Royal Enfield has now entered the Middle East market of Kuwait. The company, which already sells its motorcycles in some Middle Eastern countries, has launched two 500cc bikes in Kuwait. The Thunderbird 500 has been rebranded as the ‘Rumbler’.

The other bike for Kuwait is the Classic 500. Both bikes will use the fuel injected 500cc engine that comes with power and torque outputs of 27.2bhp and 41.3 Nm respectively. This modern four-stroke petrol engine uses hydraulic tappets and an overhead valve head design to provide a retro feel.

At the launch, Arun Gopal, head of International Business at Royal Enfield said: “At Royal Enfield we believe that the leisure motorcycling across the world has gone extreme. Our unique form of motorcycling is centered on the idea of an absolute connect between the rider, his machine and the terrain he rides through. We call this ‘Pure Motorcycling’. Our motorcycles are evocative, unintimidating and fun in real world riding conditions.”

The Classic 500 comes with a single seat design. The Rumbler 500 is a cruiser that comes with a large fuel tank and comfortable seating for two. It also has footpegs that are pushed front to give the rider a relaxed riding position.

While the Classic 500 will be available in tan, black, silver, chrome black and chrome maroon colours, the Rumbler 500 (Thunderbird) will be available in Stone (matte black), Marine (metallic blue) and Lightning (metallic silver grey) colours. These bikes will be exported from the new Oragadam factory, near Chennai, that Royal Enfield opened a year ago. While the Oragadam plant is now used for motorcycle manufacturing operations, the older Royal Enfield factory at Tiruvottiyur, Chennai, is used for building engines and other smaller parts.