ROYAL ENFIELD TRIALS HOMAGE
W
ithout the ‘reliability trials’ of the
early 20th-century, motorcycling
wouldn’t be what it is today. Back in
the day manufacturers pushed their bikes to
do what many potential owners would consider
unthinkable and the sport was the battlefield for
motorcycle development.
Now, decades after the reliability trials morphed
into the modern disciplines of enduro and
motocross, Royal Enfield is paying homage to
those early machines with the upcoming Royal
Enfield Bullet Trials Works Replica.
Based around the classic lines of the long-lived
Bullet 500, the Works Trials bike comes complete
with the latest unit-construction engine and two
paint schemes derived from the heyday of Royal
Enfield’s trials icons.
These aren’t designed to be competition
22 KIWI RIDER
machines like their forebears, however. The
Bullet Trials bikes are at their heart still based
on the Bullet 500, meaning the same air-cooled,
499cc single-cylinder powers the bike forward
while the suspension is the same basic design
with 35mm telescopic forks up front with 135mm
of travel and twin preload-adjustable shocks out
back with a mere 80mm of travel.
Royal Enfield’s New Zealand importer, Urban
Moto Imports, says it expects the bikes to land
later this year with pricing still to be determined.
Back then, race wins were the best ways for
manufacturers to highlight the merits of their
bikes over the competition, with sought after
traits such as tractability, manoeuvrability and, of
course, reliability crucial in taking the chequered
flag. Royal Enfield’s history in the trials sector is
one of the highlights of the brand’s long history