Royal Enfield to discontinue 500cc Classic, Thunderbird & Bullet next year?

Royal Enfield, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer above the 300cc segment in India is a cult brand in India. Popularly known for the 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder powered motorcycles, the model line-up of Royal Enfield is expected to be revamped in the next few months. Royal Enfield is planning to drop the 500cc-powered motorcycles in the line-up due to the BS6 pollution norms. Here is everything that you should know about the changes.

A new Livemint report claims that Royal Enfield will drop the 500cc motorcycles from the line-up. The engine currently powers the Classic, Bullet and Thunderbird range of the Royal Enfield motorcycles. The new stringent pollution emission norms – BS6 will come into effect from 1st April 2020. The current 350cc and 500cc pushrod engines of the Royal Enfield motorcycles will not be able to meet the norms. However, upgrading the existing engines to meet the norms can prove to be extremely costly, especially for the Indian market where the cost is a major factor in the success of the vehicles.

Royal Enfiled will replace the 350cc engine though that is a major volume driver for the manufacturer. Most of the bikes sold by the brand are powered by the 350cc engine, which will get a replacement engine and will power the future Royal Enfield motorcycles. However, 500cc motorcycles will be discontinued from the market.

The report quotes a source and says that the vehicle pushrod technology is not capable of meeting the upcoming stringent emission norms. This is the reason for discontinuing both the engines. Royal Enfield will reportedly replace the 350cc engine with an all-new engine that will be launched in the market soon. It is not known if the new engine will be ready for production by next year.

Royal Enfield launched the all-new 650cc parallel-twin cylinder powered motorcycles including the Interceptor and the Continental GT in the Indian market. Both the motorcycles have become extremely popular in the Indian market and have also affected the overall sales of the 500cc powered Royal Enfield motorcycles. The manufacturer is yet to officially announce any update on the matter. However, Royal Enfield earlier said that they are working to upgrade the current products to meet the new norms.

After the launch of the 650 twins – Interceptor and the Continental GT 650, Royal Enfield will launch various other products powered by the same parallel-twin cylinder engine. We may very well see the products like Classic 650, Thunderbird 650 and Bullet 650 in the future. However, a strong rumour predicts that Royal Enfield will also launch the 650cc engine powered Himalayan.

Next year, Royal Enfield is expected to launch a slew of new products in the Indian market. Currently, the brand leads with a huge margin on the monthly sales charts compared to the rivals like the KTM.