Royal Enfield's full throttle effort to boost sales

Royal Enfield, a 119-year-old Anglo-Indian motorcycle maker with a cult following, has brought its distinctive bikes into the modern era with new engines and can't make them fast enough to meet demand.

The once-sleepy company sold 74,600 motorcycles in 2011, a 40 per cent increase, all made at its 57-year-old factory on India's southeastern coast, and is spending $30 million (Rs. 156.22 crore) this fiscal year in a push to double capacity and upgrade manufacturing technology.

For now, customers must wait six to nine months to get their bikes.

"Paradoxically, the more we make the more we appear to be falling behind. Only when the new plant kicks in fully next year will we be able to fully address the waiting periods," Venki Padmanabhan, chief executive officer of Royal Enfield Motors, told Reuters.

A new engine has replaced Royal Enfield's antiquated cast iron engine, boosting acceleration, performance, mileage and reliability, and reducing emissions.

The company is best known for the powerful Bullet model, but it is the newer Classic series that is driving growth in a crowded and fast-expanding Indian market where 10 million motorbikes were sold last year.