[vinjosep]

Wow! thats the 650cc engine, ain't it? If so, this just got interesting..
Doesn't look like the UCE cover at all.

[The Great]

Originally Posted by vinjosep

Wow! thats the 650cc engine, ain't it? If so, this just got interesting..
Doesn't look like the UCE cover at all.

Its not the 650 CC engine, but it must be the new 350cc engine as they might discontinue the pushrod engines altogether due to BS6.

To me it looks more similar to the Himalayan engine with the engine covers of the 650 type.

[tharian]

A nice video of a factory tour of the Orragadum plant and from the looks of it the assembling of the new BS6 engine from the 5:30 mark.

https://youtu.be/oAircVPnvSs

[ishan12]

Originally Posted by tharian

A nice video of a factory tour of the Orragadum plant and from the looks of it the assembling of the new BS6 engine from the 5:30 mark.

Nice video, good to see modern manufacturing techniques in RE plant
That hand painting of the golden stripe on the tank is such a delight to watch.

At 5:30, from the looks of it, I believe it is the Himalayan engine.

I doubt if the new (BS6) engines would have reached assembly yet.

[TusharK]

Scoop! Next-gen Royal Enfield Thunderbird spied on the road

Thanks to Anurag Singh for sending this image in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!



The next generation Royal Enfield Thunderbird has been spotted once again without any camouflage.

The new Thunderbird is expected to get quite a few updates including a new round tail lamp and circular indicators, stepped seat and alloy wheels. Spy images have also revealed that the bike could get a circular instrument cluster and headlamp, redesigned side panels and a split grab rail.

Reports suggest that the new Thunderbird is likely to come with a new BS6 compliant single-cylinder engine. Also note that the next generation Thunderbird uses a double cradle frame and the sprocket has been moved to the left hand side of the bike.

Link to Team-BHP News

[SS80]

I feel this is late but still a positive move from RE.
100cc bikes came out with alloys and tubeless tyres back in 2007, however RE needed 12more years, to finalise an alloy design!

For buyers like me, who shy away from RE purely due to the fact that there is no tubeless tyre option & the video of a local make alloy breaking off that surfaced recently, this new bullet with alloys is a big news indeed.

Some more things I noticed, not sure if I am right
1. Silencer is shorter and diameter is also lesser than the out going model
2. The silencer shield seems to be a single piece chrome, instead of the many bits offered now
3. Are they going to give same disclaimer of no warranty for matte black paint, as they did the same for my friend's 500fi bike.
4. Rider seat no longer has dual spring beneath it
5. The seat cushion thickness is reduced to half of the usual CL350 that we see and width has mildly increased.
6. I just pray that this alloy can be retrofitted in existing models of CL350. If yes, I would prefer to buy a used CL350 and add alloys to it. IMHO all existing models look more classic and tasteful than these scoop pictures.

[KPR]

I don't understand where TB now stand in Indian market ! Typical bullet lovers buy a Classic/Bullet. IC and Himalayan are sought after by modern RE buyers. TB is an intermediate model and I doubt if it can still pull sales.

[johnjojo08]

Originally Posted by SS80

I feel this is late but still a positive move from RE.
100cc bikes came out with alloys and tubeless tyres back in 2007, however RE needed 12more years, to finalise an alloy design!

For buyers like me, who shy away from RE purely due to the fact that there is no tubeless tyre option & the video of a local make alloy breaking off that surfaced recently, this new bullet with alloys is a big news indeed.

Some more things I noticed, not sure if I am right
1. Silencer is shorter and diameter is also lesser than the out going model
2. The silencer shield seems to be a single piece chrome, instead of the many bits offered now
3. Are they going to give same disclaimer of no warranty for matte black paint, as they did the same for my friend's 500fi bike.
4. Rider seat no longer has dual spring beneath it
5. The seat cushion thickness is reduced to half of the usual CL350 that we see and width has mildly increased.
6. I just pray that this alloy can be retrofitted in existing models of CL350. If yes, I would prefer to buy a used CL350 and add alloys to it. IMHO all existing models look more classic and tasteful than these scoop pictures.

The picture above shows new TB not CL350. The current TB X comes with alloys which can be used for CL350. No need to wait for new launch.

