Royal Enfield K1D sports cruiser initial design leaked and that presents a very surprise development from the classic motorcycle maker…
Royal Enfield is known for its lazy, retro styled motorcycles. However, in what comes as a surprise, a leak claims that the Chennai-based manufacturer is working on a sports cruiser.
Royal Enfield is claimed to be working on the motorcycle that you see above that has been codenamed as K1D. RE has reserved the prefix ‘K’ for models on its upcoming 450 platform – that itself is a lot modern and is touted to produce KTM-rivaling power/torque figures. In fact, it will be the only liquid cooled platform that Royal Enfield has.
It appears that with a modern platform, Royal Enfield has decided to enter the mainstream sports motorcycle segment as well – an area where it has not really been interested in, ever! The K1D looks eerily similar to the Benelli 502C – which is a gorgeous looking sports cruiser. Low-slung stretched sports motorcycles with cruiser traits – this idea first became popular with the Ducati Diavel – and even the Bajaj Dominar is said to follow a similar design principle. In fact, back in 2014 the Dominar was showcased as Pulsar CS400 in its concept form. CS here stood for Cruiser Sports – a reverse of sports cruisers!
The K1D has a slapped headlamp, a humped, long fuel tank and an upswept tail section. The low-seat height and raised handlebar gives it an interesting riding posture. The problem here that I see is the uncanny resemblance (a bit too much) with the 502C and I am sure Royal Enfield will not want to present it as a direct copy of that model (like how the Yezdi Adventure is – to the Himalayan).
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This is the first time that the world has got to know about such a motorcycle model and needless to say it will create a segment of its own when it arrives from RE. Talking about that, we do not see it launching anytime soon. With tons of already known models in the pipeline, the K1D looks to be a 2015 candidate, at the earliest.
But more importantly, how do you see this step from Royal Enfield? Should it venture into the sports motorcycle segment really…?
