Royal Enfield vs Harley Motorcycles: What the Differences?


Harley-Davidson (popularly called Harley) and Royal Enfield are by far among the most similar and leading motorcycle companies on the market. They offer very similar motorcycle types such that one can hardly tell the differences between them. But the truth is, there are quite a few major differences between them that you should know.

So, what are the differences between Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield motorcycles? The main difference between Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield motorcycles is that Harley offers much more expensive motorcycles at a much more expensive price and much better quality and better hardware and performance. On the other hand, Royal Enfield models are cheaper, requiring less maintenance and easy to repair and, in most cases, more lightweight.

It is quite clear that Harley is a much better company than Royal Enfield. Harley has fans all over the world, making it very popular and creating a very big gap between it and Royal Enfield. This fact contradicts the argument that the two companies are very similar. The truth is Harley is a much more reliable company than Royal Enfield. Harley produces motorcycles all over the world and has more experience

However, Royal Enfield is more popular in some countries, especially India. Harley motorcycles will be a good choice for those who are willing to pay the high amount but Royal Enfield will better fit riders who want to save money and still get a good motorcycle similar to Harley.

If this topic is of interest to you, keep reading because, in this guide, I will explain all the advantages, disadvantages, differences, and features of each of the motorcycle companies (Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield).

So, let’s get started.

Harley-Davidson motorcycle & for Who is it appropriate?

File:Harley-Davidson logo.svg - Wikimedia Commons

Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 by Williams. The truth is, Harley is among the most iconic and popular motorcycle companies in the world. There’s a lot of opinion and controversy about Harley: there’s a lot of comparison between Harley and other companies, and a lot of people say Harley is the best motorcycle manufacturer in the world and has lots of factories in lots of states including Milwaukee; Pennsylvania; Missouri, Kansas City; India; Brazil, Manaus.

If you are comparing Royal Enfield to Harley-Davidson, you must know that Harley wins without a doubt and it has many more years of motorcycles production. With regard to cost, Harley will cost you much more money than Royal Enfield motorcycles.

The cheapest Harley motorbikes sell for $7600 and all other higher models cost almost $30,000. That is just crazy and even when you are yet to add the cost of maintenance.

And also the expensive repairs you need to make with time. All these factors make Harley motorcycles the most expensive motorcycles on the market

However, one drawback I have to point out is that Harley motorcycles are much heavier than Royal Enfield motorcycles. In terms of performance and features, Harley also adds some components inside their motorcycles which makes their models heavy. So, it’s important that you take this into account.

in return for the expensive price of Harley Motorcycles, you will receive incredible design and material quality, comfort when riding, advanced technology, more powerful engine power, and better performance.

So, what do I think about Harley motorcycles? In my opinion, Harley motorcycles are really amazing. Harley is a super special and iconic company but its motorcycles will not suit everyone because they are very expensive and require a lot of maintenance.

Pros of Hurley

  • reliability
  • Big motors
  • Advanced performance
  • A better sense of commercial engine sound
  • American Icon

Cons of Hurley

  • Expansive
  • Require lots of maintenance
  • Expensive to repair
  • Heavyweight

Royal Enfield motorcycle & for Who is it appropriate?

File:Royal Enfield logo.svg - Wikimedia Commons

Royal Enfield was established in 1893 and the truth is, at first, it did not include motorcycles but bicycles, lawnmowers, and other things not related to motorcycles. But in 1901, Albert Eddy and Robert Walker built their first motorcycle.

The truth is, Royal Enfield is not that popular all over the world, unlike Harley-Davidson motorcycles which are much more popular. However, Royal Enfield is more developed and prevalent in poor countries like African countries, India, and places where the economy is weak.

In addition to Royal Enfield, they have nine motorcycle models that are marketed all over the world, which means that their customers do not have lots of choices to make. On the other hand, Harley has dozens of motorcycle models for you to choose from.

The Royal Enfield rules offer cheap motorcycles as they will give you reasonable performance that you can enjoy while riding but it would certainly not compare to Harley Davidson. As I have mentioned earlier, Harley surpasses all performance factors when compared to Royal Enfield. But Royal Enfield motorcycles have a feature that is better than Harley motorcycles; they are very lightweight.

But with this, some of the biggest advantages Royal Enfield has over Harley is that their motorcycles are very cheap, you don’t have to worry too much about maintenance and even repair, and the parts are very cheap. So, that’s why Royal Enfield is considered a lesser motorcycle company compared to Harley. Most people will still choose Royal Enfield motorcycles because of the cheap prices, making them very affordable.

Pros of Royal Enfield

  • Cheap and easily available parts.
  • Cheap price
  • Maintenance is very low
  • Lightweight

Cons of Royal Enfield

  • Less performance
  • A less beautiful look
  • Less quality design

Differences between Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield motorcycles

Harley motorcycles are more expensive than Royal Enfield motorcycles

Harley produces very expensive motorcycles. They have motorcycles that manage to reach prices of over $30,000 and the truth is, there are other companies that offer motorcycles at very expensive prices as they go above $30,000. However, one disadvantage of Harley motorcycles is that they are expensive and priced at more than $10,000 on average, which is considered very highly-priced.

In contrast, Royal Enfield motorcycles are much less expensive but it is important to know that their motorcycles are of low quality and performance when compared to Harley motorcycles. So, it is important to take this into account.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles require more maintenance than Royal Enfield motorcycles

Harley-Davidson motorcycles require a great deal of maintenance. An average Harley motorcycle will cost you an average of $2500 for maintenance. While at 2500 miles, you need to spend $250 on maintenance. The more expensive your Harley motorbike is, the more expensive it is to maintain.

In contrast, Royal Enfield motorcycle, on average, will cost you about $2000 per 3500 km. And the truth is, it can cost you cheaper prices but it all depends on which model of Royal Enfield you buy and how many miles each year you ride it. However, irrespective of the price you purchased the Royal Enfield motorcycle, you can save a lot of money on maintenance compared to a Harley motorcycle that will cost a lot of money.

Harley motorcycles will cost you more for repairs than Royal Enfield motorcycles

Royal Enfield motorcycles are very cheap in terms of repairs because the motorcycle models are not made of high-quality materials like Harley. However, I do not say there is no Royal Enfield motorcycle that has high-quality. The motorcycles are made from some of the highest quality materials in the world but simply not on the same level as Harley.

Harley motorcycles will cost you a lot of money for repairs and this is because Harley motorcycles are much heavier than Royal Enfield models, which means that if you accidentally drop the Harley motorcycle, the cost of repair will be very high.

Harley motorcycles weigh more heavily than Royal Enfield motorcycles

Harley motorcycles weigh much more than Royal Motorcycles Enfield. This is because of the high-performance Harley has, and the weight of its parts, engine, and transmission. So, the bigger the engine, transmission, and other parts, the much heavier the bikes will be. This is why Harley motorcycles are much more heavier than the Royal Enfield counterpart.

Harley motorcycles have better performers then Royal Enfield motorcycles

As I have mentioned earlier, Harley motorcycles are much better in terms of performance than Royal Enfield motorcycles and in every aspect: speed, quality, beauty. So it’s important to take this into account.

Harley motorcycles are more beautiful, stylish, and have high-quality than Enfield bikes.
It’s not just beauty but also the hardware and quality and durability. The truth is, Harley produces the most beautiful motorcycles in the world and some will say that they have the finest of riders.

Summary

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Thanks for the reading

Rob

I’m Rob, the owner of RX Riders Place. My family and I have a long history of riding dirt bikes and ATVs and want to share what we have learned.

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