Royal Enfield has revealed its new parallel-twin engine which has a displacement of 648cc.
A day before the unveiling of its new twin twin-cylinder bikes at the 2017 EICMA, Royal Enfield has unveiled the motor powering the two bikes. MotorBeam was the first publication to tell you guys that this motor isn’t a 750cc unit and the launch isn’t this year.
The new parallel-twin engine displaces 648cc and produces 47 HP of power at 7100 RPM and 52 Nm of torque at 4000 RPM. The motor gets 4-valves per cylinder and also fuel-injection technology. The company says the engine is designed to cater to both new and experienced riders. The new motor will be powering two new bikes (yet to be confirmed by Royal Enfield) which will debut at the 2017 EICMA. The Bullet-maker says the bikes will be in their pre-production avatar and will go on sale by April 2018 with India expected to be amongst the first markets. Speculations are that the bikes could be named as Interceptor.
Royal Enfield chose the 650cc configuration rather than the higher 750 as it intended to make the engine fast enough but not so fast enough, that it intimidated new riders. The company feels a 750cc configuration would be a jump too big for 500 or 350cc customers upgrading and a 650cc would be accessible to a wider audience. Top officials at Royal Enfield revealed that the originally planned engine was a 600cc twin that later grew into 650cc to guarantee the new bikes would cross 160 km/hr easily.
The new engine is a modern air-cooled unit with an oil-cooler mounted high and centre. It gets a 6-speed gearbox with a slip-assist clutch to minimise lever effort. The engine cases take inspiration from the old 1948 500 Twin. While more details on the two new bikes will be revealed at the 2017 EICMA, Royal Enfield has revealed that both the bikes get new chassis and ABS.
The automaker showed a fast fly-by of the bike that revealed a telescopic front suspension, twin gas-charged rear shock absorbers, twin exhaust pipes and a single-disc brake for the front wheel.
Royal Enfield 650cc Engine
– Royal Enfield has revealed its new 648cc parallel-twin engine
– The 648cc fuel-injected engine develops 47 HP of power and 52 Nm of torque
– Two new bikes will be unveiled at the 2017 EICMA which will be featuring the new engine
