The Royal Enfield Challenge

And why it matters for Liberty

RE Retro Classic Bike that’s Crushing it

OK, I get it, this is not exactly what you might want to read on a substack that started because of my slowly emerging book on Grant. Lately, I am dealing with the Civil Rights/KKK developments of the 1870s, by the way. It is a lot to unpack. More on that in a future post…and some of what I upload here on that topic will be in the book. It cannot be overlooked or avoided.

Bear with me on this entry.

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Even though this poast might seem like a mere motorcycle article, it is not. While I have much affinity for motorcycles and much of its culture, I am making a larger point by drawing attention to a particular development that has broader implications. I recently rebuilt my transmission and clutch myself on my old Harley, so you could say I have a bit of interest. In the process I follow the market a bit. It is fluid. Younger people are not buying Harleys. My favorite motorcycle is the American Icon that is Harley Davidson. But, I am not blind to the fact that there are many great motorcycles on the market, and some look quite fun. Yet, I am not going to belabor you with any of that. I want to address something that is being lost, but Royal Enfield is exploiting successfully.

So this post is really about fweedom!

I will also make another entry in a few days on Harley and Indian are going woke like everyone else. 🤬 That will not just make the larger point that our corps are morally bankrupt in increasing numbers, but that Harley is going to lose its customers and potentially their company will go under because they are crapping on their brand and making motorcycles for the rich only nowadays. That part will be strictly about cycles.

But this is about Enfield and only around the edges about Harley. Why? Enfield is making bank—they sold something like 700,000 motorcycles worldwide last year. Harley?

Some historical background by Different Spokes (love this guy) here:

It is the end of this presentation that deserves some note. Most of our cars, and motorcycles are piled on electronics. Much of the modern tech is not necessary; much of it is required through government regulations (emissions falls into this category).

Less is Based—Or Low Tech Beats High Tech

This is the point of the entire poast: Royal Enfield is a simple motorcycle that is reliable and affordable. The biggest selling point is that it is simple. It does have some modern tech like being oil cooled, but that is combined with it also being air cooled. Nice. I have an old Harley that is air cooled, but I added an aftermarket oil cooler and it keeps the engine at least 20 degrees cooler in the summer.

Check out this video that also makes this precise point regarding the simplicity of it all:

If I am reading things correctly, people are sick and tired of bells and whistles. There is something more intimate about riding something you can feel. The variety of electronic choices takes the fun out of riding, especially because, none of it really adds anything to the experience.

Men, in particular, are interested in maintaining their own possessions. Modern bikes (and cars) put all that out of reach. It lessens the man and strikes at his capabilities. It feminizes us. Yes, it feminizes. Why? Because the ever increasing specialization makes us reliant on others and decreases the confidence that comes from maintaining and repairing our own things.

I noted some of this in an earlier entry —especially in the clip I embedded from Dazed and Confused. 👇👇👇

Teenage to young men used to occupy their time modifying and/or repairing their vehicles and then bragging to their friends about their accomplishment. Slapping on a four barrel carb and intake, with performance cam and lifters when they overhauled their engine and then modified the exhaust with headers took some talent. For God’s sake, young men ripped the three on the tree off, and bought a Hurst to convert their cars to 4 on the floor!

Look at how young men are modifying the Enfield. It’s bitchin’:

Butter: The RE modded into a bobber. Based.

The freedom Enfield brings is something Harley has now pretty much lost—the ability to take a blank canvas like an Enfield (for Harley that used to be the Sporster, now discontinued). It is here men learned, and here men were able to express themselves in their ride. There’s not a lot of modification going on in the garage/front or back yard these days. Mostly it happens around motorcycle culture, and old car and truck restoration.¹

Simplicity is easy to maintain, reliable, and also helps men to own their space. The sheer lack of gadgets on the bike is rather like a rejection of globalism—less electronics means something less able to be shut down remotely. It also means you cannot be tracked. Take off for a weekend up the Himalayans, and your government will not know.

This simplicity also means the bike can be easily maintained. This is a manly endeavor. The more we can maintain our vehicles, the more we own ourselves and are not slavish to some tech expert who cannot seemingly get things right. I personally know many techs (because I am something of a gear-head) who cannot work on cars pre 2000. Why? They do not know how. So laden down with tech are we, that the knowledge of what makes things actually work is gone.

The Enfield fills that void. The small dual cooling engine allows the company to meet emissions and it also offers affordability.² Harley just did away with all air cooled engines, and the Japanese did that ages ago. To say it bluntly—liquid cooled motorcycle engines are ugly. But, there is just something more cool to have an air cooled bike and Enfield has retained it. The simplicity of the engine not only makes it easier to maintain, it allows for easier access to the engine. It also appeals to those who want classic looking bikes.

Sure there are bigger bikes out there with bigger engines—the Harley for example—but nothing at this price point that is small and ridable & just plain fun. Enfield is that in spades.

Some are seeing the light, like this former Yammie Noob youtuber who said..ooops we make a mistake in our arrogance for light and fast bikes. There is a certain amount of arrogance for the lighter, faster, agile bike. Ducati and many others fill this void—and they are more expensive, but not Harley expensive. He goes on to speak to the aftermarket support for modifying the Enfield, which is an asset to the bike, not a drawback:

In order for the motorcycle industry to survive, it needs new young customers. Harley has purposely cut out of its lineup entry level bikes for these potential customers. This is a self-destruction mechanism. Their customers will age out and die. Who will they sell to in the future? Those who entered the market on another brand will be unlikely to to move into a Harley whose CEO and Board clearly have no regard for them.

Royal Enfield is marketing to the young and adventurous. Harley wants near dead return customers. Who has the better business model? Enfield builds a simple bike, that is maintainable by the rider, customizable, and in looks, a complete rejection of globalism. Part of the reason for the Retro craze in many countries for RE is precisely because they want something that represents a rejection of GAE. That is the political subtext to the RE success—freedom. That it is also easy to maintain means more, not less, freedom for the rider. The Enfield is a complete rejection of our unreliable modern world in this sense.

It is a simple fact the company wants some kind of RetVrn. I leave you with the commercial for Enfield below. It is telling:

1. I do realize there is a whole culture around foreign sports car modifications (Hondas, etc), but this is not common like it was “back in the day”

2. this is new for the 2023 I believe. Before that they were strictly air cooled and one could add an oil cooler.