Royal Enfield Files for Flying Flea and Roadster Trademarks
Wed, 12 Feb 2020
Eicher Motors has filed trademark applications for two potential models: “Royal Enfield Flying Flea” and “Royal Enfield Roadster”. The trademark applications were filed yesterday with the European Union Intellectual Property Office for use on “motorcycles; parts and fittings therefore,” as well as for various clothing items.
The Flying Flea name holds a special historical significance for Royal Enfield, going back to its English roots. Flying Flea was the unofficial nickname for the Royal Enfield WD/RE, a lightweight 125cc military motorcycle employed in the World War II. The WD/RE was designed to be transported by glider and dropped by parachute into the front lines where they would be used to deliver messages or transport troops.
In 2018, Royal Enfield produced a limited edition model based on the Classic 500 that paid homage to the Flying Flea. Royal Enfield only made 1,000 units of this Classic 500 Pegasus model (pictured at top) but the new trademark filing suggests an entire new model is being developed. Given its heritage, we expect the new Flying Flea will be a military-themed model using a small-displacement engine. Royal Enfield recently launched a new Classic 350 line, but the company is reportedly developing an even smaller platform in the 250cc range.
The Roadster is a little more difficult to pin down, as the name doesn’t suggest any particular size. The Roadster name isn’t unique to the Indian manufacturer, so there may be some hurdles ahead in the trademarking process. Filing it as “Royal Enfield Roadster” and not just “Roadster” may help, though Eicher typically includes the RE name in all of its trademark filings for models.
Eicher also has an active trademark for the name “Meteor”, filed in several markets last year, a callback to the Royal Enfield Super Meteor produced from 1952 to 1962, as well as the names Hunter and Sherpa which are believed to be follow-ups to the Himalayan adventure bike.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
More by Dennis Chung
Despite it's historical significance, RE needs to rethink "Flying Flea". A person asks "what do you ride?", you say "I have a Flying Flea" , other person moves back and says, "yes, but what do you ride?". To say that you would be the butt of endless sarcastic jokes would be an understatement.
Those other names are great, Pegasus, Meteor, Hunter, Sherpa.
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J. R. Boedeker on Feb 13, 2020
I'm sort of the opposite. The model names that would embarrass me most are the names that try to sound tough: Bareknuckle, Fury, Rebel. It's usually cruisers, and even though HD has been a major offender over the years (e.g. Bad Boy), their current crop isn't too cringe-worthy. I'll drop the Triumph Bobber into that list.
Just in name alone, I'd be more embarrassed to say I rode a Hunter than a Flying Flea. Then again, I'm more about having a laugh at my own expense than I am about risking sounding pretentious on a Dragstar. -
Denchung on Feb 13, 2020
It is an odd name, but I can appreciate the story behind it.
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J. R. Boedeker on Feb 13, 2020
Definitely. I never even heard of them until today. It's a cool enough story that I ended up wasting most of my lunchtime looking up the history of the name. Very cool stuff.
"Noseeum" would be a great name for a bike. Or "The Gnat," but only if the G is pronounced.
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Jack Meoph on Feb 15, 2020
Well, if you want the G pronounced, then just call it the Gnu.
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Meaty Midrange on Feb 15, 2020
The Gnu and improved 2020 Gnat.
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