There’s a new rumour doing the rounds. And it says, that Royal Enfield is working on a bike to rival the KTM 390 Duke. Very surprising. The KTM 390 Duke is a motorcycle completely opposite to what Royal Enfield has ever built, or their target audience even appreciates. But nevertheless, this rumoured product has been named as ‘Project K1F’ internally. When will this motorcycle arrive, if at all this is true, is unknown. Royal Enfield now has plenty of motorcycles in development and also ready for production; so one can’t really predict which one hits the showrooms first.
This is rumoured to be a 450cc street bike which could be launched in early 2024. So, we can also expect some teasers or a concept debut towards the end of 2023, or at the EICMA show. This naked street motorcycle will be using a 450cc, single-cylinder but liquid-cooled engine which will be shared with the Himalayan 450. However, the engine will be in a different state of tune, given the use case. Also, reports suggest that the bike will ride of 17″ wheels at the front and back, hinting that this is city specific. Now if is unconfirmed if this Project K1F is the same bike which was claimed to be the Scram 450 or Hunter 450.
The KTM 390 Duke is a segment benchmark, and the segment dominator. We highly doubt Royal Enfield will be able to pack as much tech in their product as much as the Duke. Also, the new-generation KTM 390 Duke was recently spotted in production ready form, and that bike already looks superior than ever. From Royal Enfield, we can expect modern classic design language, but this time, more modern than classic. Expect LED headlamps, LED tail lamps, LED indicators, digital + analogue speedo console, etc. Will it get riding modes, cornering ABS, quickshifter like tech? Seems unlikely. But one can expect a slipper assist clutch and dual channel ABS for sure. Suspension, tyres & brakes could also be sourced from more reputed brands, to give the bike a premium appeal.
