With an increased focus on cutting down vehicular emissions, electric vehicles (EVs) are fast gaining popularity. It was clearly evident from the increased number of electric vehicles showcased at the AutoExpo 2020 that makers have started devoting their focus and resources towards EVs. Royal Enfield, a brand known to dish out retro-styled motorcycles with unique-sounding engines, has taken the electric route too.
The Royal Enfield Photon is essentially a Bullet that’s been stripped of its petrol engine as well as drivetrain, and instead, gets a huge battery and a hub-mounted electric motor. It has been developed by Royal Enfield in partnership with UK-based EV manufacturing company ‘Electric Classic Car’. Electric Classic Cars are known for electrifying high-end cars, like those from Porsche and Maserati. This time, however, they’ve picked up a Royal Enfield Bullet and replaced its gasoline-powered engine with an electric motor.
This Royal Enfield Bullet Photon is powered by a Newton-based Electric Classic Cars battery which produces a maximum power of 15.6 bhp. The exact torque figure is yet to be disclosed but it is suggested that a similar 14Kw hub motor claims to crank out some heavy twist. Royal Enfield claims the range to be around 128 km and it’ll do a top speed of 112 km/h.
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The chassis and suspension components have been carried forward from the petrol version, which means the motorcycle will pretty much handle in a similar fashion especially since the weight of the bike is more or less similar although it will cut down the noise and vibrations substantially. It gets a 280mm disc up front and a 240mm unit at the rear. To make the bike electric, the company had to do away with the original bike’s single downtube frame and design a bespoke cradle that’d house the batteries. When one looks at this section of the bike for the first time, it does come across as odd but the battery casing has been neatly integrated and it doesn’t really stick too far out on either side.
In fact, the case has silver fins, as you would see on an air-cooled petrol-powered engine. As far as cooling is concerned, the batteries are liquid-cooled, with the entire system fitted neatly in the case. There are four lithium-ion batteries in the pack, each producing 2.5 kWh, or 10kWh in all. They can be charged using a regular, public charging facility, and the company claims it takes 90min to charge it to full capacity. In the UK, the Photon costs £20,000 which is approximately Rs 18.6 lakh in Indian currency. That’s many times more than what the regular model costs but it’s still cheaper than the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, which costs almost £30,000 (approximately Rs 28.4 lakh). However, it’ll get costlier in India when you include import duties and taxes. But to add to that, the Photon does look really good and the idea of converting a classic vehicle to a full-electric might appeal to a niche group that treasures such motorcycles.