Royal Enfield has finally launched the highly anticipated Continental GT in India with an on-road price of Rs 2.05 lakh on-road Delhi and Rs 2.14 lakh on-road Mumbai. The Continental GT is the same bike that Royal Enfield had displayed at the Auto Expo 2012 by the name of Café Racer. Now, café racing, as a culture, evolved during the 1960s in the UK and involved motorcycle enthusiasts (the Rockers—a biker subculture) using stripped down, customised motorcycles to race between transport cafés. These sporty, souped-up motorcycles gave birth to the café racer genre. Low-set handlebars and rear-set footpegs—lending to a crouched down riding posture—were the hallmarks of these café racers. They were also very simple machines that could be customised easily to make them more responsive and quicker.
Café racers of the 1960s and Royal Enfield’s own 1965 Continental GT—the first mass produced café racer of its time—have been the main design inspiration for the current Continental GT. This bike has a stretched out low-profile fuel tank with knee recesses for the authentic period café racer look. Then, it has a flat sculpted racing seat with contrast stitching and bump stop along with rear-set foldable footrests. There are trimmed front and rear mudguards that add to the clean lines of the Continental GT. It also has an upswept exhaust that allows more ground clearance, especially required when you are cornering at speed. Royal Enfield has worked closely with Xenophya Design of the UK in order to ensure that the Continental GT doesn’t miss out on design details.
The new RE flagship will be sold in two colours, red and yellow only. Powering the Continental GT will be a single cylinder air cooled 535cc engine delivering 29PS of power and 44Nm of peak torque and will come mated to a five-speed gearbox. RE has developed the chassis in collaboration with UK based Harris performance. The front suspension has 41mm telescopic forks while the rear has Paioli twin gas-charged shock absorbers. The bike is shod with Pirelli Sport Demon tyres and brembo brakes.
The Continental GT is manufactured at the company’s plant in Oragadam near Chennai. The company is expanding its manufacturing capacity to 2.5 lakh units by 2014.
Technical Specifications:
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Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Eicher motors the company Royal Enfield also launched the refreshed Thunderbird 350 with all the same features of the Thunderbird 500. However, the Thunderbird 350 will be placed below the newly launched Thunderbird 500. By doing this Royal Enfield has expanded the Thunderbird’s range of new features to suit the budgets of a wider range of buyers.
The Thunderbird 350 as its name suggests, it will feature the same smaller UCE engine displacing 346cc. This engine produces 19.8 Bhp and 28 Nm. Like its elder sibling, the 350cc engine too features hydraulic tappets, an electric starter and a five speed manual gearbox.
However, the Thunderbird 350 uses a carburetor instead of fuel injection, allowing Royal Enfield to price it much more competitively. Also its fuel efficiency is also expected to be much higher than the 500cc model.
The older 350cc Thunderbird bookings have been stopped and the newer version is available now. Bookings for both the new Thunderbird 350 as well as the 500 models are now open at Royal Enfield dealerships across the country. The all new Thunderbird 350 is priced at Rs. 1,43,000 (on-road, Mumbai).
As the booking for old 350cc Thunderbird has been freezed, the left over stock of the Thunderbird TwinSpark can be bought for heavy discounts/no waiting periods. So folks who can live without the new added features can definitely go with older model as the engine of the new Thunderbird 350 remains unchanged from the current TwinSpark model.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Royal Enfield, the Chennai-based
manufacturer of motorcycles that exude an old world charm, has just
launched the new Thunderbird 500 today at the Auto Expo here in Delhi as reported by our undercover reporter few days back.
Launching the Thunderbird 500 at the 2012 Auto Expo, Mr Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO Eicher Motors Ltd. said, “When we launched Thunderbird in 2002, it was a one-of-its kind model on the Indian roads that redefined the cruiser segment. Today, with the launch of the Thunderbird 500, fitted with the UCE and a host of design enhancements, Royal Enfield has again upped the ante in leisure motorcycling which we have been pioneering for over half a century in India. With touring enthusiasts forming the core of our customer base, the Thunderbird 500 gives them more power, comfort and style for long-distance riding.”
The Thunderbird’s ‘black’ engine is the first of several new styling elements on the bike. It gets a redesigned seat, new lock mechanism accessible through the side panel and true to its touring-friendly nature, it gets a separately mounted pillion seat that can be removed to accommodate luggage. The handle bar has been changed to improve the bikes ergonomics, the pillion grab rail is also new and the bike also gets bungee points to tie luggage. All the new foot pegs, new design mirrors and the LED tail lamp now have the Royal Enfield logo embossed on them.
The headlights are really important on our roads and more so for the touring folk. Royal Enfield has endowed the Thunderbird 500 with a new headlight that incorporates a 55W projector lamp for the low beam and for the high beam, it works in conjunction with a 55W halogen.
The 500 also gets two digital trip meters to keep a track of total trip mileage and intermediate mileage. It comes with a 20-litre fuel tank and it also gets hazard lamps in the switch gear, which is a first for a motorcycle manufactured in India. Rear disk brakes mounted on the new oval section swing arm, supplied by Bybre, add to the stopping power of the bike.
