Royal Enfield Thunderbird X FI BS-VI Spotted With Upgrades — Launching Early 2020

The 2020 Royal Enfield Thunderbird X FI BS-VI has been spotted while testing once again. Only a close-up picture of the rear of the motorcycle has surfaced but it reveals a few interesting things. First off, the tail lamps looks more retro with a circular chromed-out housing. Also, it appears to be a 'bulb type' tail lamp unlike the outgoing model's LED unit. The indicator housing has been blacked out and positioned closer to the license plate holder.

According to Rushlane, the split seats appear to be different and feature contrast stitching. There seems to be more cushioning at the pillion unit as well. The motorcycle features split grab rails but the backrest is missing, making the motorcycle look cleaner. The backrest could possibly be offered as an optional extra.

Royal Enfield seems to have swapped the twin gas-charged shock absorbers with conventional ones, like the ones featured on the 2020 Classic 350.

A closer glance at the rider's foot peg reveals the links for the gear lever. Once can also see an all new blacked-out gearbox housing that looks similar to the one on the recently spotted 2020 Classic 350. It appears that the transmission is new, once can tell because the drive chain is located on the left side of the motorcycle.

Other minor changes on the all new 2020 Thunderbird X FI BS-VI include new circular rear view mirrors and redesigned foot pegs. There will be some mechanical changes made to the motorcycle considering the upgrade to BS-VI emission norms. The 2020 Royal Enfield Thunderbird X FI will continue to be offered in both 350cc and 500cc variants.

Both the current 350cc variants feature a 346cc air cooled engine that produces 19.8bhp of power and 28Nm of torque, while the 500cc variant features a 499cc air cooled engine that produces 27.2bhp of power and 41.3Nm of torque. Both engines are mated to 5-speed manual transmissions. However, we expect an increase in the performance values because if the new BS-VI compliant engines.

We assume that Royal Enfield will launch the Thunderbird X FI BS-VI during the first quarter of next year, and while we will have more information about pricing closer to launch, we expect the motorcycle to be retailed at about Rs 1.75 lakh, ex-showroom (India). The new Thunderbird range of motorcycles is expected to be officially unveiled at the EICMA 2019 in November.

Thoughts About The 2020 Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 Spotted While Testing

The Thunderbird is definitely one of Royal Enfield's top selling models. Folk like the motorcycle because of it's cruiser styled design. The company is slowly upgrading their fleet to meet BS-VI norms and we expect other models to follow suit.