and export structure that is growing exponentially and RE is in place to be part of that. I watch with interest.
 

Ace

Well travelled
Location
E TN, USA
I don't know anything about Dasari.

I am happy to see Lal gone. I have seen his emphasis to be all about "cheap" but not about "good". They knowingly built junk internals into their bikes for many years because buyers couldn't see what was inside. To some extent they are still doing it.

Hopefully Dasari will understand that what is inside the bike is as important as the styling.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
I don't know anything about Dasari.

I am happy to see Lal gone. I have seen his emphasis to be all about "cheap" but not about "good". They knowingly built junk internals into their bikes for many years because buyers couldn't see what was inside. To some extent they are still doing it.

Hopefully Dasari will understand that what is inside the bike is as important as the styling.
What junk is in the new bikes ? If you have solid info on design flaws, we need to know.
 

Ace

Well travelled
Location
E TN, USA
Okay, I don't have info on the Himalayan or 650 twins because I haven't had either of those engines apart yet. I have quite a bit of info on all the other singles, but it will take some time to write it all. I will add a bit at a time as I have time. Perhaps it might be better placed in a technical thread because there will be a lot of info.
 
Okay, I don't have info on the Himalayan or 650 twins because I haven't had either of those engines apart yet. I have quite a bit of info on all the other singles, but it will take some time to write it all. I will add a bit at a time as I have time. Perhaps it might be better placed in a technical thread because there will be a lot of info.
So I just ride my Himalayan, it does what I want it to do, its great fun and I let other theorists prognosticate on its shortcomings.
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Okay, I don't have info on the Himalayan or 650 twins because I haven't had either of those engines apart yet. I have quite a bit of info on all the other singles, but it will take some time to write it all. I will add a bit at a time as I have time. Perhaps it might be better placed in a technical thread because there will be a lot of info.
You mean the singles they no longer make?
FWIW Nicole has done 50,000 km on her Electra and only non scheduled maintenance was the starter solenoid.
Yes, some of the older Bullets had problems, but they are well known and Hitchcocks has the parts to fix them and most anybody will be able to fit them, so we don,t need more dreary bad mouthing, thanks!
 
worked on many 60s and 70s era bikes, tell me they were perfect when manufactured. My Himalayan is far nicer than anything from that era. Anyone ever ride a BSA 441 Victor? Closest thing I can think of comparing to the Himalayan. There are many old unperfect bikes however that are still a blast to ride.
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Never had any mechanical problems with around 40,000 km on both , but I rebuilt the B44 from the crank up with parts I knew would work, easier to do than build it stock!
But engine technology has improved in the past 50 years, I would expect the Hima to go further before a major strip down.
The B44 is essentially a Moto Cross motor in a Observed trials frame, with the Heavyweight road bikes forks wheels and brakes.
Both brakes are more powerful than the Himas, but a well set up drum is "self servo" and is not progressive and it is all too easy to lock the wheel.
The one way damped forks on the 285lb bike have the same springs as the 520 lb Trident but work surprisingly well with the overly stiff Hagons on the rear.
Like the Hima , works surprisingly well for basic parts and is just about satisfactory.
Both have sufficient power for their intended use, neither are performance bikes, but when you drop down a gear for a quick overtake the Victor just about pulls your arms out of their sockets-----!
Dont do much real off road Trials type riding, so not much need to stand on the pegs, but as you would expect on a trials frame the B44 footpegs are at the balance point, front to rear, so it would probably be better if you ever need to get up on the pegs.
Biggest difference is the weight,, you do notice the 140 lb difference, when you park the Victor you almost worry that someone will pick it up and run away with it under his arm!
 
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