IN PICS: Royal Enfield launches the Thunderbird 500

There was more to the launch of Thunderbird 500. Rediff.com was at the glitzy event where Royal Enfield's brand new bike was unveiled. Here's what we saw...

Text and photographs: Rajesh Karkera

Dr Venki Padmanabhan, CEO, Royal Enfield makes a grand entrance on the ramp at the launch of the Thunderbird 500 highway cruiser.

From Left: Mr Shaji Koshy, Senior VP, Siddhartha Lal MD & CEO, Eicher Motors and Dr Venki Padmanabhan pose for the cameras.

Siddhartha Lal explains the new additions in the Thunderbird 500.

Siddhartha Lal showcases the new Riding apparel from Royal Enfield one of which is a leather jacket called 'Thumper' worn by Mr Shashi Koshy.

Dr Venki Padmanabhan wearing the Thumper Jacket and Denims from Royal Enfield called 'Enduro'. All apparel come with safety features. The denims shown here come with a hip protector and height adjustable knee guards.

Long riding boots with the Royal Enfield logo stresses on comfort and safety for travelling distances upto 500km at a stretch.

The royal enfield thunderbird gets a completely new teardrop shaped fuel tank with a capacity of 20 litres of fuel and a new raised/embossed monogram of Royal Enfield.

The Single cylinder, 4-stroke twinspark engine gets a cosmetic makeover with black and silver matt finish and a new royal enfield logo.

Siddhartha Lal with the New Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 Stone Black.

The Thunderbird 500 comes in three colours: Black, Blue Black and Stone Black.

The Thunderbird 500 gets a new set of 41mm front forks with unique position light guide which is said to absorb some of the vibrations from bad road conditions.

The Thunderbird 500 sports a new rear lamp with vertically lined LEDs which gives it a distinct look from the rear and makes it easily recognisable to be a Thunderbird, Venki said.

The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 has a new silencer but Enfield has kept its iconic thump as is.

Finally the Royal Enfield gets a digital instrument cluster with blue backlit LCD display with two independent trip meters. Also introduced today is the newly designed key of the Thunderbird.

The first in an Indian motorbike: The Thunderbird 500 now comes with LED ring shaped headlamp and a 55 watt high and low beam white light instead of the normal yellow headlights one sees on the roads.

Another thoughtful change is the off centre fuel lid on the tank. This facilitates the rider to fill more fuel while the bike is kept on the side stand. This results in a 20 litre tank. Giving about 500km in one full tank.