Triumph vs Royal Enfield: Finish Quality Over Time

Comparison of a 10+ year old Royal Enfield vs a 20+ year old Triumph Bonneville.
We'll be looking over the Royal Enfield and the Triumph for rust, pitting, weeping gaskets, and other indicators of a poor quality finish, and seeing how the two motorcycles have been holding up against the test of time.
The Triumph may be seen as more expensive, so we've given Royal Enfield a few strong advantages.
1) Mileage
The Royal Enfield has just 7,000 km, or a bit over 4,000 miles.
The Triumph has over 38,000 km, or nearly 24,000 miles.
2) Storage
The Royal Enfield was stored in a climate controlled underground parking lot.
The Triumph was stored in a standard home garage.
3) The Royal Enfield is just over a decade old.
The Triumph is is just over two decades old.
So how far does quality go, and do you really get what you pay for with both of these brands? Let's find out!
#royalenfield #triumph #triumphbonneville

[@autokss]

Nice comparison. Do more of these.

[@YouMotorcycle]

Thanks man. Hope you're well wherever you are!

[@mr1bienvenu1]

Triumph quality is better but that doesn't take much 😬

[@YouMotorcycle]

I'm looking forward to testing out how the new batch of Royal Enfield 650 hold up after 10 years to see if it's the same or they've gotten better.

[@itssyedfazal]

@@YouMotorcycleI’m interested

[@sanjeetdalal3053]

you should have used the newer models from both the manufacturers ,its a known fact that the royal enfields before 2014 had terrible build quality but the quality on the newer models has improved to a great extent ,and the latest super meteor has an amazing build quality for the price point

[@YouMotorcycle]

In ten years I will, but right now it's too soon for any of us know how they will age.

[@YouMotorcycle]

PS: they told us the same thing in 2011. Royal Enfield Canada tried to get the dealership I was working at to become one of their dealers. They said "Our quality used to be very bad but it's very good now"...12 years later they are saying the exact same thing. Looks like they weren't telling the truth lol. How do we know if we should believe them this time? 🤔

[@RoutesnFoods]

Bro, everyone knows Triumphs were topping the charts of complaints about their unreliability and poor quality once upon a time. And not to forget Indian set up of RE brought back a dead British RE brand to life, and people here have the REs from 80s and 90s in top notch conditions. So obviously, there must be something strong and good in RE bikes that they’re still going strong and their bikes becoming top sellers in UK.

[@YouMotorcycle]

@@RoutesnFoods "there must be something strong and good" - for sure, but it isn't the finish quality 😅

[@RoutesnFoods]

@@YouMotorcycleAhh so now finish quality haan? Brother as an Indian I assure you that, here none will spend 2 and a half lakhs on an ugly looking bike not just here but in any market around the globe and I mentioned India not just because I am an Indian but also because I am sure there is no bigger market than ours. Triumph may appear superior than RE to you, but isn’t that just an opinion of yours and not a fact that RE bikes don’t come with strength robustness and reliability along with good looks. As for example, people are taking on one of the most difficult terrains of Himalayas on REs. PS: No intention to enter in any sort of debate here, or to change your viewpoint. I apologise in advance if offended you either way. Peace out ✌🏻

[@HarleysDinersRides]

Question, is the Triumph built today with the same quality as it did 20 years ago?

[@YouMotorcycle]

That's a great question and a different perspective. From what I read on a Triumph forum that I shared this on (Triumph Rat), the quality is still the same as it was then, neither better not worse, but that was just one user's perspective so take it with a grain of salt. Some people have told me that the 2018 and newer Royal enfield's are better, so stay tuned for part two of this video coming out in 2028 lol

[@simsey33]

Dude ya gotta clean and polish em. Those Bonneville spokes n rims were clearly cleaned and the Enfield clearly ignored, its apples v plastic oranges

[@YouMotorcycle]

Check again. The wheels on the Triumph were made in Italy and top notch despite neglect. The RE was a rusty mess. My second last video showed a 2018 Enfield that was also not in good shape for its age compared to what the Japanese have been doing for a long time.

