Royal Enfield is one of the most storied names in British motorcycle industry history. Indeed, the now India-based marque has long been a force in the industry with an ever-growing presence worldwide—including in North America. Evidence of the company’s plans for that strategy is in the opening in 2016 of a corporate headquarters and flagship dealership on Water Street in Milwaukee, Harley-Davidson’s ancestral home.
Mick Walker’s book, Royal Enfield T the Complete Story, provides a superbly illustrated deep-dive into the history of Royal Enfield. Walker describes the earliest origins of the two-wheel line of business for George Townsend & Co., a firm that began building bicycles in the 1880s. Around 1890, the company was known as Eadie Manufacturing, and joined with the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, Middlesex. In 1893, the connection with Royal Small Arms and the new Enfield Manufacturing Company would ultimately lead to adding the word “Royal” to the name.
Walker relates that the Enfield Cycle Company began manufacturing motorized quadricycles and tricycles in 1899. By 1901, the company built its first motorcycle. It was essentially a bicycle-framed two-wheeler with a single-cylinder engine mounted over the front wheel that sent power to the rear wheel via a figure-8 drive belt arrangement. In 1903, the layout changed to a more conventional mid-ship engine location.
Around this time, the emphasis moved to four-wheel vehicle production, though the company apparently paused motorcycle production from about 1904 to 1909. At that time, the product used either Swiss MAG or British JAP V-twin engines.
Walker makes a strong case for the long history of the Royal Enfield’s innovative spirit, which is contrary to the common conception of the company arising from its long history of use of the air-cooled, carbureted, single-cylinder, four-stroke models seemingly unchanged for decades.
For example, Walker reveals Royal Enfield was one of the earliest motorcycle builders to use a pressurized dry-sump lubrication system with the oil supply tank built into the crankcase, eliminating the need for an external oil tank and feed lines. It was also among the first to use a chain final drive, a two-speed gearbox, and a rubber cush-drive rear wheel hub.
If you thought Kawasaki’s air-cooled, two-stroke triples of the 1960s and ’70s were ground-breaking, check this out: Royal Enfield built that very thing—in 1915! Further, if you thought Honda’s use of three-valve heads on their four-strokes in the 1980s was cutting-edge, Royal Enfield introduced three-valve heads on its production bikes in 1935. Honda’s four valves per cylinder engines from the 1980s were also pre-dated by Royal Enfield’s four-valve, 488cc LF model in 1932.
In Royal Enfield – The Complete Story, Walker also provides insight into the vital role Royal Enfield played in the Allies’ efforts in World Wars I and II. In WWII, Royal Enfield’s most noted offering was the 125cc two-stroke WD/RE, known widely as the Flying Flea, so named because it was designed to be air-dropped in a tubular steel case with paratroopers. Don’t miss our coverage of the recently announced Flying Flea brand from Royal Enfield.
The chapter on the Royal Enfield’s road racing efforts covers major events from its first appearance in the Isle of Man TT in 1911 to the end of factory racing involvement with the two-stroke GP-5 racer in the late 1960s.
In chapter 15 of Royal Enfield – The Complete Story, Walker provides company history, racing history, and detailed technical information on various models, including Bullet variants—Meteor, Crusader, Constellation, Continental GT, and Interceptor series. Even the Indian Enfield Interceptor II, marketed in the United States by Floyd Clymer, is not left out.
In the chapter on the Interceptor II, Walker covers the complicated end of Royal Enfield motorcycle manufacturing in England. That left the Royal Enfield name being carried on in motorcycle manufacturing only in India.
Walker’s book takes the Royal Enfield story up to 2003, yet foresees the 2018 revival of the Royal Enfield Interceptor. Royal Enfield’s story is fascinating for devotees and casual observers alike. Royal Enfield – The Complete Story tells the tale engagingly.
Royal Enfield – The Complete Story Fast Facts
- Title: Royal Enfield – The Complete Story
- Author: Mick Walker
- Format: Hardcover. 192 pages. 9.5-by-7.5 inches. 240 color and black-and-white images.
- Published: This edition in 2022; originally released in 2003
- Publisher: The Crowood Press, Wiltshire, England
- ISBN: 978 1 86126 563 0
Royal Enfield – The Complete Story Price: $26 MSRP, direct from The Crowood Press website
