Royal Enfield is a two-wheeler brand that needs no introduction among Indians. Royal Enfield is popular among buyers in India and around the world. They are currently one of the oldest 2-wheeler manufacturers in the world that is still in production. Their Bullet and Classic series motorcycle are quite popular among buyers. Did you know that Royal Enfield once used to offer a diesel-engined motorcycles in the market? It was called Diesel Taurus and here we have a video of this rare motorcycle.
The video has been uploaded by BikeWithGirl on her YouTube channel. The video talks about all the things that makes this motorcycle special from others. First things first. This was India’s only mass-produced motorcycle to ever get a diesel engine. The motorcycle was initially launched in 1993 and was discontinued in 2000 due to new emission norms. The motorcycle seen here is a 1997 model and the owner of this bike is almost 80 years old. For a 26 year old motorcycle, the diesel Taurus seems in good condition.
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The rider then mentions that Royal Enfield never gave a physical key with the motorcycle. It never got an electric start and starting it using the kick starter is a task in itself. The rider attempts to start the motorcycle but she failed. She asked for help from another person who started the motorcycle for her. Just like old Royal Enfield motorcycle, it was not at all refined and the vibrations were very evident on it. The vlogger takes the motorcycle for a quick ride and she can be seen taking her hands off the accelerator in between because of all the vibrations.
Unlike other Royal Enfield motorcycles, Taurus did not use a 350-cc engine. It got a 325 cc, Greaves Lombardini four-stroke diesel engine. One of the reason why many people bought this motorcycle was because of its efficiency. A regular Bullet would offer you a fuel efficiency of around 30 kmpl but, this diesel Bullet or Taurus would offer anywhere between 60 to 70 kmpl. This means on a full tank of diesel, the motorcycle can cover over 900 km. This was huge. This motorcycle was way more fuel efficient than a Hero Honda Splendor. The 325-cc engine only generated around 6.9 Bhp which was very less for a motorcycle of this size. It was not the quickest motorcycle of its time however, it did get the job done.
In many regions, this motorcycle was also used as farming equipment. People used to connect a belt to the flywheel of the motorcycle which can be accessed by simply removing the engine cover. This was then used to pump water to farmlands. As this engine was extremely efficient, people were never worried about running out of fuel. The video even calls this a fill it, shut it and forget it type of motorcycle. The video mentions that this motorcycle used to cost around Rs 72,000 which was too expensive. This might have been one of the reason why this motorcycle was never very popular among buyers when compared to the petrol powered Bullet.
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The post This rare Royal Enfield motorcycle can do over 900 km on a full tank of fuel [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.