In November 1902, exactly one year after the release of its first motor bicycle, Royal Enfield previewed a novel new motorcycle with a 2 1/4hp (277cc) water cooled engine at London’s Stanley Cycle Show. This engineering marvel could effortlessly maintain its top speed of 30mph all day long thanks to its engine’s cool running!
Royal Enfield was a leading innovator during the British motorcycle industry’s formative years.
In November 1902, exactly one year on from the release of its first motor bicycle, the Redditch company revealed three new models at London’s premier bicycle and automotive event, the Stanley Cycle Show.
One of these new motorcycles ran a 2 1/4hp (277cc) water-cooled engine mounted in an all-new loop frame. The coolant was carried in the forward 1 1/2 gallon tank and was gravity fed to a sleeved cylinder. Then, by thermosyphon action, it circulated back to the tank via an aluminium radiator.
Fully laden with oil, petrol and water, the motorcycle weighed just 64kg. It could reach a top speed of 30mph, which it could maintain for long periods due to the engine’s cool running.
This motorcycle was also the first Royal Enfield to use a roller chain. Thanks to some ingenious engineering, the chain was used to pedal-start the motorcycle then, once running, drive its rear wheel.
Other novel features included a spring shock absorber on the driving shaft sprocket, which reduced rear wheel and tyre wear, and a thick glass inspection porthole in the combustion chamber which allowed the spark plug to be viewed while the engine was running.
Pictured on the 1903 water-cooled Royal Enfield is Frenchman, Jules Gobiet. He held a burning desire to work at the forefront of the fledgling British motorcycle industry and had joined the company in early 1901. Gobiet co-designed both this motorcycle and Royal Enfield’s first motor bicycle with the firm’s founding partner, Bob Walker Smith.
While innovative, the water-cooled Royal Enfield was short lived. Costing 75 guineas (£78. 15s), its radical but complex design and luxurious finish made it too expensive for most buyers. In 1904 a similar air-cooled model, which sold for just 40 guineas, superseded it.
Nonetheless, the rear chain drive remained in service and Royal Enfield’s reputation for building well-designed and soundly engineered motorcycles continued to flourish.
