Riding Through History:
The Rise & Fall of Rajdoot

A timeless classic, Rajdoot left an unforgettable mark on Indian roads and hearts. Could it return? Dive into the story of its impact, legacy, and the exciting rumors of a 2025 revival!

Introduction:

Rajdoot isn’t just a motorcycle; it’s a piece of Indian history. From its origins in Germany to becoming a cultural icon in India, Rajdoot has seen it all—from Bollywood fame to ruling rugged roads across the country. Now, with whispers of a 2025 comeback, the legend might be reborn. Dive into the captivating journey of this classic bike, its rise, fall, and the legacy it left behind.

History:

The story started way back in 1930s by a German car and motorcycle manufacturer Dampf – Kraft – Wagen or DKW. DKW launched a 125cc motorcycle named RT – 125.

After the defeat of Germany in World War II. Germany had to give the rights of many German products to its allied countries. Because of this, Germany had to give the license of DKW’s RT-125 to communist countries relating ‘Warsaw Pact’ in which Poland was one of the members.

Poland’s SHL company took the design of RT-125 and upgrade the engine size to 175cc and named this bike M-11.

Born of Rajdoot:

After India got the independence in 1947, the industrialization started in late 1950s. Till 1960 Indians had only two motorcycles Royal Enfield’s Bullet 350 & Jawa 350.

This time Indians needed a bike that is hardy, powerful & reliable. An Indian company named Escort (which was used to manufacture tractors and farming equipments) identified these problems and launched their 1^st bike named Rajdoot Excel T – 175 in the year 1962. This bike was nothing but a licensed copy of SHL’s M11 with minor changes.

Journey of Rajdoot:

1st Gen of Rajdoot:

After the launch of Rajdoot it was not so famous as Escort company was new in the motorcycle field. That time Royal Enfield’s Bullet – 350 had a strong hold in the Indian two-wheeler market.

Rajdoot went famous in 1973. After the launch of a Bollywood movie ‘Bobby’. Now you may ask, what was the relation between a Bollywood movie and a motorcycle? Well, nothing other than the fact the hero of this film Rishi Kapoor (father of Ranbir Kapoor) was shown riding Rajdoot bike. That time Rishi Kapoor was a youth icon every young-star wanted to look like him along with the motorcycle. As a result, the sell’s graph of Rajdoot went upwards.

After ‘Bobby’ the Rajdoot 175 went famous but due to its old design soon it started to look outdated. As a result, it’s sells again went down. In 1983 Escort stopped the production of Rajdoot Excel T 175.

2nd Gen of Rajdoot:

Escort group learned from their previous mistakes and this time they tied up with Yamaha to launch their new generation Rajdoot 350 in 1983, which was nothing but a licensed copy of Yamaha RD – 350 with slight tweaks according to Indian roads.

That time Indian road infrastructure was not as it is today. That time Indian roads were mostly dirt roads or unmetalled road. In that kind of road Rajdoot 350 performed very well. In fact, it out-performed Royal Enfield’s Bullet – 350 in poor village road conditions. Indian government choose Rajdoot 350 for their agricultural officers as well as for those who posted in very remote areas. The main reason for that is Rajdoot – 350’s light weight, cheaper parts and easy maintenance.

Till 1990 Rajdoot was doing great but after opening the Indian economy for foreign companies rajdoot sells went down. In 1991, Escort sold their last Rajdoot in 1991.

Cause of discontinuation:

After opening the Indian market for foreign companies Honda, Suzuki & Yamaha introduced their 100cc – 110cc bikes in the Indian market. These bikes were cheaper, easy to maintain and most importantly new bikes were way more fuel efficient than Rajdoot 350 & Bullet 350. And from there the downfall of Rajdoot started and eventually Escort group discontinued Rajdoot 350.

We have already discussed, How the Indian Two-wheeler industry evolved since the beginning >> Click Here << to read that.

Relaunch of Rajdoot:

Well, I am not 100% (while writing this blog) sure the Rajdoot will come back or not. But this time there is a rumor in the industry that, the Rajdoot is coming back in 2025 with collaboration with Yamaha. Some pictures were surfaced in the internet but not verified by any officials.

If this happens then, that will be a great revival of a classic Indian motorcycle.

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