Was the limited Edition Royal Enfield Pegasus special? is a question which can be asked throughout the ages. According to the Disney, Pegasus was a flying horse for the Hercules but according to the Greek mythology, it belonged to Bellerophon, which was another Greek Hero. In modern times, we have quite a similar situation. According to the Royal Enfield, the Pegasus is a limited edition classic series motorcycle which is dedicated to the World War- II (WW2) veterans. It features a serial number, Military paint scheme, both of them pay a homage to the Flying Flea, which served as an important vehicle during the war. Only 250 of the Pegasus war were to be made thus the serial number which starts from 50000 will end at 50250. It should have happened, the number should have stopped there. But it didn’t.
*** Royal Enfield Classic Signals
After few days, Royal Enfield came with Classics Signals edition to serve as the newest addition to their classic series which would feature dual disc brakes and Twin Channel ABS as standard. But the important thing to notice is that it looks just like the limited edition Pegasus. It features similar design elements like the serial number on the tank, the army and air force inspired paint scheme and ironically better equipment.
It is not to say that there aren’t differences between the Pegasus and the Signals edition. There are, but those further add insult to the injury. Pegasus has no ABS but Signals has it as a standard feature. The question here is clear, if the Pegasus was meant to be a limited edition, then why was its design copied? The company addressed one complaint regarding this situation by stating that the difference between bikes is in the engine size and the power and sense of superiority. Which is not a satisfactory explanation by any measure.
*** Royal Enfield Classic Pegasus
Royal Enfield fans are the most active community members on social media. By far the largest group of motorcycling enthusiasts are Royal Enfield riders. Although they range from trolls to experienced riders, there is no denying that they all hold their company in the highest of regard. So such a move from the side of the company, in which they blatantly rip off their customer’s trust is in all respect, a very bad one.
I understand that Royal Enfield couldn’t just come up with a unique paint scheme and just use it once, it’s just bad business and if I were a businessman I'd do the same. But stripping your limited edition of its uniqueness is self-damaging.
What Royal Enfield can now do is what they should have done at the time of the launch. The company should recall, all the Pegasus motorcycles and fit them with a twin channel ABS. So in such a way, those Pegasus owners will have the only 500 cc Classic with ABS, in other words, a limited edition, again. Those customers already paid around Rs 2.40 lakh for their Pegasus, which is already more than the Stealth Black Classic 500. Thus it’s safe to say that the company won’t be losing money by fitting these Pegasus bikes with ABS.
It is a case of 250 unsatisfied customers against the might of one of the oldest motorcycle companies in the world. But what we have to remember here, is that it’s only because of these customers, we can refer to the Royal Enfield as “one of the oldest motorcycle companies in the world”.
By: Yetnesh Dubey
