Siddhartha Lal, CEO, Royal Enfield, has confirmed that the company will not introduce more motorcycles on the 650 platform due to the new emission norms that derailed the product plans. That hasn't stopped IAB's digital artist Shoeb Kalania from imagining a bobber style motorcycle based on the Interceptor INT 650, though.
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The rendered image shows the Interceptor INT 650 transformed into a bobber by reimagining the rear half of the motorcycle with new styling. The front features a redesigned fuel tank, smaller headlight and a compact front fender.
Following the fuel tank is a rider only saddle that draws styling cues from bobber style bikes. The sub-frame has been tweaked to incorporate the new styling and a monoshock suspension. Also worth noticing is that the fact that the rendered motorcycle has a fatter rear tyre. Sides reveal an upward sweeping exhaust design that has been retained from the Interceptor.
New products based on the 650 platform will not arrive for at least two more years. Regular readers would know that the new 650 cc parallel twin engine from Royal Enfield is not BS-VI emission ready. Thus, all new products that would be built on the 650 platform would come with the latest emission compliance. The 648 cc, parallel-twin cylinder, air & oil cooled engine, SOHC engine of the Interceptor INT 650 and Continental GT 650 is tuned to deliver 47 bhp of maximum power at 7,250 rpm and 52 Nm of peak torque at 5,250 rpm. The performance numbers are not likely to be too different in the BS-VI compliant form.
Asked when can we expect to see new products based on the 650 platform at the India launch event of the Royal Enfield 650 Twins, Lal said:
Not just yet. Our focus right now is exactly on these motorcycles. The new emission norms have derailed our product plans that we had a couple of years ago. For the next couple of years, this (Interceptor INT 650 and Continental GT 650) is what you have, and I think this is a lot. I think the Continental GT 650 and the Interceptor INT 650 are two amazing motorcycles and we have lots to get out of them. We are not going to have new models on this platform for a couple of years. Maybe after that, we will have something or the other but not just yet.
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Meanwhile, Classic Legends, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra, has unveiled the Jawa Perak bobber in the Indian market. The motorcycle will be sold for a price of INR 1.89 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
