After speaking to Royal Enfield dealers in the DELHI NCR (National Capital Region) we found that a 500 cc UCE (Unit Construction Engine) with EFI (Electronic fuel injection) could find its way into the Thunderbird’s frame. Dealers from the NCR stated on condition of anonymity that a new Thunderbird may be launched soon and that it will likely sport the Classic’s 500cc UCE engine with EFI.
Royal Enfield launched the India-specific Classic 500 UCE fuel-injected model in 2009 without an O2 sensor(Lambda sensor). May be to keep the cost of motorcycle low since bike’s price is already above Rs. 1.30 lakh. But many people believe that the lack of an O2 sensor in the fuel-injected system caused issues. On the other hand , the UK and US-specific Classic 500 models are sold equipped with O2 sensors and there have been no issues with the fuel-injected systems on those models. With the Thunderbird 500 UCE hopefully, these issues along with fuel injection glitches will be solved by Royal Enfield.
The bike will likely be priced in the Rs.1.30-1.45 lakh range in order to ensure its price does not clash with their flagship model Classic 500.
The present Thunderbird 350 twin-spark is priced at roughly Rs.1.12 lakh while the Classic 500 comes at a price of Rs. 1.46 lakh. The Classic 500 is powered by a 4-stroke, air- cooled, single cylinder, OHC, SI engine with fuel injection. The 499 cc engine produces 27.2 bhp of maximum power at 5,250 rpm and 41.3 Nm of maximum torque at 4,000 rpm.