[Lwt Big Cheese]

But on the up side, once you've bought one it holds it's price?

[singhg5]

Just a side note about prices of goods imported from India to US - I regularly go to Indian stores in US to buy food and household items, such as soap, toothpaste.  Typically the US prices are 2 to 3 times more than Indian price. And it is perfectly understandable why it is so. I guess same applies to Royal Enfield motorcycle.

Going reverse from US to India, a similar situation exists - a Harley Davidson motorcycle in India costs 2 times more (Yes, in US dollars) than what I would pay for same bike at my local HD dealer.

As for price increase - just look at gas price 2 to 3 years ago to today's prices at the gas pump ! The prices of everything (except for a few electronic items) in US, India are going up like the rest of the world.

Postal stamps gone up twice or thrice in last couple of years, bread at Panera gone up twice, and so on ..............remember we are all interconnected. 

[GreenMachine]

Sinhg5 - I was always aware of the Import duties on foreign items in India but I wasn't aware that a harley was twice the cost in U.S. dollars (They weren't there 20 yrs ago) ..Pretty much just the bollywood jet setters and moderate business owners are going to afford items like this anyway...I would think that the global economy is affecting India even harder than the states.in many aspects.....I still think the gas sipping enfield is a good value, fun and a smart choice for people who want something classic.

[Ducati Scotty]

Almost all import motos in India cost twice as much, not just Harley's.  That makes it so even a Ninja 250 is a status symbol

Scott

[GreenMachine]

That true..I had a 450 nighthawk and use to ride around India Gate, the parliament compound  and all around...I was always told how big a bike I had....

[Ducati Scotty]

The Bullet 500 is the biggest domestically manufactured bike in India today. 

Scott

[GreenMachine]

It was then too...I always tried to get someone to race me  but never had any takers...I had the luxury of a twin and dual exhaust vice the fellows with the 4 speed single 500 and everyone else seem to have 125 cc's ...It was a bit ridiculous at the time as I probably had a pretty fast bike in Delhi considering it was 1986....Funny I end up buying a Enfield after all.....The nighthawk is long gone...

[Arizoni]

I believe India has about a 100 percent duty tax on all things imported into that country.
This protects the Indian industry and raises a lot of revenue for the Government but it also hurts the Indian people because they have to pay an arm and a leg for high quality items from other countries.

After reading this topic I looked for the duties charged by the US on Indian made goods without success.
A duty tax calculator for figuring out what would be owed to the US government for items imported from other countries did not even list India (although it did list a few dozen other countries I've never heard of).

Apparently India uses a open ended method of ordering a Royal Enfield.
If an Indian wants to order one he/she must get on a list.
The price apparently isn't "fixed" when the order is placed and the waiting list is about 7 months long.
Because Royal Enfield India raised their prices this year it resulted in orders placed last year costing the new owners hundreds of dollars equivalent in rupees more than the price was when they placed their order. 
Talk about a crappy way to buy something. 

[Ducati Scotty]

That's harsh.  A few hundred dollars over there can be a lot of money.

Scott

[kodai]

DS--ur looking at it all wrong---just means more bribes need to be collected or given

[Ducati Scotty]

Ah!  Well so long as it's all supporting 'commerce' then I guess it's ok.

Scott

[indyogb]

I know I paid more than my B5, than I initially expected when I started my search, but dealers were all asking about that same price.  Still, I don't care - I love this thing.  So far, my best automotive purchase ever, save, perhaps, my first car (which I still have and still runs 17 years later).  The RE is just a nice, simple (relatively), beautiful motorcycle that sounds awesome.  So, I need to check the bolts every so often (haven't found any lose yet at 1300 miles), so what - that's part of the fun .

[cyrusb]

Interesting, so here is the inevitable question: What is the margin on a typical sale here in the US?  And what could it be in India?

[clubman]

The prices in the UK are even higher than the US and it is definitely affecting sales. Pre-UCE era the Watsonian, (the UK importers), website used to boast that Enfield sales were increasing year on year in a declining market. No longer. I am reliably informed they are selling half the numbers they used to. It's quite simple: an Enfield Classic costs the same as a BMW 650 single. The BMW has twice the horsepower and the same fuel consumption. It's just one example. The Honda 250 single offering very similar performance and fuel consumption to the Enfield is much cheaper. Of course the Enfield offers a certain experience that is simply unique and there are those who will pay for it and put up with the niggles that come with it. Unfortunately for Watsonian though the average UK punter looks at the market with a good deal more objectivity. Granted this is a problem for Watsonian rather than Royal Enfield at the moment as their home market is booming. Sooner or later though they will come up against the same competition that did for the Brit industry in the 70s.

[Kevin Mahoney]

To buttress Mr. Singhs point about us being interconnected.....
Harley was unable to get into the Indian market because the emission laws in India did not allow for big displacement motorcycles. After several years of negotiating India agreed to loosen their emission laws to allow Harley into the country in exchange for the US allowing Indian Mangos to be imported to the US. There is still a very stiff duty on foreign made  vehicles which makes the Harley very expensive.

India's duty structure like many countries allow for a lower duty if the product is assembled in India which provides jobs and some technology transfer. Duty is nil if you manufacture there unless you import parts for which you pay duty. It is a totally bizarre policy which brings jobs to the country, a  concept that is lost on American politicians.

Harley is starting to assemble bikes in India (gee more jobs) and without a doubt will be manufacturing there before too terribly long.

I am no expert in global trade but it seems to me that we are chumps.