[@simsey33]

@@YouMotorcycle Fair enough. My Bonneville is a 2001 and the rims are almost perfect, but they've been looked after. You say 'top notch despite neglect' but I know from experience that even the Triumph ones deteriorate when neglected but point taken on Triumph being better quality. Still, if you actually look after the Enfield wheels they are fine

[@VishalVishal-pf4nu]

Great video Adrian. I'd say the Enfield you are showing is in excellent shape from my perspective, considering it is 10 years old. 7k km is nothing, akin to a bike which hasn't left the garage. Same for Bonneville, 38k km in 20 years is still very less. On the other hand, my Enfield Bullet 500 which is 10 years old (50k km), is in a much worse state. Spokes, rims, areas on frame - lot of rust. Engine finish is a messy grey (far from it's shiny lustre) You'd have murdered Royal enfield in terms of quality if you take my bike for comparison. And mind you, I have maintained it really well for the first 6 years (last 4 years it has degraded horrendously) The biggest reason is the parts quality itself. But on the bright side. My sparingly used bike, which was parked for almost 4 years, with major issues, got up and running in just - Rs 7k . Got the carb replaced, rubber pipes and hoses, rear swingarm bush, hubs, front wheel hubs, front cap, headlight metal rings, steel leg guard, etc. Got it oiled up, cleaned and polished. And apart from the engine case, it looks almost brand new. Rides like brand new. So I feel, the quality is low, because somewhere the companies philosophy is to replace parts, which are quite cheap, at least here in India. The parts are not meant to last. 10 years is like the upper limit. So I agree with all of your points. What you are talking about is the quality of the bike after 7-8 years. If one 'replaces' parts as part of their maintenance, that kinda means the quality is not that great to begin with. It's all economics I guess.

[@laranjiinha77]

Grear stuff. This is gold review in these days on internet.

[@YouMotorcycle]

Thanks so much! If you're interested in more Triumph vs Enfield (and also vs Moto Guzzi) comparisons, I'm doing a series comparing three of my bikes here that you might be interested in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnmnXqivd6eYsKs

[@MotorcyclesandArt]

Great video!

[@YouMotorcycle]

Thanks brother!

[@Abhishek-hi9tx]

I am not an bike expert or anyting. Neither can I claim to be knowing much about bikes in general. But I know that a bike's maintenance depends mostly on the owner of the bike . My grandfather's cheap 10 year old bike still looks as new as if he bought it yesterday.(he spends 40 min cleaning it each day) On the other hand my 2 month old bike looks old & dirty. Although the comparison might be interesting for some. But comparing two bikes with different owners can never be fair in my opinion. And this goes for all the bikes whether a RE or not.

[@YouMotorcycle]

Absolutely right, which is why I didn't pick two bikes at random, but rather two that were always stored indoors, and bad had been left sitting the last couple years

[@astro61362]

Hilarious but very accurate!

[@YouMotorcycle]

Thanks very much!

[@Blort440]

I get it, your a Triumph guy. Any bike will rot if the owner doesn’t maintain it.

[@YouMotorcycle]

...but which one will rot sooner? ;) PS: I'm not a Triumph guy, I'm a motorcycle guy. I like any motorcycle that's fun, affordable, AND of quality. For those reasons there are plenty of Triumphs I would avoid at all costs. Future video idea maybe 🤔

[@mr1bienvenu1]

I don't think you do get it. Sounds like you don't 😮

[@TriumphBeezaman]

Did you actually watch the video

[@Confedyank]

How dare you! I really wanted to like RE from the recommendation, but when I seen them on fb marketplace & in the wild. My view changed drastically. Mainly because seeing RE650 which should be their improved already show way too much rust on them down here. The only ones I see with same condition as one you shown are stored same way. Also, I been leaning towards Triumph after trying them myself.

[@YouMotorcycle]

If I see one dirt cheap on the used market, I'd be tempted to pick one up as a secondary bike. Not sure I would want one as my primary bike just yet, or that I would want to pay their asking price and take the depreciation hit if I don't like the experience. I took a continental GT out for a spin last weekend, the motor is fun (in a slow but predictable kind of way), but I wouldn't want to pay full price on a motorcycle that I would literally want to replace the tires before riding the bike home...

[@k-a-p-a-l-o-s-u-k-u]

Mantap kawan 7:48 ❤❤❤

[@YouMotorcycle]

🙂

[@randombully3798]

Old bikes( 7-10 years old) of royal enfields has pretty terrible quality, it is with with newer bikes that the quality has improved.

[@YouMotorcycle]

I have a whole series comparing their current Interceptor 650 vs older Bonneville and V7 you might want to check out :) kzbin.info/aero/PLDu73pf3mUGB8VNJ5WEXOOc4k3RPpAsen