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-   -   Rumour: Royal Enfield working on new Classic, new Thunderbird and a 600-650 cc twin-cylinder (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/174528-rumour-royal-enfield-working-new-classic-new-thunderbird-600-650-cc-twin-cylinder.html)

Royal Enfield is also working on successors for the Royal Enfield Classic and the Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Codenamed D41 (next generation Royal Enfield Classic) and D61 (next generation Royal Enfield Thunderbird), these products will also target global markets, reports the newspaper.

SOURCE: http://indianautosblog.com/2016/03/n...lopment-226754

This definitely gets me hopeful. We've been waiting for a twin-cylinder since forever, but that displacement does get me wondering how competent the new bikes will be. A cruiser in the US or Europe should be capable of managing at least 100 - 120 km/h (for hours on end) comfortably. That would mean a lot of work on engine cooling, vibration/harshness control and possibly a stiffer ride as well; not to mention, the engine needs to be more powerful than the current crop. Waiting to see how this develops.

That's great news.

There is a company which does built a 2 cylinder Enfield.

Carberry Motorcycle is the name.

However, afaik it is not affiliated with RE in any ways.

Here's a pic and their FB page link.

Carberry Motorcycle



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12DR7dEJyRU

Also there is the Musket V-Twin, by Aniket Vardhan. It was made by him in the US. He was featured on Jay Leno's garage as well.

Link here.

Their facebook page.

Their website.

This is very good news. I hope the 650 has a decent bump up on power and torque from the 500. Something in the 40hp and 50-55 Nm of torque range will be excellent for Indian roads. A bit doubtful on the chassis of the classic and thunderbird though - which is pretty old. A larger engine would have been ideal for the continental GT and the himalayan, both of which have excellent chassis, and may I say, are grossly under powered to exploit the chassis!

Actually the Bullet 500 has nearly 40% more torque and 37% more power as compared to the 350, yet it uses the same transmission ratio. With a 10% increase in overall gearing by changing the sprocket ratio, and a sixth gear with another 20% increase the 500 is also capable of cruising much faster.

Rahul

I wonder if the 750 cc twin program is on, after all the rumors and spy pics of the engine undergoing testing for the past 2 years it's quite a dampener to know that a 600-650 is coming .

Again another bike in a super category of a medium heavy cruiser, that no one in India has tapped- a 600-750 that briefly appeared with some close up pix of a twin cylinder engine -reminiscent of a Honda CB750F-
I pray that they involve good known riders from the cruiser community- rather than their sandal and no-glove riders- no fault of theirs- for feedback.
Gear ratios from popular cruisers like the Indian Scout to the HDs... and torque that spools up from 1500-3000rpm- twin discs- and a resonance that exists at 4500-5500rpm to warn of doom- with a red line of 6500...
Prayers abound.

Are these modifications possible- what would you recommend- front sprocket/rear sprocket- and if to add a 6th, would one not have to change the ratios so that the entire ratio spread becomes like a good cruisers? I ride th classic 500- and am permanently looking for a solution that gives me a 'easy running' top end- rather than the stressed out 80-110 band
Could they come out with a 6 speed solution- theoretically? Like in changing the entire gear cassette, and utilising the exact virtues you write about, Rahul?

At our level we can change only the rear sprocket, there is very less space near the front sprocket, and modifying entire gear box is something that needs a full R&D setup.
Pune member Turbosam is thinking of some mods too.
I think that to to retain same amount of torque to wheel as a 350 the 500 will need a 25 tooth rear sprocket instead of the stock 38. I think it will be best to go half way to about 32 teeth in that way your cruzing at 95 will be at same RPM as current 80, and engine which asks for next gear at 80 will not do so.
A engine has the torque to run fine with an even smaller rear sprocket, but then if you are stuck in traffic on a gradient, it will be harsh on the clutch.

Look at differential ratio of a truck and a bus with same engine gearbox combo to understand. With a 125 BHP and GB-40 Tata provides a 41/7 differential to a truck and city bus, but 37/7 for an intercity bus, change in final drive is the easiest way to modify the gearing.

Rahul

Wow, pretty interesting. Would this possibly be the first affordable twin cylinder bike in India? Presently there is nothing below 3L with twin cylinders. I hope the new 610cc twin thumps well and the classic looks are retained. I would definitely look at buying one, if its vibe free.

I would have bought the Classic 500 only if it was vibe-free till about 100. And yes, 6th gear would really be nice too.

I am guessing, RE would replace Classic & TB 350 with the Himalayan's 410cc engine and the Classic and TB 500 with the new 610cc twin.

While the changes are welcome, Eicher should be working on improving the quality and reliability of the motorcycles.
The engine was never the problem but the frame, welds and other parts need to be improved.

Source: http://indianautosblog.com/2016/05/r...classic-230878

Amen to that! The Royal Enfield engines have been setting quite a benchmark in terms of reliability. For instance, the cast iron engines which were common 15 years ago are still preferred by some riders, and these perform brilliantly on highways even today!

But as you said, the frame and welds are a bit of a concern. I have witnessed a not-so major accident of a bullet. The impact wasn't that heavy, yet there was a need of a frame change. Unless you have added the extra support which looks like an exo-skeleton for the bike:D. Those seem to work quite well.

Changes in headlamps, much appreciated.

Royal Enfield is planning for a 600-650cc twin cylinder motorcycles! A call-out for all the RE fans, Would you buy a twin cylinder RE?
(FYI it is aimed at the European and American markets)

If its priced sub 2.5L why not :). That was intentionally low balled to say not really. There are far better bikes for the price one pays for an RE and the twin would be priced close to 5L making bikes like the versys and other 650's in the market a steal

Knowing the history of RE i am making this bold claim. What RE needs is to first make enough bikes and stop with this elongated wait time from booking to delivery. They are made in ambattur and chennai should ideally have no wait time and same day delivery if you are willing to go and do your own RTO work :)

Let us see how RE will improve. They are already having 60/55W head light (which is the maximum limit) like 4 wheelers.

It is doubtable to improve combustion efficiency with the pushrod timing technology.
In fact RE are always on same power figure: 18 BHP for 350cc and 25BHP for 500cc for all its CI, AVL and UCE engine. A little 18 vs 19.6 and 25 vs 27 is only confusion between BHP and PS (Pferde Strake: German Term). Important is that RE delivers the peak power @ 6000 RPM whereas Japanese/ Austrian bikes deliver @ 9500/10000 RPM.

All RE current models are having enough torque and power city and highway run. It will be better for RE to compete for more durability to make engine capable to run 1lakh kms without touching the crank case & cylinder and make sure for the customer to less visit to service center.

I fear that if RE will adopted ‘timing chain and overhead cam’ set up for timing, it will lose the THUMP and basic characteristics for which BULLET is known.

Forget accidents, on my Classic 500, the foundation bolt sheared twice just by normal usage! And twice the silencer exhaust end "fell" from my running bike: once when a weld broke and once when the silencer attachment sheared. :Shockked:
With these problems, it may turn out to be suicidal to go for an unproved, more complex and more powerful twin cylinder engine.