Iconic bike manufacturer Royal Enfield is reportedly working on a 400 cc single-cylinder engine.
The company, which is planning to complete the remaining work of its Oragadam plant in coming years is said to be developing displacement just under the 400cc that will power some of the future models of the company. The engine that is in the making is believed to be the modified version of the company's existing air-cooled, single-cylinder, and 346cc engine.
"Royal Enfield is working to develop a new engine slightly bigger in displacement (measuring nearly 400cc) than its current 346cc, single-cylinder powertrain. It essentially is a substantial modification in the form of enhanced dimension, which also requires hard work on the front of new connecting rods, crankshafts and many other crucial areas, to its existing 346cc platform," Autocar Professional quoted a source.
It is also reported that the future models of Royal Enfield, which is powered by the new engine would fall in the price brackets of ₹1.25-₹1.5 lakh. The engine is likely to come with power capacity of 23bhp and peak torque of 35 Nm
"With the new upcoming engine option, the Chennai-based motorcycle maker is looking at positioning its new models in the price bracket of Rs 110,000-Rs 150,000 (on-road) and will eventually be able to conveniently populate the segment with four commercially usable engine options - 346cc, near-400cc, 499cc and 535cc (all air-cooled, single-cylinder) in the near future," the source added.
The company currently sells Bullet, Classic, Thunderbird and Continental GT models in India. During April 2013-January 2014 period, the company has registered 1,59,740 units of sales in total against 97,955 units in the corresponding period last year.
