While everybody waits for the Royal Enfield 650 Twins to make their official debut, the popular cruiser-maker has come out with a new addition to its Thunderbird lineup.
The Royal Enfield Thunderbird X will be launched alongside the standard Thunderbird variant, with a price tag starting from Rs 1.56 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 350 variant. There’s also a 500cc option of the Thunderbird X that’ll cost you Rs 1.98 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Both these bikes can be booked at Royal Enfield stores across major cities, as confirmed by the company. What’s new about these two Thunderbirds?
As you can see below, the Thunderbird X is a step-up from the standard variant, with a different design as well as riding profile. The seating is slightly lower now, and it has been combined to form a unified part, which could work in favour of the pillion rider.
The wide handlebar definitely gets our attention, which helps the Thunderbird to transform from a hunk to an urban, nimble cruiser. Both Thunderbird X 350 and 500 get similar design changes, with round headlamp, alloy wheels and an extended silencer that does look appealing.
What also works for us is the blacked-out theme of both the X bikes, and for a change, there’s very little chrome to notice on a Royal Enfield cruiser bike.
The choice of colours for this bike – blue, orange, white and red among others – are not the set of hues you’d associate with RE, but they feel urban consumers want it, so they’re getting it.
The design changes add a different dimension to the tail lamp, which is more revealing than before.
Coming to the power under the hood, Thunderbird X 350 and 500 pack 19.8 bhp and 27.2 bhp of power respectively. Torque ratio on both these bikes has been tuned at 28Nm and 41.3Nm. You get both the variants mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
Royal Enfield believes that urban buyers would like the addition of alloy wheels with tubeless tyres on the Thunderbird X, which also comes with standard disc brakes on both tyres, 280mm on the front and 240mm at the back.
The bikes get a 20-litre fuel tank, more than adept to handle long-distance riding. It’s got a ground clearance of 135-mm, and weight is similar to that of the standard Thunderbird.
Now, the big question is, how different are they from the standard variant? Stay tuned for that with The Quint.
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