Royal Enfield has always had an image as a performance bike manufacturer. In the olden days, there has been a different perception about the bikes of Royal Enfield, which probably remains till today. Most people believe that Royal Enfield bikes give a lot of power, but lag behind in terms of mileage. However, till now the company has made many major changes in the technology of its bikes, due to which there has been an improvement in every point from vibration to mileage.
However, the history of Royal Enfield is very old and this company has told the whole world the thunder of its powerful bikes. Today we will tell you about one such bike of Royal Enfield which was far ahead of the commuter bikes in terms of mileage in its era. We are talking about the only diesel bike of the country-
Royal Enfied Diesel Bikes:
In the eighties, Royal Enfield launched its diesel bike Taurus in the Indian market, during that time this bike has been famous for its excellent mileage in the market. This bike was produced from 1980 to 2000, after which it was officially discontinued for sale.
This is the first diesel motorcycle in Indian automobile history and till date. You will be surprised to know that it has been the best selling bike in the world. Although some companies have manufactured diesel bikes in the global market, no company has produced so many diesel motorcycles till now.
Splendor also fails in terms of mileage:
The Taurus, popularly known as the Diesel Bullet from Royal Enfield, was far ahead of today’s Hero Splendor in terms of mileage. According to the reports, this bike used to give mileage of up to 85 kmpl. It has been the highest mileage bike in that era, although at that time the price of petrol was also much lower than today.
In this bike, the company used a single cylinder diesel engine of 325cc capacity, which generated 6.5bhp power and 15Nm torque. This engine, which comes with a 4-speed gearbox, was manufactured by the Italian company Greaves Lombardini. This has been the smallest engine of Royal Enfield.
Why Royal Enfield launched Diesel Bullet:
As mentioned earlier, the diesel prices were very low at that time and this greatly helped in making the diesel-powered Royal Enfield Bullet affordable. Apart from this, working on the diesel unit of the Royal Enfield Taurus was also quite easy. The conventional diesel engines were accompanied by a turbo and intercooler unit while the Taurus diesel was given a basic layout. Which also reduced its production cost.
This bike used to give more smoke than other petrol bikes present in the market, even black smoke was seen from some bikes. Over time, the Government of India started making changes in the emission standard rules and this bike could not meet the standards directed by the government. In such a situation, the company had no other way but to stop its production. The top speed of this bike of 196 kg was 65 kilometers per hour.
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