Brief History of the Marque: Royal Enfield
In the early 1890s Albert Eadie and R.W Smith bought the bicycle business of George Townsend near Redditch to form the Eadie Manufacturing Company. By 1897 the company was titled Enfield Cycle Co.Ltd and had moved to Redditch and by 1899 they were producing a De Dion powered tricycle, with Motosacoche v-twins among the product by 1910. During the veteran years they also utilised Minerva engines, and later JAP. The company ceased manufacturing in 1970 (or possibly 1964, see this post).
Postwar Model G and Model J and ex-military C and CO (1946–1954)
Postwar, Royal Enfield resumed production of the single cylinder ohv 350cc model G and 500cc Model J, with rigid rear frame and telescopic front forks. These were ride-to-work basic models, in a world hungry for transport. A large number of factory reconditioned ex-military sv Model C and ohv Model CO singles were also offered for sale, as they were sold off as surplus by various military services.
In 1948, a groundbreaking development in the form of rear suspension springing was developed, initially for competition model "trials" models (modern enduro type machines), but this was soon offered on the roadgoing Model Bullet 350cc, a single cylinder ohv. This was a very popular seller, offering a comfortable ride. A 500cc version appeared shortly after. A later 1950s version of the Bullet manufacturing rights and jigs, dies and tools was sold to India for manufacture there, and where developed versions continue to this day.
1948 ROYALENFIELDJ2
