BS-VI Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 production begins, to be launched soon - Report

Royal Enfield has stopped producing the BS-IV Thunderbird and commenced manufacturing the BS-VI Thunderbird. Why is Thunderbird 350x discontinued? The truth is the company only discontinued the pre-BSVI version of the Thunderbird. The new BSVI-compliant motorcycle will be launched in the first week of February 2020.

The BS-IV Royal Enfield Thunderbird can be purchased in a 350 cc variant and even a 500 cc variant. The 500 cc variant is being discontinued, and so, the BS-VI Royal Enfield Thunderbird will be sold with only the 350 cc engine. The BS-VI Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the BS-VI Royal Enfield Himalayan are already on sale now. Bookings for the BS-VI Continental GT 650 and the BS-VI Interceptor 650 are now open.

One major reason why Royal EnfieldThunderbird is discontinued (and other 500 cc models) is that they constitute a very small fraction of the total sales. Things get even more confusing in the global market for customers as the 500 cc motorcycles are priced precariously close to the Royal Enfield 650 Twins.

Also Read:  BS-VI Royal Enfield Classic 350 vs. BS-IV Royal Enfield Classic 350 - Old vs. New

The BS-VI compliant Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 will be powered by a 346 cc air-cooled unit with fuel injection (replacing the age-old carburettor setup). Coupled to a 5-speed gearbox, the engine produces 19.36 PS of power and 28 Nm of torque. The same engine will also be used in the Thunderbird 350X which comes with alloy wheels instead of spokes. Besides that, we would love to see the BS-VI compliant Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 to be fitted with tubeless tyres which debuted in the company’s portfolio in the BS-VI Classic 350.

Eicher-owned Royal Enfield has recorded dismal sales in 2019, a trend which has been seen across the industry. Its volumes last year dropped by over 17% to 6,90,839 units. That’s a difference of a massive 1,46,830 units. That's major reason for the question - "Why Thunderbird 350X is discontinued?"

[Source: Express Drives]