A look at the Royal Enfield KX Concept's history, & a glimpse into the future [Video]
After the modern classic middleweight segment, Royal Enfield is preparing to take the battle to the likes of Harley-Davidson with a new V-Twin powered model. The Royal Enfield KX Concept gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the brand as the motorcycle garnered attention at the 2018 EICMA motorcycle show.
But what was the reason behind creating the KX Concept? Royal Enfield’s YouTube channel gave us a glimpse into the KX Concept Backstory.
Watch the Royal Enfield KX Concept Backstory video below:
Also read: Royal Enfield Interceptor INT 650 top speed run [Video]
Speaking about the concept motorcycle, Mark Wells, Head Global Product Strategy & Industrial Design, at the Royal Enfield UK Technology Centre said:
This concept started with a desire to do something new and interesting – for the industrial design team to experiment with some ideas without the constraints of production. It is something that we have been thinking about doing for a while now... We have a great brand heritage that goes all the way back to 1901. In the 1920s and the 1930s, Royal Enfield made some great V-Twins and one in particular was the KX.
The Concept KX Bobber concept takes inspiration from the Royal Enfield Model KX, a 1,140cc, V-Twin bobber, which was first introduced in 1936. The concept, however, featured a new 838cc engine. The V-twin motor has been developed in the UK in collaboration with Polaris Industries while Harris Performance built the chassis.
Gordon May, Historian, Royal Enfield added:
Best known for its Bullet singles and post-war parallel twins (engines), such as the Interceptor, it is not widely known that before the Second World War, the mainstay of Royal Enfield’s model range was always a V-Twin. The first V-Twin was introduced at the end of 1909 and it featured a 2.25 hp, Swiss-made engine. By the mid-1920s, Royal Enfield had developed its own V-Twin engine - 976cc. In 1930, the bike with that engine was called the Model K. The KX soon followed.
While the KX Bobber Concept features retro-styling, the motorcycle packs modern equipment in the form of ByBre source braking system, the full LED headlight with LED DRL, and a digital instrument console. The single-pod instrument console is feature rich and displays the speedometer, tachometer, gear position indicator, digital clock, and odometer. It also packs smart features such as turn-by-turn Navigation system and smartphone integration capabilities via Bluetooth to control call and music on the go.
As reported in August, spoke Royal Enfield’s product plans over the next five years revolve around four architectures:
- 'J' would spawn BS6-ready versions of the Classic, Thunderbird, Bullet, and Himalayan
- 'P' architecture gave birth to the Continental GT 650 and Interceptor INT 650
- Bigger bikes would come from the 'Q' and 'K' platform with over 700 cc displacement
Also read: Custom Royal Enfield Thunderbird a.k.a. Davy Jones will steal your heart
The production-spec model could arrive at a forthcoming EICMA motorcycle show but expect it not in this decade. We could see more motorcycles built around the new 650cc platform arrive with a BS-VI compliant motor around the same time.