Siddhartha Lal, CEO of Eicher Motors and the man who gave Royal Enfield a new future, has made the first public declarations after official RE footage showed a peg falling off a bike during a video teaser.
Royal Enfield revealed the first official photos and videos of their upcoming Himalayan adventure bike days ago, and one of the videos shows a footpeg breaking off and falling behind the bike.
We watched the videos closely and made several screenshots, and it definitely looked like the bike was losing its right footpeg after a landing. We already said that it looks like Royal Enfield could update the rear suspension of the Himalayan, as seeing the rear end almost hitting rock bottom during the landing after a modest jump is not at all reassuring.
If you're not acquainted with the Indian measurement system, we'll tell you that one lakh is 100.000 units. Now, Mr. Lal has a strong point in this, because a manufacturer must put a lot of miles in a new motorcycle to make sure things are alright.
And when it comes to an adventure bike, things are even more serious, and one can expect to break some parts in the testing process. Even so, we still believe that showing the world that parts come off said motorcycle is hardly the most creative and effective marketing approach.
As for the "linking the shot" part, we're positive that fixing the peg and shooting that jump once more would have yielded great results, without sparking any controversy. Given the fact that the Himalayan represents a turning point in Royal Enfield's range, we'd have gone for a flawless way to showcase the new machine...
We watched the videos closely and made several screenshots, and it definitely looked like the bike was losing its right footpeg after a landing. We already said that it looks like Royal Enfield could update the rear suspension of the Himalayan, as seeing the rear end almost hitting rock bottom during the landing after a modest jump is not at all reassuring.
Royal Enfield officials confirm that the peg did break off
Confirmation for the broken footpeg arrives from Royal Enfield officials, with Siddhartha Lal posting on Twitter a message that reads, "bikers - many parts break while validating a motorcycle for lakhs km. we liked the shot, we kept it!"
bikers- many parts break while validating a motorcycle for lakhs km. we liked the shot, we kept it! @royalenfield #Himalayan #footpegfixed
— Sid Lal (@sidlal) January 22, 2016
If you're not acquainted with the Indian measurement system, we'll tell you that one lakh is 100.000 units. Now, Mr. Lal has a strong point in this, because a manufacturer must put a lot of miles in a new motorcycle to make sure things are alright.
And when it comes to an adventure bike, things are even more serious, and one can expect to break some parts in the testing process. Even so, we still believe that showing the world that parts come off said motorcycle is hardly the most creative and effective marketing approach.
As for the "linking the shot" part, we're positive that fixing the peg and shooting that jump once more would have yielded great results, without sparking any controversy. Given the fact that the Himalayan represents a turning point in Royal Enfield's range, we'd have gone for a flawless way to showcase the new machine...