The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 CC is the Chennai-based bike maker’s specialty cruiser motorcycle. Launched in 2005 in the 350cc avatar, it got the 500 cc engine in 2013 and shares this mill with the standard 500 and the Classic 500. The Thunderbird 500 is powered by a 499 cc single-cylinder mill that produces 27.2bhp and 41.3 Nm of torque. The engine has been mated to a five-speed gearbox. The bike is underpinned by a single down tube chassis that uses the engine as a stressed member. In the front, RE has fitted the Thunderbird 500 with 41mm telescopic forks and a 280mm disc brake while the rear gets five-step adjustable gas-charged units and a disc brake.
