After close to half a century of seeing the last twin-cylinder roll out of a Royal Enfield factory, plans are finally in order to release a new one. A few days ago, British motorcycle publication, MCN, spotted and reported what is said to be, an all-new 750cc parallel-twin motor from Royal Enfield. But so far, the Chennai-based bike maker hasn’t released any statement or commented on the same. The bike was seen testing in Spain with its test crew, though from what we understand, it is going to be a fair while before it will be officially announced and consequently launched.
The engine appears to be nestled in a modified Continental GT frame for now, with rudimentary alterations to the rear section, such as lengthening the swingarm, sub-frame and adjusting the rear suspension in order to lengthen the wheelbase to accommodate the larger engine. Aside from it clearly being a twin-cylinder layout, there is no clear indication of cubic capacity, but rumours from the past suggests that this could have a displacement of 750cc. And let’s not forget, the last twin-cylinder made by Royal Enfield was the 750 Interceptor in 1970.
The test-mule seen here appears to be equipped with carburettors instead of fuel injectors. But this is something that will most likely change closer to production to adhere to the newer, stricter emission norms, especially for European markets.
While Royal Enfield brought out a new engine, the LS 410, with the Himalayan this year, this parallel twin will be the time the company is deviating from their single-cylinder motors in decades and should help with attaining its projected target of manufacturing 5,00,000 motorcycles a year. This new progress has come after Royal Enfield set up a new Royal Enfield Technology Centre in the United Kingdom for R&D to reach a global standard of motorcycle manufacturing. Another step taken by Royal Enfield was to hire some big names in the motorcycling industry; like former Ducati and Confederate Motorcycles designer, Pierre Terblanche, former Triumph Product chief, Simon Warburton, as well as taking over UK-based design and engineering firm Harris Performance.
This new twin-cylinder engine will put Enfield firmly back in the middle-weight game. With similar torquey twins from Triumph and Harley Davidson, this should be an exciting proposition. And judging by the fact that the motorcycles will be produced in India, they should come with pretty interesting price-tags as well. We can expect news of a launch sometime towards the end of 2017.