Forgotten Royal Enfields of India: Fantabulous to Mofa

Royal Enfield has made two-wheelers for almost 120 years now. In fact, they are even older than Harley Davidson as Royal Enfield’s first motorcycle was produced in 1901. The manufacturer entered the Indian market in 1955 and have offered many different kinds of two-wheelers since then. Today we list down some of the two-wheelers made by Royal Enfield that people have now forgotten.

Royal Enfield Fantabulous

Many people do not know that Royal Enfield also tried to enter the scooter market. They launched the Fantabulous in India. It was on sale from 1962 till the 1970s. It was the only scooter that Royal Enfield ever made. It was powered by a 173 cc, single-cylinder, two-stroke engine. The engine was able to produce 7.5 bhp and it was the first scooter in India to come with Dynastart electric starter.

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Royal Enfield Lightning

The Lighting is considered to be the predecessor of Thunderbird. It was launched in 1997 and discontinued in 2003. It was a cruiser type motorcycle aimed towards the people who wanted to go touring. It came with a 535 cc cast iron engine that was mated to a 4-speed transmission. The engine produced 26 bhp of max power and 38 Nm of peak torque.

Royal Enfield Fury

The Fury was launched in 1959, it was basically a rebadged Zundapp KS175 that was brought from Germany. Zundapp shut down its production in 1984 but the motorcycle became popular in India especially among youngsters. It came with a 163 cc, single-cylinder, 2-stroke engine that produced 17 bhp of max power and the engine was mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

Royal Enfield Silver Plus

The Silver Plus was based on the Zundapp ZS/ZX 50 models. It was launched during the 1980s and came with a hand-operated gear shifter. It was powered by a 50 cc single-cylinder, 2-stroke engine that produced 6 bhp. The engine was mated to a three-speed transmission.

Royal Enfield Explorer 50

The Explorer 50 was also a rebadged Zundapp KS50. It was on sale from the 1980s till the 1990s. It weighed only 97 kgs and was powered by a 50 cc, 2-stroke engine that produced 6 bhp of max power and the engine was mated to a 3-speed gearbox.

Royal Enfield Taurus

The Taurus is a very unique motorcycle because it is the only mass-produced motorcycle that was equipped with a diesel engine. The engine was a 325 cc unit sourced from Greaves. It came with a fuel injection system from Lombardini. The engine produced 6.5 bhp and 15 Nm of peak torque but because it was a diesel engine, the fuel efficiency was leagues ahead of other petrol-powered motorcycles. It was launched in 1993 and got discontinued in 2000. You can still find some examples of the Taurus with collectors.

Royal Enfield Mofa

Royal Enfield Mofa was a mini moped. It did not even have any suspension setup. The Mofa was designed by Morbidelli. It came with a 25 cc, single-cylinder, two-stroke engine that produced only 0.8 bhp of max power. The moped came with a centrifugal clutch and had a top speed of just 30 kmph.

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