In the mid-1960s, as the British manufacturers tried desperately to survive the tsunami wave of Japanese motorcycles entering the market, a British bike called the Royal Enfield Interceptor was making waves of its own. Powered by a 736cc parallel twin, it was reportedly capable of running the quarter-mile in less than 13 seconds, and so of course it appealed to us power-hungry Americans. Unfortunately its heyday was short-lived, as Royal Enfield declared bankruptcy in 1967 and closed its doors for good in 1970. The Interceptor disappeared into history, but thanks to the remnants of colonialism, a fortuitous joint venture and a motorcycle called the Bullet, the Royal Enfield name lived on.
The “Flying Flea” was built to be dropped out of airplanes with paratroopers in WWII. Photos by the author. Royal Enfield, like many early motorcycle manufacturers, has its origins in bicycles?but it also supplied firearms parts to the British government?s Royal Small Arms Factory. It created its brand name simply by combining the rather impressive-sounding ?Royal? and the name of the town in which the factory was located, Enfield, England. The first Royal Enfield motorcycle, essentially a bicycle with an engine bolted to the front downtube, was built in 1901.
During WWII, the company supplied the British paratroopers with a motorcycle built to be dropped out of airplanes, endearingly called the ?Flying Flea.? It also supplied one of its models to the British Army and RAF; this...