Royal Enfield has been testing its new 2020 line-up of motorcycles for quite some time. In fact, we have shared multiple spy shots of the same over the weeks. Being BS6-compliant, the new range of Royal Enfield single-cylinder motorcycles were expected to be launched before April 2020.
But that is not going to be the case. The company needs more time to get the new gen motorcycles ready, and the deadline of 1st April 2020 is not enough. The new set of BS6 emission norms are mandatory for every new vehicle sold from April 1st, 2020.
Royal Enfield will not launch the new models before April 2020, but only by mid-2020. This is why the company will update the current set of 350cc Royal Enfield’s to BS6. 500cc will not be updated, and will be discontinued. 350cc range includes Electra, Bullet, Classic and Thunderbird.
The move towards BS6 might be brought about by introducing a fuel-injection system in the 350cc line-up. This is not exclusive to Royal Enfield products since a good number of motorcycles were made BS6-compliant only with the introduction of fuel-injection (along with its related programming) and maybe a new exhaust system.
The addition of an FI system also hints to a possible price hike compared to the existing carburetted products such as the Bullet 350, Classic 350 and Thunderbird 350X. Prices of the 350cc Royal Enfield motorcycles currently start at Rs 1.14 lakh and go up to Rs 1.64 lakh ex-showroom.
However, we suspect whether the BS6-upgraded models would grab enough sales to impress, since many are looking forward to getting their hands on the new generation. From the spy images shared before, it is evident that the new models are a lot different from the current model.
The design of the engine block throws light on an OHC (Over-Head Cam) setup. As for the motorcycle itself, there are noticeable tweaks to the styling (be it any of the three models) as well as the frame. This would definitely result in better ergonomics.
At present, the 346cc UCE (Unit Construction Engine) carburetted single-cylinder power plant makes 19.8bhp and 28Nm of torque. This is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. While we do not expect an impressive bump in output for the upcoming OHC engine, Royal Enfield might tweak it a bit to reward a reasonable riding experience and not just an exhaust note to keep the fans happy.
Royal Enfield is yet to officially share anything regarding the BS6 upgrade or their new 350cc range. We think it’s a better idea to wait it out rather than jumping ahead and buying the BS6-upgraded avatars of the existing range; simply because it is practically the same motorcycle as before.
