Royal Enfield has been one of the few companies in the country to provide motorcycles in the mid-size segment when the market first started evolving. The company has always maintained it will concentrate on the mid-size segment with its products in the future as well and is developing a 400cc engine to power its upcoming motorcycles. The upcoming engine will be derived from the existing 346cc single-cylinder, air-cooled motor seen on the Classic 350 and the Bullet 350 models.
The expert working with the development stated that the new engine will have a slightly bigger displacement nearing 400cc with substantial modification in the form of an enhanced dimension, which also requires hard work on the front of new connecting rods, crankshafts and many other crucial areas to the existing 346cc engine platform.
The 346cc engine develops a peak power of 20 BHP on the Classic 350, Thunderbird 350 and the Bullet 350, while the 499cc on the Classic and the Thunderbird 500 develop close to 27 BHP. The top of the line single-cylinder 535cc engine on the Continental GT develops 29 BHP. The new engine will fill in a gap in terms of power between the 350cc models and the 500cc models and will deliver power in the range of 22 – 24 BHP.
It also needs to be noted that the basic 350cc model from Royal Enfield costs around Rs. 1 lakh (on-road), while the basic 500cc model comes at Rs. 1.50 lakhs (on-road). The company is eyeing to position the new 400cc models in the price bracket between Rs. 1.10 – Rs. 1.40 lakhs (on-road) catering to a special segment. Royal Enfield will thus offer four single-cylinder, air-cooled engines in the near future.
Royal Enfield had an exciting year with the launch of the Continental GT. The company recorded a growth of 63.07 percent with a total of 1,59,740 units sold during the period of April 2013 – January 2014 as against 97,955 units sold in the previous year. The company is also planning to expand internationally with its model range, exporting its products to other countries, while a personal mobility vehicle is also on the cards.
Source – Autocar Professional
