Royal Enfield's electric Flea lands in the UK at £5,300
Royal Enfield's first electric motorcycle, the Flying Flea C6, is on sale in the UK at £5,300. It's charming and well equipped, but it costs over twice the Indian price and there's one UK store.
Royal Enfield's first electric motorcycle has arrived in Britain. The Flying Flea C6, which went on sale in India earlier this year, is now priced at £5,300 in the UK and €5,990 in Europe, with deliveries due to start in October. It'll be sold through stores in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Rome.
That's a big moment for a brand best known for thumping, old-school single-cylinder bikes. It's also a fairly small electric motorcycle with a fairly large price tag, and it's worth being clear about which of those things the launch coverage is focused on.
Our foray into electric mobility through the differentiated Flying Flea brand reflects our long-term intent to build a new category.
— B. Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield
A charming bike with modest numbers
The C6 is a retro-looking town bike, styled after the original Flying Flea, a lightweight machine from the 1940s. Underneath the nostalgia it's thoroughly modern. According to Royal Enfield's UK site and Electrek's write-up, it has:
- a 3.91kWh battery in a magnesium case, with a claimed 104km (about 65 miles) of range on the WMTC urban test cycle
- a 15.4kW motor with 60Nm of torque and a top speed of about 71mph
- a kerb weight of 124kg, a girder front fork and a belt drive
- charging from a normal 16A socket, taking around 65 minutes to go from 20% to 80%
- lean-sensitive ABS, switchable rear ABS and traction control, plus a 3.5-inch touchscreen with Google Maps navigation, geofencing and an SOS feature
That's a generous rider-aid list for a small commuter. Lean-sensitive ABS adjusts how hard the brakes can bite when the bike is leaned over in a corner, which is exactly when a panicked grab of the lever does most damage.
What the reviewers found
Visordown has ridden it and came away surprised. Its reviewer admitted that "the last thing I expected the C6 to be was sporty. Yet here we are." The review praises the build quality and handling but criticises flush, fiddly switchgear, a mode selector that's too easy to knock when reaching for the indicators, and a sculpted seat that gets uncomfortable on longer rides.
The battery isn't removable either. If you live in a flat without a plug near where you park, that matters more than any spec on this page.
The price question for UK buyers
Here's where some scepticism is due. In India, DriveSpark lists the C6 at Rs 2.79 lakh ex-showroom in Bengaluru, which is an India-only price. The same outlet puts the UK's £5,300 at roughly Rs 6.78 lakh. That's well over double. Shipping, VAT and European certification will account for some of that gap, but British buyers are clearly paying a premium for the badge.
Electrek's Micah Toll makes the same point more kindly, writing that "part of what buyers are paying for is presumably the more refined manufacturing and engineering associated with Royal Enfield", along with a dealer network that unknown Chinese brands can't match. That's fair. But at launch, Royal Enfield's own UK page lists just one Flying Flea store in Britain, in London. If you live in Leeds, Cardiff or Belfast, "dealer network" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Licensing is the other thing to check. Visordown describes the C6 as a 125cc equivalent. Royal Enfield's UK product page doesn't state a licence category, so confirm with the dealer what you need before you sign anything.
To be fair to Royal Enfield
Royal Enfield hasn't just slapped a battery into an existing bike. It has built a new brand, a new platform and its own software, and brought them to Europe with a proper spec sheet rather than a concept. According to the Irish News, riders in India covered more than 100,000km on the bike within three months of launch, which suggests it isn't just a showroom piece.
It's also aiming at the right job. A light, 65-mile commuter that charges from a normal socket is exactly what most urban riders need, and a small battery keeps weight and cost down. Honda's WN7, for comparison, carries a battery of around 15.5kWh, four times the size, and up to 50kW of power.
Mind the hype. It's a lovely little bike. Just check where the nearest shop is before you fall for it.
Sources: Electrek, The Irish News, Visordown, DriveSpark, Royal Enfield Flying Flea (UK), Wikipedia: Honda WN7