Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500– Pictures, Price, Features & Details

Royal Enfield, a popular premium motorcycle maker in Britain and India, has launched its latest cruiser motorcycle the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 in India on 11th October 2012. The motorcycle is powered by a single cylinder 4 stroke air cooled engine which is a 500 CC Engine with a peak torque of 41.4 Nm. Royal Enfield already has a smaller capacity 350 CC Thunderbird in its portfolio in India which is already quite popular for its retro looks, good torque and comfortable seating position. Taking this legacy further and increasing the engine capacity and power, the Thunderbird 500 is a mightier machine with twin-spark plug technology engine. The Thunderbird 500 has been launched at Rs. 1.82 Lakhs on-Road whereas the smaller sibling Thunderbird 350 is priced at around Rs. 1.40 Lakhs on-road in Mumbai.

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Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 Official Video

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 Features and Specifications

Talking of the looks, the Thunderbird looks quite retro just like all other Royal Enfield Motorcycles and has lot of black and chrome in the theme. There are comfortable seats, lower seating position, back-support for pillion rider, aggressive and large fuel tank with Royal Enfield branding and an offset fuel-tank lid in chrome.

Roayl Enfield Thunderbird Features

There is retro looking instrument cluster which is round in shape with chrome rings around it which includes fuel gauge, temperature gauge, digital speedo and odo meter, etc. contained beautifully in the chrome enclosures.

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There are retro looking round headlamps at front but it does contain modern projector lamps mounted into it. The turn indicators look quite plain from front but are also in chrome enclosures. There is generous use of chrome and rounded elements all over the Thunderbird 500. There is a fairly long exhaust muffler all in chrome running from the engine towards the end of the rear wheel on the right hand side.

The rear view mirrors are also in chrome to add to the overall styling elements. Interestingly, there is no use of alloy wheels and spoke wheels are deliberately used to give it a more retro styling. The suspension is also quite conventional with 41 mm dia front telescopic forks with 130 mm travel and gas charged dual spring suspension at rear with 80 mm travel. The rear suspension does come with 5 step adjustments.

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Talking of engine and braking, the Engine has a relatively low compression ratio of 8.5:1 with bore and stroke of 84mmx90mm with a total displacement of 499 CC. It produces peak power of 27.3 BHP @ 5250 RPM and peak torque of 41.3 Nm @ 4000 RPM. It uses a digital ignition system with fuel injection and has a 5 speed constant mesh manual transmission gearbox. On braking specs, it has a 280 MM disk with twin-pot calipers at front and 240 mm disk with single pot caliper at the rear.

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In terms of dimensions, it measures 2060 mm x 895 mm x 1300 mm in length, width and height respectively. The wheelbase is 1350 mm with a kerb weight of 195 Kg it is quite heavy.

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 Price

The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 is priced at Rs. 1.82 Lakhs on-road Mumbai ($3400 or £ 2150).

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 Pictures Gallery

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