[Warwick]

Looks promising! lets hope so
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/motorcycles/royal-enfield-developing-600cc-single-cylinder-engine-107712/
cheers heaps
Warwick

[ace.cafe]

Others like Egli and Hitchcock have done this over the last 20 years with the earlier models.
It wasn't a particularly good idea, IMO.

[Mr.Mazza]

I'd rather see a 600-750 twin UCE motor devolped, a remake of the Interceptor/meteor bikes, akin to the GTs remake.

[RoyalDetroit]

I agree, a 750cc would make me get off my wallet.

[Guaire]

+1 on the RE big twin. I rode a "Constellation" 750. Quite decent. The left and right heads were separate, so you could service one and not the other. I don't know if the rights of the twin are with RE factory. Tooling would be a big investment. Who knows how the Indian home market would shell out the rupees. That might be a major limiting factor. A V engine would be a better natural balance than a 360 degree traditional twin.
  Two things messed up Brit twins in the 60s. Too much displacement and too much compression. Limiting those two things keeps vibration down. The 'extra' power isn't that much of a gain and the added vibration is a total put off. I'd like it if RE made a BSA A7 based bike!

[ace.cafe]

Just in case anyone is interested, it is quite possible to make the Bullet 500  faster, higher top speed, smoother with less vibration, better fuel economy, and lighter and nimbler, and more reliable with better longevity, than the Constellation, and at least equal to the Interceptor.

There is really no need for a twin, especially since they are not making a twin, and Kevin says that they are not planning to in the near future.

[Kevin Mahoney]

Over the years RE has tried to push the envelope concerning how large they could make a since cylinder bike. I am aware of at least three research projects and in each case they concluded that 600cc was over the top and would not work as far as vibration reliability etc, is concerned.

All of that has assumed the use of the same general architecture for the engine. If you started with a fresh sheet of paper and built a well counterbalanced engine I am sure 600 cc s would be easily achieved. They have hired a new engine man who has experience outside of the Indian paradigm so it could happen. At this point I would treat these reports as idle speculation. For the first time RE is being very tight lipped about their plans. Most within the company do not even know. I think the debacle of introducing the GT year after year until it got here was a lesson learned.

As the guy selling them in the US I don't see much advantage. In the US if you took two RE's one with a 600cc single and a 600cc Twin with the same power you would sell Twins 20:1. Personally I would take the single because of torque but it has been proven over and over again that if I like something it will not sell.

In the home market it might be very different though. The other manufactures are throwing everything they have at RE to get some of their market share. At present none of them can come close to the cost of an RE but once someone figures that out (by tying up with an Indian manufacture and beating down the cost of production) the race is on. In the meantime the other brands are helping RE by enlarging the market.

RE has hired an unprecedented number of top executive from outside of India and outside of the MC industry to help them manage growth and future products. What this will look like is unknown but will certainly be interesting

[medra42]

There's always the Musket.

http://www.musketvtwin.com/home.html

[crock]

For the home market I think RE would be looking at a cost cutting 250 cc with a very modern low maintenance engine design. Under price the Asians and sell them by the millions. For export markets I think they could easily sell a 600-750 cc twin capable of cruising at 80 mph. I would buy one if it came with a nice fairing and luggage.