Principal Blog
Flying Flea to land again
22 November 2024
Flying Flea to land again
Royal Enfield is set to return the Flying Flea to the front line of motorcycling.
The bike, which first made it’s name as a very smart, strategic asset in World War Two, is to be reinvented as an all-electric urban machine.
Is it the weapon we need to cleanly conquer congestion?
In the Second World War Royal Enfield designed a motorcycle that was small enough to be parachuted behind enemy lines along with the liberating troops.
This offered a tactical advantage by allowing them to move around more efficiently when they landed and advanced on the enemy.
The bike was called the Flying Flea and still is, rightfully, regarded as an engineering landmark.
There were a few things that made this, as a delivery system, work. A small size was a given, but the front ‘girder style’ forks were one less thing likely to break while still allowing the steed to handle.
The front end wasn’t unlike the Hossack system used by BMW on the front end of their latest K series bikes.
Current style
Now the Flying Flea is name is about to be reintroduced to the world of motorcycles.
This time it, hopefully, won’t be thrown out of a plane into a battlefield.
The new Flying Flea is fully electric and all about a providing a clean solution to the demands of urban transport.
There are to be two models, with the first to market being the classic, simply styled, FF-C6.
The plan is to follow this with a Scrambler styled FF-S6 for the hipsters amongst us.
Sophisticated Siphonaptera*
There’s nothing rudimentary about this bike. Its looks are all about the near future with a nod to the past thanks to a reworking of those girder style forks.
They’ve also managed to maintain the silhouette of the original. That’s pretty much where it ends.
A lightweight aluminium frame holds a magnesium cover for the battery.
The cooling fins are laid out in the most wonderful sweeping style.
A round TFT screen displays all the pertinent information and the circular taillight compliments the styling inspiration beautifully and faithfully.
As an EV it’s able to deliver some of the best technology available.
The bike can be updated via Bluetooth and there’s the option to finely tune the rider’s very own drive requirements. Forget rain, street and sport; we, as riders, now have over 2,000 different settings to choose from!
All this can be done via a smartphone. The app will even tell you if the bike has been moved when you’re away from it.
Cornering ABS, cruise control and a clutchless and gear change lever free bike are what we have come to expect of the class.
Three-pronged practicality
What is interesting is that the bike is chargeable only via a domestic three prong plug.
As someone who has ridden several electric bikes this shows a certain amount of realism from the brand. Long distances and a poor high speed charger network don’t marry well to electric motorcycles.
They belong in the city and suburbs and Royal Enfield are to be commended for working around this fact of two wheeled EV life.
The company has opted to market, sell and develop their electric range under the Flying Flea brand and they’ll be available through the Royal Enfield dealer network from early 2026.
* Look it up!
