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Coming soon: Royal Enfield Flying Flea
Radical looking electric motorbike puts a fresh twist on Royal Enfield’s traditions
Words by: Dan Trent
Published on 5 November 2024 | 0 min read
Think Royal Enfield and you’ll probably picture the charming and affordable retro style bikes crucial to its revival under Indian ownership. With an eye to a younger audience in that vast home market the brand has been diversifying, though, be that through the modern twist on its tough-as-boots Himalayan 450 adventure bike or youthful Guerrilla 450 roadster. And now it’s going electric with this, the Flying Flea.
The intriguing name is inspired by a lightweight motorbike Royal Enfield designed to be dropped from the air with paratroopers in the Second World War, the original’s ultra-minimalist construction and distinctive ‘girder’ style forks stylishly reimagined for this new electric version.
The intriguing name is inspired by a lightweight motorbike Royal Enfield designed to be dropped from the air with paratroopers in the Second World War, the original’s ultra-minimalist construction and distinctive ‘girder’ style forks stylishly reimagined for this new electric version.
The Flying Flea’s combination of electric power and neat retro looks brings to mind the Maeving RM1, this British-designed bike successfully combining old-school looks with modern tech aimed straight at the urban hipsters Royal Enfield also plays to through its more recent products. Given the aging demographic of motorcyclists here in Europe the need for products that appeal to a younger crowd who may not previously have considered powered two-wheelers is vital, electric motorbikes like the Flying Flea a logical next step from the electric bicycles and scooters many already enjoy as sustainable, convenient urban transport.
Technically the Flying Flea looks a little more exotic than the Maeving, the forged aluminium frame and forks carrying retro inspiration but cutting-edge in their engineering. And where the Maeving opts for an e-bike style hub motor in the name of simplicity and affordability the Royal Enfield uses a more conventional motorcycle arrangement, with the motor mounted in the frame and a belt sending power to the rear wheel.
Technically the Flying Flea looks a little more exotic than the Maeving, the forged aluminium frame and forks carrying retro inspiration but cutting-edge in their engineering. And where the Maeving opts for an e-bike style hub motor in the name of simplicity and affordability the Royal Enfield uses a more conventional motorcycle arrangement, with the motor mounted in the frame and a belt sending power to the rear wheel.
Technical details are scarce at the moment but Royal Enfield says the Flying Flea includes a round touch-screen interface and an in-house developed Central Vehicle Control Unit to control everything from the keyless, phone-enabled starting to configurable settings for throttle, braking and regenerative charging when slowing down. No word on power, performance or range yet but Royal Enfield does say you’ll be able to charge the battery on a conventional three-pin domestic socket.
That may be a blessing or a curse, given experience of the same on the Zero FXE we tried previously and struggles to find public charging opportunities on domestic sockets rather than the dedicated ones used for electric cars. Maeving and others have cleverly got around this by making the battery packs removable, so you can take them with you and charge at home, in the office or anywhere else you can plug in. We’ll see whether Royal Enfield will follow suit on this but with the first C6 coming in the spring of next year and to be followed by a scrambler inspired S6 afterwards it sounds like we won’t have long to wait.
That may be a blessing or a curse, given experience of the same on the Zero FXE we tried previously and struggles to find public charging opportunities on domestic sockets rather than the dedicated ones used for electric cars. Maeving and others have cleverly got around this by making the battery packs removable, so you can take them with you and charge at home, in the office or anywhere else you can plug in. We’ll see whether Royal Enfield will follow suit on this but with the first C6 coming in the spring of next year and to be followed by a scrambler inspired S6 afterwards it sounds like we won’t have long to wait.
