Royal Enfield 838cc KX concept is a tribute to vintage Royal Enfields [Video]

Royal Enfield’s entry into the world of twin-cylinders has created quite a few ripples in the market. The all-new 650cc parallel-twin liquid engine will power the Interceptor cruiser bike and the Continental GT 650. In the recently concluded EICMA event, Royal Enfield showcased the Concept KX bobber bike and here is the story behind the inception of the all-new concept model.

Royal Enfield is known for its single-cylinder thumping engine in the present day. However, during the early days of the manufacturer’s existence, Royal Enfield KX was launched powered by a V-Twin engine. The Concept KX is a tribute to the original KX bike. The bike took shape in the Royal Enfield’s UK technical centre where the designers bought an original KX model from the market after admiring the pictures of it on the Internet. The Concept KX is made in a way that it truly looks inspired by the original model. However, a lot of modern bits have been added to give it a neo-retro look, which is a signature style of Royal Enfield.

Before the World War, Royal Enfield’s V-Twin bikes were extremely popular around the world. The first V-Twin powered Royal Enfield was launched in 1909 which had an engine sourced from a different manufacturer. In the 1920s, Royal Enfield developed its own 976cc V-Twin engine. The first bike launched with the Royal Enfield’s in-house developed house was known as K and later the model KX was introduced.

The designers at the UK technical centre have ensured that the Concept KX shares a large number of design highlights with the original KX. Even the stance of the bike remains similar to the original bike. Even the engine and the exhausts are designed in a way that they look inspired by the Royal Enfield V-Twin motorcycles of the 1920s. The engine compartment itself looks inspired by the original bike, which is why Royal Enfield first designed the 60-degree V-Twin engine and then the body was designed around the engine.

The Concept KX gets an 838cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected V-Twin engine sourced from the Indian Motorcycles. The Indian Motorcycles is owned by Polaris group and the motorcycle was developed in a partnership of Royal Enfield and Polaris. The bike gets disc brakes on both the wheels and ABS is standard.

The frame has been engineered by Harris Engineering and it uses the V-Twin engine as the stressed member of the chassis. Royal Enfield has not announced if the motorcycle will ever go into production but if it does, it will take the Harley-Davidson Street 750 directly.