During World War II, troops on all sides of the barricades used for transport motorcycles. Introduced in warfare back in 1917, this type of machines have quickly become ideal for lighting-fast infiltration and reconnaissance missions.
For the British troops, one of the favorite motorized workhorses during World War II was the Royal Enfield Flying Flea. It was designed as a bike which could be dropped by parachute or carried in gliders and was used to relay messages and signals between airborne and assault troops where radio communications were out.
There were tens of thousands of Royal Enfield motorcycles sent to combat during the war, an estimated 4,000 of them being Flying Fleas. The model was mostly used to support the troops of the British airborne divisions, which wore the Pegasus as a symbol.
Decades after the world’s biggest conflagration ended, Royal Enfield decided to bring back the Flying Flea as a limited edition model. To be called Classic 500 Pegasus, the bike is a tribute to the bike used by British troops.
Only 1,000 units of the model would be manufactured globally, 250 of which intended for the Indian market and 190 for the British one. In the UK, one such motorcycle will be priced at 4,999 pounds, or the equivalent of $6,730.
Two color options would be available for the bike, Service Brown and Olive Drab Green, both a tribute to the paint used on the motorcycles during the war.
Each of the bikes of the limited edition will come complete with military-style canvas panniers wearing the Pegasus logo. Authentic markings of military motorcycles - handlebar grips, leather strap across the air filter, blacked out silencers, rims and pedals – will be featured across the bikes.
For those going for a completer military look, Royal Enfield would also be selling shirts, t-shirts, caps, lapel pins, bags and helmets adorned with official military insignia and the Pegasus emblem.
There were tens of thousands of Royal Enfield motorcycles sent to combat during the war, an estimated 4,000 of them being Flying Fleas. The model was mostly used to support the troops of the British airborne divisions, which wore the Pegasus as a symbol.
Decades after the world’s biggest conflagration ended, Royal Enfield decided to bring back the Flying Flea as a limited edition model. To be called Classic 500 Pegasus, the bike is a tribute to the bike used by British troops.
Only 1,000 units of the model would be manufactured globally, 250 of which intended for the Indian market and 190 for the British one. In the UK, one such motorcycle will be priced at 4,999 pounds, or the equivalent of $6,730.
Two color options would be available for the bike, Service Brown and Olive Drab Green, both a tribute to the paint used on the motorcycles during the war.
Each of the bikes of the limited edition will come complete with military-style canvas panniers wearing the Pegasus logo. Authentic markings of military motorcycles - handlebar grips, leather strap across the air filter, blacked out silencers, rims and pedals – will be featured across the bikes.
For those going for a completer military look, Royal Enfield would also be selling shirts, t-shirts, caps, lapel pins, bags and helmets adorned with official military insignia and the Pegasus emblem.