The number of Royal Enfield Interceptors sold in recent months is intriguing me. Looking beyond the people who would buy an Interceptor based on price alone, I couldn’t tally the number sold to my perception of the Interceptor.
Yet, when I spotted one at Chris Walkers Kawasaki and Ducati dealership, surrounded by the latest superbikes, it was the Royal Enfield Interceptor I pondered over the most.
Why? Have superbikes become bland? Am I getting old? As the saying goes … “The old I get, the faster I was” but that shouldn’t stop me lusting after the latest power crazy superbike. It is time for several mugs of tea and a long hard think.
Mad Men Advertising
According to the Don Drapers of Motorcycle advertising, a motorcycle needs to develop 140 BHP or more to be considered sexy and radar-controlled cruise control is the latest must-have accessory to accompany your 6-axis IMU. Lean-angle sensitive traction control and the number of other goodies your motorcycle comes with define where you stand in the motorcycle pecking order.
There are global race series based around this premise. Speed, power and technology is the holy trinity of a motorcycle’s desirability.
Therefore the Royal Enfield Interceptor, a 217Kg (wet) air-cooled twin that coughs out 47HP and is A2 License compliant, has no business selling so well. Patently, Don Draper and his colleagues have missed something.
After drinking those mugs of tea, I’d condensed my numerous questions down to just one. Why did Royal Enfield decide to build the Interceptor? Having rephrased the question to sound more intelligent than I am, I contacted Royal Enfield and asked.
Why build the Royal Enfield Interceptor?
The reply to my question came from Arun Gopal, the Head of International Business at Royal Enfield. I mention this not only to make me appear important by name dropping but to indicate Royal Enfield’s passion for its motorcycles. My question to them didn’t end up in the generic email reply bucket, and whereas I’m sure this question has been asked before, the level of detail in his reply indicates how invested Royal Enfield are in their motorcycles.
Arun Gopal … At a brand level, it is our philosophy of ‘Pure motorcycling’ that drives all that we do – right from the product strategy level that translates to product development [with numerous refinement steps based on testing data/ riding feedback], production at the manufacturing facilities in India, accessible pricing and customer engagements through various initiatives.
Let me try breaking that down. In an industry where leisure motorcycling has gone extreme, we chose to keep things simple [though regulations do drive it the other way], we draw from our roots/ pedigree keeping the models as authentic as possible [a blast from the past] and non-intimidating. We believe that there is a segment of customers in the EU/ UK who love authenticity and simplicity. That hypothesis has been consistently proven right – with the persistent love that we experienced for the earlier 500 cc platform that gave us the Classic / Bullet and now for the Twin 650 cc platform variants [Interceptor and Continental GT]. These models strongly demonstrate our commitment to the philosophy of ‘Pure Motorcycling’.
Great Philosophy, but why the Interceptor?
Arun Gopal … At an industry level, the mid-size segment [250 cc – 750 cc] is grossly underserved in the EU/ UK [globally too]. At Royal Enfield, our vision is very focused – on this mid-size segment. We feel that this is a sweet spot.
- for customers who own high-end motorcycles who are looking for something more simple, authentic at an accessible price
- for upgraders who wish to move up from a 125 cc bike to something bigger, yet not extreme and at an affordable price point
While accurate [… and at the same time…] anecdotal data is hard to come by, in our conversations with our dealers/ customers, we learn that the twins are able to attract customers from both the segments mentioned above. To me, the Interceptor and Continental are dual-purpose motorcycles – to be used for regular commuting and for weekend getaways – another advantage of being mid-size focused.
From a customer viewpoint, Royal Enfield is able to offer customers [especially the upgraders] an opportunity to own something that is totally authentic, with oodles of history and to be part of a community of like-minded persons.
Royal Enfield Club of Europe
Royal Enfield recently set up the Royal Enfield Club of Europe [RCE] to engage further and directly with their customers.
It seems that customising a Royal Enfield is something to be encouraged if this is your thing. For owners who wish to enjoy a Royal Enfield experience, but perhaps not on your own bike, there are experiential partners [best marketing speak ever … Ed] organising a range of Royal Enfield focused activities.
Approaching motorcycling from a perspective of accessibility and fun, rather than horsepower and gadgets, is undoubtedly working for them.
Now, regarding one of Royal Enfield’s experiential partners, Superior Motorcycle Experiences. I wonder what sort of mischief Royal Enfield is enticing me to … ?
