Royal Enfield To Launch Thunderbird 500X And 350X On February 22

The roadster version of the Thunderbird gets modern detailing and features

Royal Enfield is all set to launch a new variant of the Thunderbird 350 and 500 on February 22nd. The Thunderbird 500X and 350X gets bright colours like Yellow and Light Blue. The new colours contrast well with the rest of the bike which gets black detailing. All the chrome bits on the standard Thunderbird like the exhaust, fork legs, headlamp cover, instrument console, centre panel and tail piece get the black treatment. The seat is a single-piece affair while the pillion backrest has been done away with. The 18-inch spoke wheels have been replaced with blacked out 17-inch alloy wheels, a first for any Royal Enfield motorcycle. This has been done to improve handling and to accommodate the tubeless tyres. The tall, cruiser-type handlebar has been replaced by a flatter, blacked out unit. It still retains the twin-pod, digital-analogue instrument console and projector headlamps from the stock Thunderbird.

The motor appears to be the same. The 500X gets a 499cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder mill that, on the standard Thunderbird 500, makes 27.5PS at 5250rpm and 41.3Nm of torque at 4000rpm. The Thunderbird 350X, meanwhile, should come with a 346cc air-cooled single that puts out 20.07PS at 5250rpm and 28Nm at 4000rpm. Both motors come mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

Mechanical components remain unchanged, like the 20-litre fuel tank, 41mm telescopic front forks and twin rear gas-charged shock absorbers. Braking is also unchanged, a 280mm front disc and 240mm rear disc. It remains to be seen if the new bikes gets ABS.

Pricing-wise, expect a small premium over the stock Thunderbird, which is priced at Rs 1.9 lakh (ex-showroom) for the 500 and Rs 1.47 lakh for the 350. The bikes have already reached dealerships so expect deliveries to start as soon as March 2018.