The Petrol-head Royal Enfield might be shifting gears towards electrification, near future, as Internet buzzles with the leaks of patents of an electric-bike in Indian-multinational motorcycle manufacturing company’s upcoming portfolio. The overwhelming journey of 124 years, since the origination of the brand as a British Manufacturer, engineering retro-cruisers, is about to take a new turn with the integration of electric powertrain in the line-up, what the leaked trademarks suggest.
The patents don’t talk much on what’s underneath powering the Royal Enfield’s first-ever electric model, codenamed Electric01, however the leaked images driving the internet crazy does speak a lot on how will the slated e-Royal Enfield look in-person. In this article we will try discovering the same.
Design:
The bike flaunts a neo-retro styling, sharing the looks from earlier, internationally sold Royal Enfields, sporting a slender tank and a single seat, following a bobber’s design philosophy. Some believe, the Electric 01 is a combination of traditional classic retro looks blending to today’s styling attributes on a daily commuting sustainable cruiser.
Though the portrayal, shares a lot of similarity with the series of timeless Royal Enfields, specially the C1-1951 Bullet model. By evaluating both the designs, one could say that the Electric 01, is the modern-day replica of the classic retro-heritage, confirming that the brand is experimenting with their upcoming product.
The leaked image, does not highlight any battery placement, however the lack of exhaust note makes it very evident this, isn’t a combustion engine-powered motorbike. The most surprising element noticeable with the image are, the girder forks from the 20th century motorcycles at the front, which functions very differently compared to the traditional telescopic forks.
The fact, girder forks utilizes shocks that are positioned between the girder arms and under the triple clamp using linkages. This kind of suspension doesn’t offer any additional benefit other than adding some visual appeal, it is most-likely to be replaced by either a telescopic or upside-down forks in the production-spec.
The rear profile boasts a sari guard, hinting towards an availability of extra seating in the Electric01. A round dial incorporated, the opposite side of headlamp, hints to a fully-digital TFT instrument cluster borrowed from the ADV Himalayan 452.
The details on the powertrain has not been disclosed, neither the range figures. Talking on the launch dates, the Royal Enfield may debut it globally by end of 2025 and then in early 2026, we get to see this electric neo-retro cruiser hitting the Indian roads.
