Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X & 500X cruiser motorcycle launch dates revealed by dealer

Royal Enfield will soon launch new variants of the Thunderbird twins. A dealer from Pune – Brahma Motors – has revealed that the motorcycles will be launched in India on the 28th of February, a day before Holi – the festival of colours.

The Thunderbird range will be joined by the 350X and 500X models, which actually add true-blue cruiser elements such as kicked out footpegs and a wider handlebar. Both the Thunderbird 350X and 500X models will feature similar styling, with the main difference being the engines they run.

While the Thunderbird 350X will use the 350cc UCE (unit construction engine) with 19.8 Bhp and 28 Nm outputs, the 500X model will get the larger, more powerful 500cc UCE with 27.2 Bhp-41.3 Nm outputs. Both engines will be paired to 5 speed manual gearboxes.

Other key changes on the new Thunderbird X range includes the brighter solid colour paint jobs, blacked out instrument cluster and engine bits, alloy wheels and rear-end styling. The motorcycles are also likely to run tubeless tyres – the first-ever Royal Enfields to do so. Disc brakes will be standard on both wheels. ABS is likely to be absent though.

From the styling of the Thunderbird X range, it appears that Royal Enfield has taken inspiration from the Harley Davidson Street 750 line-up. While enthusiasts may cringe, most of the market will be very happy, for they get much cheaper motorcycles with Harley-like styling.

Expect the Thunderbird 350 to start from Rs. 1.6 lakhs and the 500X from Rs. 2 lakhs. This is not the first time that an Indian motorcycle maker has seemed inspired by Harley Davidson. The latest set of Avenger cruiser motorcycles from Bajaj also show a few Harley inspired design details. The Thunderbird has been a very successful motorcycle for Royal Enfield in India. The introduction of the latest variants is likely to boost sales further.