The tale of upcoming Royal Enfield
motorcycles is getting more and more interesting with each passing day. New spy
images show the second sighting of what's possibly is a more affordable version
of the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X.
The spied motorcycle carries the same
split grabrail, single-piece seat and rear indicators placed near the taillamp.
With the images also revealing the right side of the motorcycle, we see a new
upswept and smaller exhaust canister. Besides that, the spied Royal Enfield
Thunderbird 350X flaunts a new single-pod digital instrumentation.
Moving away from the single cradle chassis
seen in the present version of Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X on sale, the new
motorcycle will be getting a double-cradle setup. However, the side panels and
alloy wheels are similar to the ones of the currently sold model.
The powertrain bears the same matte black
casing as in the present iteration of the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X. In
its present form, the 346 cc air-cooled engine gets a carburettor, but it will
switch to fuel injection soon. This engine produces 20.07 PS of maximum power
and 28 Nm of peak torque. What remains to be seen is the displacement of the
next-generation Royal Enfield Thunderbird's engine. We expect not the existing
model's push-rod setup but overhead cams in the next-gen model.
The suspension system of the next-gen
model includes conventional telescopic fork up front and twin springs at the
rear. Also, the front gets rubber fork gaiters, just like the current
motorcycle. The braking setup is controlled by discs at both ends. However, we
expect Royal Enfield to offer just a single-channel ABS to keep costs under
check.
This new, more affordable version of the
next-gen Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X will be positioned directly against the
Jawa Forty Two. The Chennai-based motorcycle maker has also registered two
brand names - Hunter and Sherpa. The company has decided to stop selling the
500 cc models of the Bullet, Classic and Thunderbird in India after March 30,
2020.
