The oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, Royal Enfield, has launched the limited edition Classic 500 Pegasus motorcycle in India. Just 250 units of the model will be sold in the country in wartime colour of Service Brown with a price tag of Rs 2.49 lakh (on-road, Mumbai). The sale will be carried exclusively on the company's website.
The ‘Pegasus’ is inspired by the legendary RE/WD 125 Flying Flea motorcycle that was manufactured at Royal Enfield’s facility in the UK during the World War II. Conceived as a tribute to the Flying Flea and Royal Enfield’s military heritage, the Classic 500 Pegasus is a chance to own a piece of motorcycle history with only 1,000 units available globally.
The limited edition commemorative models will be available along with a set of bespoke military-style canvas panniers bearing the Pegasus logo, one helmet and a t-shirt from the Pegasus collection.
"The association with the Pegasus Parachute Regiment is another reminder of how Royal Enfield history is deeply steeped in motorcycling pedigree. I am confident that the Classic Pegasus edition will, like many of our other armed forces inspired variants, become a collectors’ piece. We have been making army tough and versatile machines - ‘Made Like a Gun’ - since 1901, and we will continue to share some of these ‘hidden gems’ and stories through our motorcycles," Rudratej (Rudy) Singh, President of Royal Enfield, said while launching the limited edition Classic 500 Pegasus motorcycles. Royal Enfield produced munitions, artillery equipment and motorcycles during both World Wars and supplies the Indian armed forces with motorcycles to the present day. But by far its most storied wartime creation was the airborne troops’ ‘Flying Flea’, a compact but capable two-stroke 125cc motorcycle used by airborne forces.
The Flying Flea was the only proper motorcycle to be dropped by parachute with paratroopers. Often used by commanders to carry vital messages, the Flying Flea’s strength and go-anywhere handling made it almost unstoppable, even over the harshest terrain. Confronted with a fence, stream, bomb crater or ditch, the rider could simply dismount and lift the 56-kilogram weighing bike over the obstacle.
Each of the Classic Pegasus motorcycles wears a maroon and blue Pegasus emblem – the official Parachute Regiment insignia – on the fuel tank along with an individual stencilled serial number. The famous Royal Enfield ‘Made Like a Gun’ decal on the battery box is another reminder of the machine’s military heritage and is used after a long time on the motorcycle.
Keeping alive its authenticity, the Pegasus motorcycles’ markings are based on a genuine World War II Flying Flea used by the 250th (Airborne) Light Company, now in Royal Enfield’s official collection at the company’s UK Technology Centre. Besides these cosmetic changes, there is no mechanical update to the motorcycle and it remains the same Classic 500 which is one of the most popular premium motorcycles in India.