Royal Enfield is currently the leader in the 300cc and above segment in India. Before the BS6 implementation on 1st April 2020, manufacturers have started launching BS6 compliant products in the market. Even Royal Enfield has started launching new products to meet the upcoming emission compliance norms in India. Later this year, the brand is planning to launch new products to replace the current models of the Royal Enfield Classic range and the Thunderbird range. Royal Enfield will also discontinue the Thunderbird range of bikes and will replace it with an all-new product line-up, which will be known as the Meteor. Here is a video of the test bike that was caught on test in Chennai and it reveals several details.
The video has been uploaded by Dhabaswin KD, who saw the motorcycle on his way back from a motorcycle ride. The bike was on a test ride and it was with a Royal Enfield engineer who was probably taking a break. The video shows that the bike has additional equipment on-board to test different parameters of the bike
When Dhabaswin went to talk to the engineer, he said that the bike is powered by a new engine and it is called the Meteor. It is internally known as the J1C0 and will replace the Thunderbird range from the market. The codename comes from the new platform, which is known as the J platform. It is a modular platform that will underpin a lot of upcoming Royal Enfield motorcycles in the Indian market.
The new platform will improve the ride quality of the bike. The engineer also asked in the video about the vibrations on the Royal Enfield Thunderbird that the vlogger was riding. To which the rider said that he does not feel any vibration at 80 km/h but at 90 and 100 km/h, he can feel a lot of vibrations. The engineer also asked about the mirrors and if he can see clearly at higher speeds. To which the rider said that he has been riding the bike for 2 years now and he is used to the vibrations. It clearly indicates that Royal Enfield will seriously address the vibration problem in the upcoming range of bikes and they are working to remove any kind of vibrations. The new parallel-twin cylinder powered Continental GT 650 and the Interceptor are also almost vibration-free and are said to be smoothest Royal Enfield motorcycles ever built.
The Meteor will also get a brand-new engine and will get a fuel-injection system too. The power and torque output will remain similar to the current 350cc model. The new bike also gets a digital instrument cluster. It is expected to be launched in the second quarter of this year.