Royal Enfield Thunderbird Meteor – Engine explained » MotorOctane

Royal Enfield has now been seen developing a bike for a long time. They are done with the BS6 launches of the classic and the new bike is confirmed to be from the cruiser segment. The bike was expected to be called the Royal Enfield Meteor at first, but now we believe the bike will come as an addition to the Thunderbird lineup.

Let’s call it the Royal Enfield Thunderbird Meteor for now. The main question with this bike is the new engine of this bike. Read on to learn more about the engine.

Royal Enfield Thunderbird engine

From the spy photos, the top of the engine appears to have been taken from the Thunderbird or the Himalyan. This engine is comparatively smoother than the engine on the Classic. If so, the engine could be either 349cc or 500cc. We can rule out the possibility of this engine being close to 500cc as it would then compete with the Royal Enfield Interceptor. If it is a 349cc engine then it will make 24bhp if tuned as the Himalayan is tuned. The Royal Enfield Thunderbird Meteor will have to be better than the existing Thunderbird.

The Meteor will be a bike designed for a long distance. With the growing demand for tourists, the company will try to find the perfect recipe to make one.

Royal Enfield Thunderbird Meteor Gearbox

The development bike was seen with a 6-speed gearbox as seen on the Royal Enfield Interceptor. The engine housing on the left side is similar to that of the Interceptor. Offering a 6-speed gearbox will make the engine much more relaxed at cruising speeds. We have always wanted a 6th gear on the Royal Enfield Himalayan. The 6-speed gearbox will certainly be tall and we can expect power in almost all gears. The fuel economy will also change on the Himalayan engine because of this new engine.

Royal Enfield Vibrations

Engine vibrations will be low on this cruiser. The housing of the bike has been a signature of the company, but we can see that the company is taking customer suggestions and creating this engine to provide maximum comfort to the rider. Royal Enfield will make the bike’s engine more power-oriented, but we won’t see an undersquare look anytime soon. Even the option of liquid cooling is out of the question. Also, the engine will not rev too much. We can expect a redline of 7000 RPM which is also high on a Royal Enfield bike. Things are about to change on this bike and we can expect to sit close to the points in the RPM band that Royal Enfield riders have not dared to venture into.

Meteor design

The design of Royal Enfield Thunderbird Meteor will be like that of Thunderbird. The bike will have a single round headlight and a low seat. The handlebars will be pulled towards the pilot. The passenger seat will be separate and both seats will be comfortable. The bike will receive a single pod instrument cluster. This could be a digi-analog console. Otherwise, there won’t be many changes in the thunderbird’s design. The bike could also have alloy wheels as standard, as no test vehicle with spoked wheels has been spotted.