Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X

The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X is a more street-oriented version of the Thunderbird 500 touring bike. For starters it comes in two bright colours: Drifter Blue and Getaway Orange. Rest of the bike including the engine and exhaust features a blacked out finish. The handlebar is shorter for better control. It gets 9-spoke alloy wheels shod with tubeless tyres. Other bits are LED headlight with daytime running lights, a twin-pod semi-digital instrument cluster. It gets a single-seat unit in place of the split seats on the regular Thunderbird.

Power is courtesy of a 499cc fuel-injected, air-cooled, single cylinder, the twin-spark motor that develops max power of 27.57PS at 5,250rpm and a peak torque of 41.3Nm at 4,000rpm. The motor is coupled with a 5-speed transmission. The mechanical specs remain same as on the stock Thunderbird 500. Considering the same equation, the bike is expected to yield a fuel economy of 30kmpl. 

The bike is priced at Rs 1.98 Lakh (Ex-showroom, Delhi) and competes against the Bajaj Dominar and Mahindra Mojo.

The new Thunderbird 500X gets new bright colours with blacked-out motor and underpinnings. Except for the 20-litre fuel tank and the chrome treatment over headlight cowl, twin-pod and rear dual shocks, everything is painted in black. Up front, there is a circular headlamp with LED DRLs, a twin pod semi-digital instrument cluster and a shorter handlebar.  The instrument console gets analogue displays for speedometer and tachometer while there is a digital display for odometer and trip meter. The split-seat configuration of the Thunderbird series has been ditched in favour of a comfy single-piece unit for enhanced comfort for both, the rider as well as the pillion. A cool touch is the body-coloured pinstripe on the black alloy wheels. The build-quality looks up-to-the-mark and the finish levels seem fine too.

Dimensionally, the Thunderbird 500X measures 2040mm long, 1140 high and 830mm wide. The ground clearance of the bike sits at 135mm and the wheelbase at 1350mm.

Powering the bike is the fuel-injected, air-cooled, single cylinder, the twin-spark 499cc engine that develops a max power of 27.57 PS at 5,250rpm and a peak torque of 41.3Nm at 4,000rpm. The power mill is coupled with a 5-speed transmission unit. The mechanical specs remain same as on the stock model. Considering the same equation, the bike is expected to yield a fuel economy of 30Kmpl. 

The braking department consists of 280mm disc brake at the front and a 240mm disc brake at the back. The bike does not have ABS even as an option. The front 19-inch wheel is shod with 90/90- R19 section tubeless tyre while the rear 18-inch wheel is covered by 120/80- R18 section tubeless tyre. Talking about the chassis, the Thunderbird 500X is bolted on the single down tube frame that suspends on the 130mm travel front telescopic forks of 41mm and twin gas charged shocks at the rear with 5-step adjustable preload. 

On the safety front, the bike gets disc brakes at both ends, a large round-shaped projector headlamp with LED DRL headlamp and the tubeless tyres.