Royal Enfield Thunderbird

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500
Royal Enfield Thunderbird
Manufacturer Royal Enfield Motors
Parent company Eicher Motors
Production

2002 – present

2002 - 2009 AVL engine

2009 - present UCE engine
Class Cruiser
Engine 499 cc, single cylinder, 4-stroke, OHV, SI Engine
Ignition type Digital dual spark ignition, Transistor Controlled Ignition(TCI) system
Transmission 5-speed Constant Mesh
Brakes Front - 280 mm Ventilated disc, 2-piston calliper; Rear - 240 mm Ventilated disc, single piston caliper
Wheelbase 1,370 mm (54 in)

The Royal Enfield Thunderbird is a cruiser style motorcycle produced by Royal Enfield Motors in India. It was first introduced in the year 2002 with a 350cc AVL lean burn engine and five-speed gearbox. The AVL engine was first introduced in the year 2000. AVL stands for Anstalt für Verbrennungskraftmaschinen List (German for "Institute for Combustion Engines"), an Austrian-based automotive consulting firm as well as an independent research institute. The Royal Enfield Thunderbird is an Indian market model that has never been exported. In 2009, the AVL semi-unit engine was replaced with the new 346 cc unit construction engine (UCE). The bike was renamed Thunderbird Twinspark owing to the twin sparkplugs in the UCE. Other parts have seen only minimal changes from the original Thunderbird. The final drive chain is moved to the right side and it is the most obvious change from the old model apart from the new engine.

Thunderbird 350 and 500

Royal Enfield Thunderbird UCE First Model

In October 2012, Royal Enfield launched the new 350 cc and 500 cc variants of the Thunderbird with a facelift.[1][2] It features front and rear disc brakes, a 20 L (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 US gal) teardrop shaped fuel tank, a split seat, digital speedometer console and fuel gauge, projector headlamps, LED tail lights and various cosmetic improvements over the 350 cc. Thunderbird 500 gets fuel injection system while Thunderbird 350 operates on carburetor.

In 2018, another model was released named Thunderbird X in 350 and 500 cc.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Royal Enfield launches next-generation Thunderbird cruiser motorcycles". The Economic Times. 11 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Varun Sinha (15 January 2014). "Royal Enfield's success boosts Eicher Motors fortunes". NDTV.
  3. ↑ "Royal Enfield Thunderbird X launched, starting at Rs 1.57 lakh - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-02-28.


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