Just two days before its all-new model is due to be revealed at EICMA (7 November), Royal Enfield has unveiled the all-new air/oil cooled new 650cc parallel-twin engine that will power it.
AMCN was part of a select gathering of international media present at the company’s impressive new state-of-the-art technology centre located in Bruntingthorpe UK when the covers were pulled off the new engine.
While a number of bikes remained securely under wraps at the Indian company’s British headquarters, the new 650 parallel-twin engine was on full show.
Technical specifications of the all-new engine will not be released until the bike’s official unveiling at EICMA on Tuesday, but Royal Enfield CEO Siddhartha Lal did confirm that the fuel-injected, SOHC four-valves per cylinder engine features a 270º crank, and produces a claimed 35kW (47hp) at 7000rpm and 53Nm at 4000rpm. Power will run through a six-speed gearbox with a slip-assist clutch. This is an all-new ground-up design for Royal Enfield with no carryover parts from the existing single-cylinder range.
Early calculations reveal the new model may slip under the Australian LAMS power-to-weight weight limit making it attractive to new riders.
The unveiling of the new 650cc parallel twin marks the return of a twin-cylinder engine to the famous marque for the first time since 1970 when the last of the Interceptor models rolled out of its Bradford-on-Avon factory, three years after the Redditch factory had closed its doors.
A significant part of Siddhartha Lal’s rebuilding strategy for Royal Enfield has been to call heavily on its rich history, and it is expected the new models to be unveiled at EICMA on Tuesday will carry the Interceptor name. A world launch date of April is the target for the new bike.
AMCN was also treated to a tour of the Bruntingthorpe centre, and produced the following short video that reveals the amount of money Lal has injected into the Royal Enfield brand. Lal himself estimates that in the past 12 months US$120 million has been invested in production, including the company’s third production facility in India which increases capacity by a further 25,000 to 30,000 units per month.
Look for our feature on Royal Enfield and all the details about its new models in an upcoming issue of Australian Motorcycle News.
