The Bullet name for a motorcycle model was introduced in 1931 in Great Britain when Royal Enfield launched its four stroke single-cylinder motorcycle. It was the first to feature this new name. Interestingly, the Royal Enfield and Bullet names were derived from the British company which had been a subcontractor to the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, London. The first G2 Bullet in a rigid frame was launched in the UK in 1938. Shortly after WWII, in 1948 an upgraded model with a rear swing arm suspension was introduced.
India’s connection with Royal Enfield motorcycles can be traced post-Independence. In 1949, the Indian Army ordered 500 Royal Enfield G2 Bullets from the British motorcycle maker and in 1955, the Redditch, UK-based manufacturer partnered with Madras Motors in India to form 'Enfield India,' to assemble and sell under licence its single-cylinder, aircooled, four-stroke pushrod G2 350cc engined Bullet motorcycles in Madras (now renamed Chennai). Those models had MO1 Type magneto ignition systems supplied by Lucas with separate 6V dynamo for lights and horn.
The British company later sold the complete tooling to the Indian outfit to facilitate its manufacturing including the designs for the then G2 engine. The originally designed and produced in England pushrod G2 engine was initially imported and came with separate bolt-on 4-speed transmission with neutral finder, Amal carburettor (pre-monobloc and later Monobloc) and mechanical kickstarter and during its journey in India remained mostly unmolested while the UK-version got some mechanical upgrades.
Denne historien er fra 1st July 2023-utgaven av Autocar Professional.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 1st July 2023-utgaven av Autocar Professional.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Spain's Fersa Group invests in India-based Delux Bearings
Besides theRs100 croreinvestment, the Indian company gets access toadvanced technologies and bearings with arange of applications that willhelpinits global growth strategy, writes Manobhava Baruah.
Tata Autocomp to open compact dual-clutch transmission plant
Amidthe country’s growing need for personal mobility with easy manoeuvrability, comes the demand for vehicles with automatic transmission. Tata AutoCompisready tomovein writes Shruti Mishra.
Pankaj Munjal-backed Hero Motors raises equity from GEF Cap
The company willinvest Rs1,500 crore over thenextthree years andit expects 60 percent ofits turnover to come fromelectric vehicle parts. Itaims to becomea Global EV Solutions Company from India
New age thermoplastics for next-generation EV batteries
Saudi-based global materials major SABIChas developed cutting edgein fire-resistant polymers and flame-retardant materials that comply with various EV battery safety standards across the world.
Switch Mobility to meet growing e-bus demand with fresh capex
Oncourse for abillion-dollar business, the company is exploringa possibility of operating satellite factories across the country to serve different geographies, write ShahkarAbidi and Ketan Thakkar.
Kia India to invest Rs 2,000 crore in EVS, to introduce new e-RV in 2025
New investmentto drive R&D, infrastructure development and manufacturing capabilities. The company willlocally produce EVsin India with possibility of exports as well, writes Mayank Dhingra.
"The government has given enough time for indigenisation but the industry has not taken it seriously"
Amitabh Saran, Founder and CEO, Altigreen, shares his views on problems inthe EV industry and battery localisation solutions with Amit Vijay M.
TATA MOTORS SEES ONE INTWO CARS SOLDAS EVS BY 2030
The company aims to offer wider choices withnew EVs that may straddle a pricebracket of Rs20to 40lakhinthe coming years, writes Ketan Thakkar.
MG Motor India in expansion drive, to invest $100 million
The investment willbe usedtoramp up existing production capacity from1.2to1.4-15lakh units per annum atthe automaker's Halol plantin Gujarat, writes Ketan Thakkar.
"Technology and its multiplier effect are driving business transformations and customer experiences"
Technical Centre India is one of Continental’s largest research and development centres in the world, andasa Centre of Competence’ it also develops customised products for the BRIC countries.