The trendy factory-custom Thunderbird 350X is priced at Rs 1.56 lakh and the more powerful Thunderbird 500X costs Rs 1.98 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Both motorcycles can be booked at all Royal Enfield dealerships across major cities. This makes the X bikes demand a premium of about Rs 10,000 over their standard Thunderbird counterparts. The Thunderbird X range was spotted at a Royal Enfield dealership last December.
The Thunderbird X is the first Royal Enfield to come with alloy wheels and tubeless tyres. Essentially based on the existing Thunderbird, the X gets all-black treatment on the front fork, headlamp cover, indicators, grab-rail, wheels, engine, and exhaust. Complementing the black parts is a contrasting bright paint job on the fuel tank and panels. These include Getaway Orange and Drifter Blue for the Thunderbird 500X, and Whimsical White and Roving Red for the Thunderbird 350X.
The subtle design changes like the gunslinger-styled seat, a new grab-rail and shortened rear mudguard give the bike the desired custom style. A new flat handlebar gives it a longer reach. Look closer and you’ll notice finer detailing such as the stitching on the seat and rim-tapes on the wheels.
The Thunderbird cruiser has been around for the close to 15 years, though it was given an engine update in 2009 when the AVL semi-unit engine was replaced with a new 346-cc Unit Construction Engine (UCE). The single cylinder, air-cooled, twin-spark motor continues to produce 20 PS at 5,250 rpm and peak torque of 28 Nm at 4,000 rpm. As before, the 499-cc motor on the Thunderbird 500X gets an electronic fuel-injection system and churns out 27.5 PS at 5,250 rpm and 41.3 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.
Introducing the Thunderbird X, Rudratej Singh, President, Royal Enfield, said, “The Thunderbird X is a custom inspired Royal Enfield, that takes inspiration from our Thunderbird community. Our riders have been customizing Royal Enfield motorcycles and the Thunderbird for decades. We took that inspiration and have created an evocative, engaging, yet fun to ride factory-built custom-look motorcycle that will offer great scope for further customization and will appeal to new-age urban explorers. The two interpretations of Thunderbird and Thunderbird X will continue to strengthen our city and highway cruising proposition, and of nudging the youth to express themselves. Those who seek to make a bold, defining statement will certainly connect with the TBx.”
If the custom design doesn’t suit your pallet, then fret not, as the Thunderbird 350X and 500X will be sold alongside the regular Thunderbird range.
