New Delhi: Republic Day is celebrated with great pomp in India on 26 January. A grand ceremony is organized on this occasion at India Gate in the country’s capital New Delhi. During the Republic Day Parade organized at India Gate in New Delhi, among the various types of tableaux, Indian Army, paramilitary forces and police personnel of various states are also seen performing stunts on motorcycles. Have you ever tried to know on which company’s motorcycle the army personnel perform with indomitable enthusiasm? If you don’t know, we will tell you. Army, paramilitary forces and state police personnel are seen performing stunts on Royal Enfield motorcycles during the Republic Day Parade at India Gate in New Delhi. Now the question arises that why only Royal Enfield motorcycles are used in the stunts of the parade? Come on, do you know?
Royal Enfield is the official ride of the army
You will be surprised to know that Royal Enfield’s Bullet is the official ride of the Indian Army. In 1959, about 12 years after India’s independence, the Indian Army had imported Royal Enfield Bullets from Britain to patrol the country’s borders. At that time it was called Enfield Bullet, which used to run with a gid-gid sound. Even today its sound is gid-gid. The Army had ordered five units of Enfield Bullets as an experiment. After this, he ordered to send more units. After successful riding on Indian roads and increasing sales, the British two-wheeler company planned to produce it in the country. It partnered with tractor manufacturing company Eicher and set up its production plant in Tamil Nadu. After coming to India, its name was changed to Royal Enfield, which sells more than half a dozen models all over the world.
Royal Enfield’s top bikes
Royal Enfield Bullet 350 : This bike has a 349 cc air-cooled counter balanced single cylinder J series engine, which gives power of 20.2 PS and torque of 27 Nm. The same engine is also available in Royal Enfield Classic 350, Hunter 350 and Meteor 350. It is provided with a 5-speed gearbox along with the engine. The fuel tank capacity of this bike is 13 liters. It has 41 mm telescopic fork suspension on the front, while it has a twin shock absorber suspension setup on the rear side. For braking duty, it has been provided with 300 mm front and 270 mm rear disc brakes with dual-channel ABS. Rear drum brakes with single channel ABS are provided in its base variant. For riding, it has 19-inch (front) and 18-inch (rear) wheels, which are shod with 100-section front and 120-section rear tyres.
Like the Classic 350, this cruiser bike has a semi-digital instrument console with LCD inset. Apart from this, it also has rotary switchgear like Classic 350 and Meteor 350. Features like USB charging port, digital fuel gauge, tubeless tyre, halogen headlight, LED taillight, bulb type turn signal lamp are also provided in it. Its price in ex-showroom starts from Rs 1.90 lakh, which goes up to Rs 2.21 lakh.
Royal Enfield Classic 350 : This motorcycle comes in two variants, single channel ABS and dual channel ABS. This cruiser bike has a 350 cc single cylinder 4-stroke air-cooled engine, whose power output is 20.2 PS and 27 Nm. It has a 5-speed constant mesh gearbox. Its curb weight is 195 kg. The fuel tank capacity of this bike is 13 liters. The certified mileage of the Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorcycle is 36.2 kmpl.
This motorcycle has telescopic suspension (41 mm fork, 130 mm travel) at the front, while at the rear it gets twin tube emulsion shock absorber suspension with 6-step adjustable preload. For braking duty, it has been provided with 300 mm disc brakes (twin piston floating calliper) at the front, while at the rear it has 270 mm disc brakes (single piston floating calliper) and 153 mm drum brakes. This bike comes with single and dual channel ABS.
For riding, it is equipped with tires of size 100/90- 19-57p (spoke/alloy) and 120/80-18-62p on the front and rear sides respectively. Its feature list includes analog and digital instrument cluster, USB charging port, navigation, digital odometer, service due indicator, pass switch, engine kill switch, low fuel indicator, bulb type turn signal lamp and halogen headlight etc.
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450: This bike has a 450 cc liquid-cooled, single cylinder ‘Shepra’ engine, which generates power of 40.02 PS at 8000 rpm and torque of 40 Nm at 5500 rpm. Along with the engine, it is provided with 6-speed gearbox and slip and assist clutch. The curb weight of this bike is 196 kg, while its fuel tank capacity is 17 liters. This adventure bike has 43 mm inverted fork at the front and monoshock suspension with linkage at the rear. For braking, it has been provided with 320 mm disc brakes with 2 piston calliper at the front and 270 mm disc brake with 1 piston calliper at the rear. For riding, this bike has 90/90-21 Seat Grip RE F tires at the front and 140/80-17 Seat Grip Red Steel RE tires at the rear.
This motorcycle has features like 4-inch round TFT instrument console with smartphone connectivity, Google Maps integrated navigation, switchable ABS, ride-by-wire and 2 riding modes (Performance and Eco). Its price in ex-showroom starts from Rs 2.85 lakh and goes up to Rs 2.98 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Royal Enfield Meteor 650: This bike comes in three variants Astral, Interstellar and Celestial. Built on a steel tubular spine frame, this bike has a 648 cc parallel twin engine, which generates 47 PS of power and 52.3 Nm of torque. It has a 6-speed gearbox with the engine. It has a wet multiple clutch. The curb weight of this bike is 241 kg (with 90 percent fuel and oil). Its fuel tank capacity is 15.7 litres. The certified mileage figure of this motorcycle is 25 km per liter.
This cruiser bike has 43 mm upside down telescopic fork suspension on the front, while it has preload adjustable twin shock suspension on the rear side. For braking, it has been provided with 320 mm and 300 mm disc brakes on the front and rear sides respectively with twin piston floating callipers. It is fitted with tubeless tires of size 100/90 – 19 M/C 57H and 150/80 B16 M/C 71H at the front and rear respectively. This bike has features like low slung seat, USD suspension, LED headlamp, LED taillights, LED turn signal lamp, DG-analog instrument cluster, alloy wheels with wide rear tyre. Its price in ex-showroom starts from Rs 3.49 lakh and goes up to Rs 3.79 lakh.