Enfield also showcased the Cafe Racer which is almost in final production form and will go on sale next year. Apart from the bikes on display, the Enfield stall includes biker apparel and riding accessories as well.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Royal Enfield, a unit of Eicher
Motors Ltd, today announced the launch of two leisure bikes.The bikes, Classic Chrome and Desert Storm, being
limited edition products, would be available at select brand
stores and dealerships across the country.
The Classic Chrome will be priced at Rs. 1, 50,659 (Ex-showroom Mumbai)
while the Desert Storm will cost Rs. 1, 43,967 (Ex-showroom Mumbai)
while the on road prices will be Rs. 1,65,400 and Rs. 1,58,200
respectively."When we launched the Classic in November 2009, we had
not imagined in our wildest dreams that this new product would
occupy almost 40 per cent of our total sales within a year of
its launch. During this time we have feverishly engaged
ourselves in burnishing this gem. The fruits of this labour
are now manifested in the Classic Chrome and Desert Storm,"
Royal Enfield CEO Venkatesh Padmanabhan told reporters here.
The Classic Chrome gets a fuel tank finished in chrome, wider mudguards
and an oval tool box. That said, the 500 cc twin-spark engine puts out
27.2 bhp of maximum power and 41.3 Nm of torque. The Chrome also sports a
leather finished seat which adds to the retro British bike feel.
The Desert Storm is finished in “sand” paint scheme and is sort of a
tribute to our soldiers who have protected the honor of our nation,
serving for the country in the harshest of environments. The major
difference between the two bikes is the unique paint job each one of
them sports.
The two new Classic 500 versions carry the same single spring saddle
seat and look identical to the old classic except for their colour
scheme. The ECU of the new bikes has also been revamped for smoother
power delivery. Among other notable changes are the wheel sizes of the
bikes that will now be 19-inch in the front while the rear maintains its
18-inch rim, but now sports a slightly wider profile of 120/80-18 in
place of the previous 110/90-18. Also, the front wheel mount on the fork
tube has been changed on both the bikes to accommodate the new larger
front wheel.
"Following the launch of Classic 350 & 500cc in
September 2009, we have been continuously equipping our
dealerships to take customer satisfaction to the next level.In 2011, we have added 15 dealerships and one brand store to
our existing network," he said."Our customers have been demanding the `Chrome' model
for quite some time now. Both Classic Chrome and Desert Storm
are meant to bring more thrills to the customer," said Royal
Enfield Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Shaji Koshy.With its manufacturing base in Chennai, the company
offers a variety of models catering to the needs of the
traditional segments, the enthusiasts, the leisure bikers and
the urban youth.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Royal Enfield
is a day away from the launch of the Classic Chrome and the Desert
Storm variants. The Royal Enfield Classic Chrome 500 and Desert Storm
500 are variants of their Classic line. Dr. Venki Padmanabhan CEO, Royal
Enfield and Mr. Shaji Koshy, Sr VP- Sales & Marketing for Royal
Enfield will preside over the launch event on 29th September 2011. The
variants will of course have a new paint job, and in regards to
technical specifications, variations would be minimal.
The royal Enfield Classic Chrome 500 and the Desert Storm 500 are merely
variants of the Classic line of Royal Enfield, which means that apart
from the new paint jobs that these motorcycles sport, the rest of the
motorcycle, including the mechanicals is bog similar to the Royal Enfield Classic 500. So, what you get in the Classic Chrome 500 and the
Desert Storm 500 is a couple of new paint jobs.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
| Engine | Single Cylinder, 4 Stroke, OHV, SI Engine, Air cooled, and Fuel Injection |
| Displacement | 499 CC |
| Bore x Stroke | 84 mm x 90 mm |
| Maximum Power | 27.2 bhp @ 5250 rpm |
| Maximum Torque | 41.3 Nm @ 4000 rpm |
| Transmission | 5 Speed (left foot gear shift) |
| Ignition | Electronic Ignition |
| Dimensions |
|---|
| Ground Clearance | 140 mm |
| Width | 800 mm |
| Wheel Base | 1370 mm |
| Length | 2130 mm |
| Height | 1050 mm |
| Seat Height/ Saddle Height | 800 mm |
| Tyres |
|---|
| Front | 90/90 - 19 |
| Rear | 120/80 - 18 |
| Electricals |
|---|
| Electrical System | 12 Volts - DC |
| Head lamp | 60 W / 55 W, HALOGEN |
| Battery | 14 AH |
| Tail Lamp | 21/5 W |
| E-Start Starter Motor | 0.9 KW, DENSO |
| Brakes |
|---|
| Front | Hydraulic Disc Brake (Disc dia 280mm) |
| Rear | Foot Operated 153 mm Single Lead Internal Expanding |
| Maximum Speed |
|---|
| Speed | 130 Kmph |
| Suspension |
|---|
| Front | Telescopic, Hydraulic Damping, Stroke 130 mm |
| Rear | Swing Arm With Gas Shock Absorbers, Stroke 80 mm |
| Vehicle |
|---|
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 13.5 ltr |
| Compression Ratio | 8.5 : 1 |
| Air Cleaner | Paper Element |
| Engine Oil Grade / Qty | 15W 50 API, SL Grade JASO MA |
| Weight(Kerb) | 182 Kg (with 90% fuel & oil) |
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
