The thump of an Enfield declares its arrival before it actually appears. That’s the specialty of an Enfield but some people, you know the irritating "know it all" types, find it irritating and call it noise…Shoot!!! If you tell that to an Enfielder he’ll probably come running behind you. Well only a true Enfielder knows the importance of his bike and how precious it is to him.

Now going back in time well mid 19th century England was the beginning of the making of a legend. That’s when the name ‘Enfield’ with the trademark ‘Made Like a Gun’ was born. The Royal Enfield has had a long journey 1851- 2010 now that’s a long way!!! We have a lot of enfielders here in Kathmandu itself and what I did was did a little research, well not exactly a research but I took some random interviews with a few of them and well here’s what they have to say: The question was; what does your ride mean to you? And what do you have to say to the people who call the thump of an Enfield NOISE??

First of all you can’t own a classic bike; you have to build it yourself. It’s not like going to a showroom and picking up whatever you like, well you can if you want, but still it doesn’t have the value a true classic has. In Kathmandu there are 50 classic bike owners, but 40-50% of them are rowdy. Talking about the thump, well some are helpless because it depends on the technology we just can’t reduce the sound but on the other hand, some of the new riders make the sound louder cuz they want to compare it to the other bikes like VR. Which is a stupid thing to do, but we can’t do anything firstly young blood plus they don’t have the knowledge; they just want to be noticed! I find the sound of my Enfield “mitho “(sweet). But on the other hand some are annoying, so I can understand when people call it noise. Once you own a bike, such a bond is formed that you love her more than your girlfriend (laughs)…seriously, you feel like crying when something goes wrong, literally!!! The best think about classics is that they need a lot of attention, just like a girl. They’re attention seekers (laughs).

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The vibe of an Enfield is different from other bikes, it has a classic touch. The sound, the beat is the favorite part. It’s actually a passion to own a classic. The worst part is when people compare their bikes to an Enfield. Sometimes people come to race with us especially pulsar riders, and they have the misconception that even a 350cc Enfield can’t beat them. I call them stupid.

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“My bike is my escape”. Whenever I’m frustrated, I go on a ride and it takes me away from my troubles. The rhythmic beat or as well call it “THE THUMP” is not annoying and about the ppl annoyed, id say "it’s the way it’s designed, it’s the Enfield’s trademark… if people don’t realize that, I just gotta say "I’m sorry".Well you have to ride it to feel it and get used to it.

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I say my bike is "OLD FAITHFUL". Even if it over around 8 years old,it doesn’t let me down. I can always depend on it. Even after 8 years it runs better than any other new commuter bike. Whenever needed runs even on kerosene! but the best part is the ride…the fun part about riding a heavy bike is it doesn’t wobble, even at high speeds you don’t have to slow down to make a turn. Even if something does happen on a long trip I can still fix it because it’s not that complicated, and the spare parts are cheap. Advice to other riders... always carry a spare clutch wire and an accelerator wire. Overall it’s a companion for the long run…and btw my bike 2002 Bullet Electra 350. Yes,its not actually a noise... it’s the engine's heart beat that goes "thump thump" do other bikes go thump thump?

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A bike might be a means of transportation to the most of the people but to me bike is something that came to me genetically. Even though I try, I can’t hide this feeling towards my bike.I was born and raised in freak street, I always saw foreigners bring this awesome bikes with them, and we had an ample of Japanese bikes in my courtyard but I was always fascinated by only one, later as I grew up I found out it’s a Royal Enfield Bullet. So, this is something I feel in love with when I was a child, later I tried my best to get one and now I have one and if I have to say every bike is different. For me my Enfield is everything these days because I built this bike from scrap to what it looks like now. Still I’m not satisfied and working on it feels like an art to me sometimes. Riding is what I’m addicted to, it’s an ecstasy….sound of my bike is music to me. Combination of sound and ride and feeling together is a meditation to me, I have a passion for bikes and it means a lot to me….to all those “bhaisi chadne haru” who’ve just started riding bikes, at least try to understand what a bike is and respect your machine and respect riding.

Well there you have it, that’s what our mighty Enfielders had to say about their sweet rides. With that I’d like to share something. Well yesterday I was on the way home on ’my sweet ride’ which is a scooty with my mom draped in a saree behind me…Well on the way we came across an Enfield and then I heard my mom say, “What a classic bike” lol she said it in Nepali though and she also added comments about the thump. Well I was overjoyed and then I went on with my lil knowledge on them. So there u go even my mom likes it. Well getting back to the point, I mean who wouldn’t love an Enfield? I say an Enfield is one of the best bikes ever made and only a true Enfielder understands its importance. Once again, the question was; what does your ride mean to you? And what do you have to say to the people who call the thump of an Enfield NOISE?? There you got your answer and I’m sure this article will shut many people up and if it does, I’ll be the happiest for sure. So have fun reading it again and again. Ciao.