“THIS ENFIELD'S THUMPING SILENCER CROONS OUT MUSIC TO A BIKER'S EARS.”

IT’S NO SECRET that Royal Enfield motorcycles enjoy a larger-than-life image in India. Renowned for their rugged, go-anywhere touring capabilities, these heavy macho bikes are patronised by the toughest factions of society — the army, police, and even the local Hercules.
Built on a basic blueprint doing the rounds for ages, various Enfields share similar specifications. A few months ago (Autocar India, July 2005), we tested the Bullet 500 ES and grumbled about the lack of vital features like a CV carburettor and an aluminium-alloy cylinder.
This month we got astride a motorcycle certain to make every Bullet enthusiast sit upright and salivate. This single-saddle motorbike, christened the Hurricane, comes with AVL technology within its large 499cc powerplant. It employs a five-speed gearbox that shifts, in traditional Bullet-style, via the right foot. This thumper stands apart from newer Enfields with its 18-inch rims instead of 19-inchers.
The heavy metal Hurricane may look like any other Royal Enfield in pictures, but in the flesh it has a lower and far more petite stance. The shortest of Indian riders will be able to comfortably mount a Hurricane’s single saddle and plant their soles flat on the ground. Our prototype came with a chrome tank complete with altered paint scheme, below which sits a buffed-up and exposed engine. The rider bay is familiar, comprising a vintage steering headstock and twin city lamps.
A single black-face speedometer and ampere unit take centrestage on the instruments fascia, while the Hurricane handlebar plays host to adequate switchgear, levers and palm grips to end at chrome-coated bar-end weights. The horns on our test bike were shrill wind-tone units that sounded more like the 'Rajdhani' than a motorcycle. Around and at the rear of the solo and thinly padded seat are painstakingly-cut tassles that lend this motorcycle a cool look. The rear mudguard stays have been modified to take a custom-made carrier and saddlebags. Don’t miss the Hurricane’s derriere with its funky-looking brake lamp, and although the ultra-petite turn signal indicators are cute, they are down on practicality.
Let’s move towards the heart of the Hurricane to get a feel of its powerplant. The bike has a convenient self-starter to churn its internals into motion. There’s the familiar long-stroke and pushrod-operated twin overhead-valve configuration, while the bike benefits from tweaks first conveyed to Royal Enfield by AVL of Austria.
The air-cooled and single-cylinder head and barrel are both made of lightweight alloy, and while the cylinder dimensions remain long-stroke, they are now closer to square dimensions than on 350cc Royal Enfields. A BS29 CV carburettor has been tuned with larger main and pilot jets to match the custom-made mega-phone type exhaust system, and the Hurricane thankfully uses a transistor-coil ignition system and not cumbersome CB points. This engine thumps out 25bhp at 5500rpm with peak torque of 4.3kgm developed at 3700rpm.
Riding the Hurricane quickly demonstrates it is easily the most powerful Royal Enfield we have set our hands on. It’s perky enough to thrill you in the first two gears, while gearshifts are reasonably smooth and nowhere near as heavy as on most bikes from these stables. The gearbox is five-speed and shifts one-down and four-up via the right foot. Performance, while surely not as fast as a 500cc modern bike, is good with the seat-of-the-pants feeling far better than a 350cc Royal Enfield, or even the Bullet 500 ES. Power delivery is typical, with a meaty low-end feel, that thins as revs build up. A sweet thumping silencer canister that croons out music to a motorcyclist’s ears adorns this bike.
The Hurricane’s single saddle is thinly padded and the rider sits lower on this bike than on other Royal Enfields. The suspension set-up remains much the same, with forks protected by rubber bellow in front, a stressed member engine, and twin gas shockers pillowing the rear. The chassis has been beefed up at the key areas of the lower steering clamp
and swingarm pivot to reduce flex and enhance stability.
Look beneath the layers of glinting chrome and the reason for the macho status of any Enfield motorcycle are the large diameter 19-inch rims. But, though these extra inches are key to the bike's legendary stability, they are also prime suspects in making it such a forearm-building heavy handler. The 18-inch rims make the Hurricane a far more manoeuvrable motorcycle.
The front hub is a prototype designed to take either 18-inch or 17-inch rims. Wheelbase is a gaping 1370mm and the Hurricane differs from any other Royal Enfield we have ridden, being far easier to get around the city. It’s no light machine, but it does manage to change direction with less brute bicep power.
Out on the highway, you feel a slight compromise on stability relative to other Enfields, but this is negligible and we prefer the newfound ease and lightness. There’s the additional benefit of braking bite improving with a large diameter 280mm single front disc rotor having to now arrest less with a smaller and lighter rim in front.
Don’t expect fuel economy to be a Hurricane forte. Instead, simply associate
it with stuff that goes better with its nametag — improved performance, improved handling and other no-compromise attributes.
The Hurricane is a package guaranteed to make itself the most sought-after machine in the Royal Enfield fleet. And though the company is tight-lipped as to if and when the bike will be made available on-road, we hope this Hurricane blows in sooner rather than later.

EVOLUTION:
1990: 500cc Bullet launched, creates considerable news among true-blue Bulleteers.
2005: Bullet 500 gets electric start and ES badging.

RIVALS:
Royal Enfield 500ES: This bike lacks crucial AVL engine technology in spite of being pricey and will be hardpressed to match feature-laden Hurricane.
Royal Enfield Electra: Yet another sibling in this family war should provide a sensible option simply due to its more affordable price-tag.