Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X gets anti-lock braking system (ABS); priced at Rs 2.13 lakh

The latest motorcycle to get Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) in Royal Enfield's product portfolio is the Thunderbird 500X. The company has priced the Thunderbird 500X at Rs 2.13 lakh (ex-showroom) and the on-road price will be around Rs 2.50 lakh.

Royal Enfield has also discontinued the non-ABS version of the Thunderbird 500X and the ABS-equipped model is around Rs 14,000 pricier than the older version. The company launched ABS equipped Thunderbird 350X at the beginning of this month. Now the entire Thunderbird X range is fitted with ABS as standard.

Apart from the addition of ABS, Thunderbird 500X remains unchanged in all aspects. While the Thunderbird range is typical cruiser bikes, the X range adds much-needed bling, ideal for the urban audience.

The Thunderbird 500X comes with factory fitted alloy wheels and tubeless, both first time in a Royal Enfield bike. The company has also worked on the ergonomics of the Thunderbird X to make it more user-friendly. The Thunderbird 500X is offered in two colour options- Getaway Orange and Drifter Blue.

The Thunderbird X range gets new flat handlebar, single piece seat, and integrated grab-rail for pillion and blacked out twin-pod instrument cluster with a chrome garnish around the dials. The black colour treatment is applied to the silencer, front forks, side covers, headlamp cover and indicators as well.

The Thunderbird 500X is powered by a single cylinder, air-cooled, 499cc engine with an electronic fuel injection system that produces 27.2bhp of power and 41.3 Nm torque while the Thunderbird 350X with a single cylinder 346cc engine tuned to develop 19.8bhp of power and 28Nm of torque.

Royal Enfield will offer the ABS feature to its full range of bikes by the end of the year. The Classic Signals 350, Himalayan and Classic 500 have already updated and the newly launched flagship bikes - Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 - have the safety tech as standard.