[MechPrasad]

Why in earth did they swap the drive chain side and the brake??
?

If it looses the undersqare engine, it will loose a lot of weight.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by MechPrasad

Why in earth did they swap the drive chain side and the brake??
?

Prasad mate, RE would have swapped the drive chain to left side to keep the design common on all their upcoming bikes for ease of servicing and sharing of parts.

I am not sure why they opted to go for drive chain on the right side in UCE. Maybe it was due to the way the engine was designed. Whereas the Himalayan has drive chain on the left side. The only reason I can come up with is the ease of servicing and accessing drive chain.

In RE circle it was a common practice to change the drive chain and drive chain sprocket together while changing the clutch/pressure plate assembly as both are on the same left side. Note that this is specific only to CI and AVL engines as those models had drive chain and clutch assembly on left side. As both the clutch assembly as on the left side it becomes easier as well as time saving while changing the clutch and drive chain at the same time.

In UCE engines the drive chain is on the right side hence the entire right side engine casing has to be removed to replace the drive chain as well as the sprocket. This is quite tedious and time consuming as a lot of parts have to be disassembled to access the drive chain viz. kicker, exhaust pipe, etc. In addition if one has to change the clutch assembly then again the left side engine casing has to be removed doubling the time and efforts. If both clutch and drive chain are on the same side it becomes a lot easier for repair/replacement of clutch and drive chain at the same time.

RE engineers might have realized this and hence shifted the entire drive chain assembly to left side where the clutch assembly is also housed in the upcoming BSVI engines. It might also be due to the new engine design for that matter. This is one of the reasons I can come up with.

If it looses the undersqare engine, it will loose a lot of weight.

Mate undersquare engine design is RE's DNA from the time they started producing motorcycles. It is the undersquare engine design that helps deliver torque at lower rpm's. RE's are all about Torque and how its delivered.

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by MechPrasad

Why in earth did they swap the drive chain side and the brake??

I guess its more conventional to have chain sprocket to the left, similar to bikes from other manufacturers. Easy to repair, fix punctures?

[ishan12]

Got the info from a pretty reliable source.
The new engines are 410CC, SOHC, with counter balancer.
RE I believe will do away with the 350 and 500 CC configuration altogether and will continue with just the 410 CC engine. Also, to the disappointment of many who were expecting the 650 CC twin engine to make way into the Himalayan, sadly dosen't seem to be the case. The updated Himalayan (When it arrives) will have the same but retuned 410cc mill shared by the Classic and Thunderbird.
So for people looking for the "Thump" and the vibey "character", now is the time to get the UCE.
And for others looking to buy into the RE brand but not looking for the above, its time to wait.
Interesting times ahead. This I believe is another transformation phase in the long journey of the brand Royal Enfield, after the first transformation around 2008-09 when the UCE were introduced. Will be interesting to see how people take to an RE with no "Thump"
In my opinion, the new engines will be a runaway success if they are refined (read no vibes) and RE manages to keep their promise on the service and quality aspect. Just as the twins managed to pull also the buyers who were not into REs or hated REs earlier, I believe the new engines will do the same.
We anyway hardly have options to choose from in the segment that RE serves. Given the brand recognition and the service network and availability RE has, fun times ahead!

[vijay_k]

I am planning to buy RE thunderbird, is it worth waiting for the new BS6 model to launch our should I go ahead and buy it now? Confused.....

[TusharK]

Rumour: Royal Enfield Meteor could replace the Thunderbird

According to a media report, the replacement for the Royal Enfield Thunderbird could be called Meteor.



The Meteor could be based on the modular J-platform. The bike is reportedly codenamed Royal Enfield J1C0.

In a video posted on YouTube, a Royal Enfield test rider talks about the Meteor. He says that the bike has a new engine, which is different from the 350cc unit that we are familiar with. The test mule also has a single-pod digital instrument cluster and a new tail lamp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uGPzWa5cj4

Source

Link to Team-BHP News

[IntoTheStorm]

Few days back I was riding my burgman 125 on ECR and this thunderbird (or meteor) zoomed past! . The surprising thing was the speed of the bike and its refinement. I was doing around 80 and it must have been easily doing around 110 and the exhaust note sounded rather muted but refined. Cant wait for the launch