Glynn Kerr started off his column this month with the following comment: "Last month, I lamented a lack of creative vision from companies that follow the design route of the obvious, and no doubt lost the support of Enfield aficionados in the process." ...this month he mentions motorcycle designs that went way too far. In particular, he provided photos of two electric motorcycles, the Johammer J1 and the British-designed Saietta. If you want to really see what going over the top really looks like just google those two bikes.
Well, I for one would ride the Johammer in a minute, despite being a pretty old-school kinda guy... just stunning both in tech and the very clean, functional, yet revolutionary looks. Though dropping one would prove expensive...
Re: Kerr on RE's: I can appreciate a lot of what he's written, but as much as he talks about it, I don't think he's quite in touch with the domestic (Indian) market. The new twins may be "lower risk" but IMO they are not entirely safe for the company. The Himalayan, even before all the technical issues came up, was being eyed very tentatively by many, and probably a majority of traditional Bulleteers wouldn't be caught dead on one, despite the "adventure" market getting hot and its generally being a lot more interesting and making a lot more sense design-wise and functionally than any Bullet.
The twins in question, 270-degree crank aside, lack the all-important low-rpm "thump" that has thrilled Indians for decades... and will cost probably double what a nice-looking, 40kmpl CL350 does... and will require more capable mechanics than average to keep them serviced/repaired (and their company technicians have often been deplorable). No, they are not being viewed in the domestic market as "superbikes" - there are plenty of higher-performing machines available here already, the wealthy have no trouble shelling out double the U.S. price for Triumphs, and even a lot of middle-class persons are willing to pay loans on bikes costing double and more what the RE's probably will. There is indeed a lot of talk/interest (as there was for the Himalayan) and it's entirely possible that they'll sell well, but end of the day, someone has to plonk down the money (or fill out that loan application), and the cumulative mind is a little complex here.
I think RE absolutely had to do this, they'll only be able for so long to keep selling underperforming singles in an advancing market... I respect Sid Lal and his team for all they've been aspiring to, and truly the company has grown by leaps and bounds, but producing a "world bike" is not an easy thing. The entire market here is risk-averse with good reason: by example Hero, since it was also mentioned, introduced India's "first" dual-sport bike in 2012 - I own one and it's not a bad bike, I guess it was successful enough in the Brazilian market, but here it was a monumental market flop, and despite Hero's finally offering them at large discounts, they still had unsold, rusting stock sitting around the factory as of last year, must have finally scrapped them when the BS (Euro) 4 laws came into effect. The
actual first enduro/dual-sport was Kawasaki/Bajaj's KE100 "Endura" a couple decades back - another monumental flop. People thought these bikes looked funny, and the high mudguards did nothing to prevent their office shoes getting muddy in the monsoons. The Himalayan was certainly a risky venture against that backdrop. The Funduro flopped here, the Hyosung twins (cruiser and sport) flopped here, and dozens of good bikes of all types have come and gone, never really catching on for whatever reason. Not to mention widely varying regional preferences domestically. Not an easy place to do business IMO, and while India is changing rapidly, there's this (to me, despite 15 years here) very difficult to understand mix of lust for the latest/greatest/most adventurous and the sometimes very traditional, "safe" tastes / sensibilities of the oft-cited "herd mentality".
Time will tell. Meanwhile I applaud RE for venturing out a bit.
-Eric