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-   -   Rumour: Royal Enfield working on electric bike (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/216103-rumour-royal-enfield-working-electric-bike.html)

According to media reports, Royal Enfield could be working on an electric bike that could join the product line-up in the future.



According to Vinod Dasari, CEO, Royal Enfield, the company's UK Technology Centre has built an electric prototype based on an existing product.

Back home in India, Royal Enfield is updating its line up to comply with the BS6 emission norms. Rumours suggest that the 500cc engine might be discontinued. It is believed that upgrading this engine may not be viable due the high cost and low volumes.

On the other hand, the 350cc engine could be replaced with a new motor altogether.

Source

Link to Team-BHP News

I'd only buy it if it came with a speaker that fakes the 'thump' and an oil can with a pre-drilled hole to simulate oil leaks.

I get this feeling that an "ELECTRIC" Harley Davidson or Royal Enfield is a branding mismatch, something on the lines of "Coca Cola Branded Toothpaste".

Don't know about others, but the EV Route for both RE and HD should probably be the death knell for these two brands.

The only RE which cannot sell in Punjab!!!! :D

IMO a good move. We may like it or not, but electric is the future.

And I would argue atleast in India, RE is actually well placed. Electric bikes are more expensive than ICE ones. And people are willing to spend more for RE bikes than Hero or Bajaj.

Hey I need both of those for my Interceptor :D

Some pictures received from nasirkaka over on WhatsApp.

^^^
Somehow reminds me of the Sooraj!

Regards
Sutripta

God save us!
These clowns could not master the age old combustion engine in over 100 years. Now they want to try their hand with electricity.

So I guess apart from the vibrations, oil leakes, rusting, faulty electronics and being stranded you will now get sporadic electric shocks to let you know you are riding an electric RE.

They really cant help but screw up the positive vibes that the 650 twins have generated for them after years of selling junk.

I am looking forward to this, it will be interesting.

I disagree. For one, it's the same product line. Second, it's hardly the death knell if there is customer demand for the same. Also, in the foreseeable future, petrol & electric vehicles will both happily co-exist. It's not that an electric Enfield will stop production of the petrol thumper. This will be an additional choice.

More like Diet Coca Cola, instead of toothpaste :D. Diet & regular both sell to their target markets.

Will be simpler, bigron. I predict that, in electric vehicles, the batteries & motors will be commoditized and there won't be much of a differentiator. Similar to SSDs, RAM & CPUs in computers or smartphones.

+1 Unlike others who think and hope that legendary companies like HD and RE curl up and die rather than taking a shot at electric bikes. I would trust these brands over some startup shenanigans with re-branded Chinese electric bikes who might disappear overnight leaving owners in the cold. If grand old brands like Ford Motor Co. can think of building a F150 electric pickup or Triumph Motorcycles can think of building an electric bike then why not RE and HD. It is better to prepare for electric rather than dying a slow and painful death.

Mate ever owned one of them RE's? just curious.
Amusing isn't it? The bikes you call "junk" are selling like hot cakes with people lapping them up even after grueling waiting periods. Hundreds of thousands of people buying hundreds of thousands of RE's at the same time intrigues me about what you call "junk". They say, "One man's junk is another man's treasure.":)

That's beause these are considered "ego massagers" | "macho machines" that announce your arrival with THUMP and can eveb be modified to sound like GUN SHOTS. The (un)reliabilty | oil leaks | vibrations.. is called "CHARACTER"

Question is would an EV Royal Enfield still retain these loved "Qualities"?

LOL! if that's your conclusion/perception about RE's in general then I am out of words mate. Good for you.

Do/Did you ever own an RE? just curious.

"Qualities" what you define/mean is as per your definition mate. Even though not very drastic as electrical motor but still an OHC Himalayan and a parallel twin RE were lapped up by the market(in that category) and has made waves overseas as well notwithstanding your definition of "Qualities". So it will be interesting to see how RE fares when electric motors come out. One can see how HD is testing waters with their Livewire model.

Beside like GTO said petrol and electric engines can happily co-exist for time to come. I am not sure if all two wheelers will be asked to switch to electric overnight.

Search on Instagram for photos with Royal Enfields.. you'll get the drift

It'll sure do.. but most likely people won't prefer a Silent Royal Enfield.. especially when he would have option to can buy the THUMP.

As with everything related to Royal Enfield, they are dammed if they do and dammed if they dont.

In my 24 years of riding I have made acquaintance with so many of these iron generators I dont even remember.

Plus, I stay at a place where buying a "bullt" is the end all be all high that a person can obtain. So I know a thing or two about these 2 wheel scraps and what they bring to the table.

A junk is a junk. Whether it sells a piece or a million of them. People will buy anything to inflate their hollow egos. And thats exactly what RE does, it gives a placebo boost to your manhood. We have a whole lot of those egomaniacs where I come from who ride it like they own the road.
This notion that a RE between your legs will turn you into the ruler of the road is far fetched and it is exactly that, a misplaced notion.
Until RE came out with the 650 twins, every single product in their portfolio is as good as scrap.

But I am not here to save the world. So I smile when I see someone picking up a 350 cc/500 cc RE in 2019 and move on.