When it comes to the Royal Enfield brand, I wouldn’t say that it is exactly on our radar. Filling a niche within a niche, Royal Enfield’s offerings seem quaint, but impractical to us…despite their affordable price tags. We just don’t have enough mechanical masochism to want one in our garage.
That all being said, our ears perked up this year at the EICMA show, with the debut of the Royal Enfield KX concept. Finally, there is something from this Indian company that appeals to our senses, and I personally hope they build it for production.
A retro-looking bobber with modern finishes, the Royal Enfield KX concept takes the perfect mixture of new and old that pleases us in a very specific way.
The cast girder front and huge single-sided swingarm are visually very appealing (how they perform is an entirely different question, however), and of course we like seeing a set of radially mounted Brembo calipers doing the braking duty on the front wheel. Very sporty.
We also quite like the board-tracker vibe to the thin wheels and Maxxis flat track race tires, which just adds another dimension to the KX concept for us to chew on. This feels like an older machine, done in modern times…and that’s the point.
We assume the engine is a oil-cooled 838cc v-twin, since that is how it is badged, though Royal Enfield isn’t saying too much about the project, or its chances of coming to market.
Very refined, it would be hard to imagine this machine maturing into a production model. Hopefully with not too much changes, however, because Royal Enfield has carefully walked a very fine line here.
If a 1930s Royal Enfield was built today, I think this is what it would look like…and this is a bobber I would definitely want to ride. Now, that should really tell you something. There are more photos of the Royal Enfield KX concept to be found right here.
Source: Royal Enfield
As always, Asphalt & Rubber will be covering all the new bikes debuting at EICMA this year. Be sure to follow our coverage for the most recent news and photos.
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