Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield planning more twins

By Ben Purvis

Royal Enfield's twin-cylinder lineup has already grown substantially from its original two-bike range to at least seven variants but it will soon be hitting double figures with a new Bullet 650, Himalayan 650 and a faired café racer model all expected in the coming months.

All three machines have already been spotted on test in India, indicating their development is well underway, and they each represent a significant step for the Enfield twin-cylinder range. The company recently filed trademark registrations for the name 'Bullet 650 Twin' - and the name alone leaves few questions over the bike it will be attached to.

As a Bullet model, it's likely to be an access point to the company's twin-cylinder range, with a lower price point than machines like the Meteor 650 or Classic 650. Spied prototypes have shared the cruiser-style chassis of the Meteor, Classic and Shotgun models, and most closely resemble the Classic 650 in terms of components like the wheels and suspension. In keeping with the smaller 350 cc Bullet, the Bullet 650 Twin will have a long, one-piece saddle and a squared-off rear fender instead of the Classic 650's single seat and curved mudguard.

The Himalayan 650 will use the same engine, but in a quite different chassis. It's set to be the first twin-cylinder Royal Enfield that isn't a retro-style bike, instead adopting styling influenced by Dakar race bikes and using a purpose-made chassis with upside-down forks and a monoshock rear end. A circular headlight ties the bike to the existing Himalayan 450, but the twin-cylinder model will get more bodywork, with a nose cowl that sweeps back to merge into the fuel tank.

Finally, there's the upcoming faired café racer model. Also spotted on test recently, this machine uses a classic, bullet-shaped fairing and humped seat, allied to the same twin-shock frame used on the Continental GT. 

However, it's expected to be a transitionary model, debuting a next-generation version of the air-cooled twin-cylinder engine, potentially with more capacity and power - it's rumoured to be a 750 rather than a 650. That's backed up by the fact that the spied prototypes' engines have been extensively wired to datalogging equipment, indicating they have internal changes compared to the twin used in the existing range.