After shutting down its production on the 500cc long-stroke, single-cylinder unit construction engine (UCE) motorcycles in India, Chennai-based manufacturer Royal Enfield is now developing a new mid-segment engine platform that is likely to be positioned between the 350cc single block and the 650cc twin-cylinder engines, that the brand currently retails in the Indian and Global markets.
While the brand has been developing a new platform for the 350cc engine which refines it furthermore the brand also has the 411cc single-cylinder, air-cooled, 4-stroke SOHC fuel-injected motor fitted to the popular Himalayan with a chain-cam valvetrain instead of pushrods. Now according to a report, the brand is likely to focus more on the mid-segment motorcycles as the demand for high-end bikes has decreased.
The new platform will also help bridge the gap between the 350cc and the 650cc which has been created due to the discontinuation of the 499cc single-cylinder, 4-stroke, twin-spark, air-cooled engine which was not upgraded to BS6 standards in India. The brand also claims that the mid-segment motorcycle market has also grown four-folds since Royal Enfield launched the 650 Twins.
The 650 twins are powered by a 648 cc air/oil-cooled, 4-valve/cylinder parallel-twin, SOHC engine that produces 47 BHP of power and 52 Nm of torque paired to a 6-speed gearbox with a slipper assist clutch and twin throttle bodies with Bosch fuel injection and engine management system.
Reports have also revealed that development teams in both India and U.K are focussing on how to optimise the infrastructure that has already been created for existing engines and frames.
In other news, Royal Enfield has been developing a new-generation UCE 350 engine that will go on sale in the near future the brand has been planning to introduce new motorcycles along with the new UCE 350 engine. While the Royal Enfield Meteor has been spied testing in the open sans camouflage, images of a test mule that is being speculated to be the Royal Enfield ‘Hunter’ have surfaced the internet.