Royal Enfield Tour

Guest Blogger Andrew,

yes I finally got him to post something on the blog.

Yesterday Sam and l joined with a group of Expats for a tour of the Royal Enfield Factory here in Chennai. Not being a motor bike guy l was more looking forward to the visit from a manufacturing perspective, but today have woken with an itch that makes me wish that maybe l was a motor bike guy.

On arrival at the Royal Enfield factory (which we did get lost trying to find, twice) Sam, Mark and l were met by Sakthivel at the gate and escorted to the board room while we waited for the remainder of the party to arrive. We were expecting to have a tour of the factory but when Mr Shaji (GM - Marketing) arrived he informed us the agenda for the day included a slide presentation about the history of Enfield, lunch and a facorty walk. Everyone in the room looked nervous at the thought of lunch but there were no objections voiced, just some hard swallows.

The presentation was fantastic, going through the company history, markets, recent awards, cult status, clubs and the Royal Enfield experience. We were all presented with a copy of the Royal Enfield marketing newsletter "The Beat", which looks more like a magazine than a news letter and makes very good reading.

Then, off to lunch.... We were taken to the canteen and treated to a fantastic traditional South Indian lunch of rice, chapatti, vegetables, samba, chutney, curry, curd and papadams. Not sure what everyone else thought but Sam found the food a little spicey. I thought it was great, the food quality and service was excellent.

After lunch it was off to the factory for a look at the manufacturing processes and assembly operations. Starting in the machine shop we saw a large array of machines ranging from modern state of the art Makino CNC machining centres to old manual drill presses that looked as though they may have been there since the establishment of Enfield in Chennai in 1955. The engine assembly was done along a small conveyor with a lot of air tools by men who had worked there for years and were more than happy to show there workplace and share their knowledge.

We then moved into the paint shop and saw the process of adding the pin stripes to the fuel tank and other accessories by hand on less. This guy was amazing the way that he added the gold stripes by hand. This job is done on two shifts and the second shift painter is the brother of the first fist guy. This was the only place inside the factory where we were able to take photos.

On completion of the factory tour we moved outside, to a very pleasant breeze and the test track. All the bikes come off the assembly line and get taken for a 2 lap shakedown before being despatched to the customer. We were allowed to take the bikes for a test ride around the track if we liked. Not being a motor bike guy l declined based on the "you damage it you buy it policy" but Mark and Dave being experienced rides did make a few flying laps.

Mark has ordered a new bike recently so he took the opportunity to have a ride on the same model he ordered. That will have to see him through till his bike is delivered in 6 months which is the delivery time for a Royal Enfield motorcycle.



At the end of the tour we were taken back to the board room for some much needed water, collect our delongings and were presented with beer mugs and t-shirts for the kids.

Been there, done that and got the t-shirt to prove it

This was a fantastic experience and if anyone gets the opportunity to join a group for the Royal Enfield Tour l would certainly recommend you take up the offer.