Fresh reports reveal that Royal Enfield is planning to discontinue all of its 500cc models by early 2020 and just focus on the 350cc motorcycles.
A piece of disheartening news for all the Royal Enfield fans out there. A new report from Livemint states that due to the upcoming BS-6 norms, Royal Enfield has decided to chuck off all of its 500cc models in India.
The Royal Enfield Bullet 500, Classic 500 and Thunderbird 500 will be discontinued in early 2020 itself. The ageing 500cc engine of RE is proven too costly to be upgraded as per the upcoming BS-6 emission norms.
“The pushrod architecture of the existing 350cc and 500cc engines do not meet the stringent emission norms. As a result, the existing model lineup will be phased out. Royal Enfield plans to restore the 350cc segment with an all-new powertrain as that accounts for the bulk of sales. Meanwhile, it would quit the 500cc displacement,” said an official to Livemint.
Also Read: What To Expect From Royal Enfield At 2020 Auto Expo?
The 500cc Royal Enfield models have been in production for over 30 years now. The single-cylinder 500cc engine with Twin-Spark ignition is actually a very old engine. The motor is able to produce 27 BHP and 41.3 Nm of peak torque, mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
Going with that, if we see the sales record of these 500cc Royal Enfield models, they have been going down for the past 2-3 years. The Thunderbird, Classic and Bullet with the 500cc engines cost over Rs 2 Lakhs. Over that, most of the people are preferring the 350cc models itself.
At the 2020 Auto Expo, Royal Enfield is going to introduce its completely new range, which now only includes the 350cc models. The Classic, Thunderbird and Bullet, all are going to sit on a new frame, get majorly revised engines and new features as well.
Also Read: Now You Can Get Your Royal Enfield Classic 350 Customized Yourself
Not only that, but the recently launched 650 Twins are priced nearly to the 500cc models. The Twins have also returned good sales numbers since the time they were launched. They actually went on to become the best-selling motorcycle in that price range.
Nevertheless, for all the loyal fans, it is time to say goodbye to the good-ol torque 500cc engine of Royal Enfield. By the way, this also indicates that dealerships could offer heavy discounts on them.
