Rushlane has made a speculative rendering of the
Royal Enfield Thunderbird 650. Royal Enfield does not have plans of launching
one as of now, however.
Going by the rendering, the Royal Enfield
Thunderbird 650 features beach bars for a more laid-back riding position. The
frame will reportedly be a reinforced single downtube unit. The bike also
features fatter front fork, and meatier rubber on both rims to go with the more
powerful heart. The headlamp, instrument cluster, fuel tank and side box design
look similar to the current motorcycle.
The 650 cc twin cylinder engine powers the Royal
Enfield Interceptor INT 650, and the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650. The
engine is an all-new 648 cc SOHC 4-valve parallel twin unit. It features an
oil-cooler, apart from the fins for air cooling; and fuel injection. The engine
comes with a 270 degree crank with a balancer shaft to smoothen out vibrations.
The powerplant makes 47 PS at 7,100 rpm and 52 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The engine
works in tandem with an all-new 6-speed transmission with slip assist clutch.
Royal Enfield has revealed that the bikes will enter
the first markets in April 2018. The company has also confirmed that the bike
will first enter the European market and then the Indian market by summer 2018.