Royal Enfield Flying Flea C6 Ride Review
Royal Enfield's first electric motorcycle has a lot to live up to. But can the Flying Flea C6 win over a rider who's spent decades throwing a leg over bikes with a lot more grunt?
BCB's Steve Chandler, owner of Steve's Electric Motorcycles, got some seat time on the C6 to find out. He's more accustomed to faster machines, so we wanted to know whether Royal Enfield's lightweight city bike could win him over on its own terms.
From the way it handles to how it performs on the road, here's Steve's verdict.
For more Royal Enfield news, visit our Royal Enfield page.
First Impressions
They had the white and champagne one on display, and as I walked through the door, that really caught my eye. It really did. I had a good look around that one, and I'm very impressed with it, very impressed with the build quality, everything. All the bikes looked good, but that one really caught my eye as I walked through the door.
What's It Like to Ride?
The front suspension works on it brilliantly. It really absorbed the potholes. It's not adjustable, and to be honest, it doesn't need to be. It's soft, but it's not wallowy.
There's a small amount of travel on them, but it does absorb very, very well.
But handling, yeah, never any issue. I mean, we did sort of throw it through the traffic a little bit towards the end. But I mean, I was weaving all over the roads and trying to throw it about and see if I could unsettle it, and it doesn't. Not at all.
Just a hop-on ride. You know, it feels very comfortable right from the start.
In terms of riding the thing, 10 out of 10.
How Much Performance Does It Deliver?
There's a few modes. Highway gives it a bit more, but then sport mode, which I used for the rest of the day, gives it a nice bit of zip, actually. It's not blisteringly quick, but it gets up and goes. 40 mph is its sweet spot.
But yeah, there's never any issue like trying to race something off the lights, which we all did a few times because we're trying to keep with the bunch. So yeah, you've got no issues there.
Wind the throttle and you'll leave most things behind you in city traffic.
Charging and Real-World Range
The process is simple. You press the parachute button on the handlebar, squeeze the brake lever, that pops the little side door open, then you plug the kettle lead into the side. It's a standard kettle lead because the charger is built into the bike.
Once the door pops open, I think the screen changes to the charging screen. I kind of missed that bit, but I think that's what it did. And then everything is touchscreen on the main display. You can also use the app to change the settings.
You get three options of charging. You can choose a trickle charge, a faster charge, or rapid charge. You can set if you want it to go to 100% or 80%. It'll tell you the time it's going to take to charge, the amount of kilowatts it's going to use, etc.
Once you plug it in, you can close the little door back up afterwards and walk away. I think the lead lives inside the bike in the storage compartment. It's all very, very straightforward. Very simple. You can even stick it in the kitchen with your wife's kettle lead.
We jumped on the A2 for a few miles in and out of traffic. The C6 has a claimed urban range of 64 miles, and the estimate looked pretty damn accurate. I got back with 40-something per cent and about 30 miles left on the display.
So yeah, range-wise, very accurate on what they say it should do.
Build Quality, Comfort and Practicality
The build quality also impressed me. It really did. It's solid. Very few components to it. Hardly any welds, mostly bolted together, which is refreshing to see. But yeah, it is solid.
Nothing bounces about, nothing rattles, nothing is loose, nothing shakes. There're no panels unclipped or anything like that. It's a good, solid bike. I can't see you ever going to have to put spanners on it.
The belt should run up to 60,000, according to Royal Enfield, but we'll see on that. It's fully adjustable, but obviously, once it's set up, these modern belts shouldn't stretch much.
The seat and position were good. Nice idea on the C6 that the footpegs can be adjusted with them going forward or straight. I think for town riding, I probably would move them forward. It's just a bit easier when putting your feet down and picking them back up again.
I can see you'd own one of these without any problems at all.
The One Thing That Needs Work
Yeah, the one downside, same with everything, the bloody indicator button. It's easy to operate from left to right, but push to cancel can be a bit tricky at times.
I was going from left to right, then left, then right again, bloody thing. You've got to push it smack bang in the middle. If your thumb's a bit too much to one side, then you're flicking from one to the other and watching the little arrows on the dashboard go from one side to the other.
Apparently, Royal Enfield is like looking into that. But I mean, come on, it's the indicators on every single motorcycle, they can all be a pain. It's a very difficult thing to get right.
Steve's Verdict: A Brilliant City Bike
You know, if I was on the lookout and lived in the town, I would get one. It's a brilliant tool for city riding. And it's designed to just be hop on, hop off.
It's very much an Indian-based design with their roads, their weather, and how they actually ride bikes. They're hopping on and off of them all the time. And that's how it's designed to be used, really. Very easy.
The C6 picked up a lot of attention while we rode. People were looking at it and sitting on it and, I reckon I could have sold a couple.
Yeah. A 9.5 out of 10. The half point because nothing gets a 10 from me.
For the full specs, visit our C6 spec sheet.
The BCB Take
Despite the 71 mph (115 km/h) top speed, the Flying Flea C6 isn't trying to be the fastest electric motorcycle on the road. It's built for the city, and from the time Steve spent in the saddle, Royal Enfield looks to have got a lot right.
Steve's spent decades riding bikes with considerably more power, including competing off-road, so his praise for the C6's suspension, handling and build quality carries weight. It felt comfortable from the off, dealt with poor road surfaces confidently and had enough punch to make urban riding fun without trying to be something it isn't. The straightforward charging setup and encouraging range estimate are further points in its favour.
The indicator switch is a genuine annoyance. Then again, some of us have hammer thumbs. The bigger question is how well the bike holds up over time. Royal Enfield's durability claims need miles behind them, and Steve didn't spend enough time with the app to give it a proper verdict.
At £5,300, the C6 looks like very good value for a bike with this level of technology and build quality. Steve came away rating it 9.5 out of 10, calling it a "brilliant tool for city riding."
Ride safe, folks.
Tired of scrolling? Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free, no spam, just an email on Friday.
