Enfields are crap. Enfields in India are crap. When you depend as heavily on a bike as many Indians do, you'll find ways to keep it otr but that a nod towards ingenious bodgery rather than a reliable machine. I believe that's what you were saying, Paul, but just reiterate :P
The dealership I was most recently employ'd at "sold" Royal Enfields. They where in the process of placing their first order when I was interviewing & despite my insistence - I was familiar w RE from my time in England - they went ahead. They sold a handful at first. ALL of which came back w problems: consistently & w a different symptom each time :
They where sold w a one year warranty which I was responsible for submitting. It was a painful process & they only paid out on a couple occasions. We lost well over margin on unpaid warranty tickets especially considering that the process demanded we purchase replacement parts that we were not reimbursed for! I wasn't going to abandon our customers but we were well chuffed when they sold their machines out of area.
The last year I was there we had three still on the floor though we had terminated our dealer agreement. Plenty of people - & they attracted a particular type - wander'd in to look & wanted to chat for hours about dusty machines we obviously didn't care about & had no real interest in selling locally but nobody purchased. We had those things priced at cost but the word was out.
I would do India on an LML NV150 which was the an Indian licensed Piaggio Vespa PX150. At least I'd know every bit of it & what spares to carry/pick-up. I rode one down I-35 from Lawrence, ks to ATX on my 21st birthday at all 53 mph full throttle w no problems whatsoever. Air-cooled two-stroke in August through TX but it made it just fine; good times ;D
