Royal Enfield's V-Twin concept unveiled

The new Royal Enfield V-twin Concept Kx.

Royal Enfield just unveiled a V-Twin motorcycle concept it calls a "homage to the 1140 V-twin Royal Enfield KX from the 1930s."

The Concept Kx debuted at the 2018 EICMA show in Milan, Italy Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Get your first look at the new Royal Enfield Concept Kx in this video.

The V-Twin motor shown in the video bears the number 838, — presumably the size of the motor.

Note the world "Concept" on
the new Royal Enfield Concept Kx.

Jordan Gibbons, writing on MotorcycleNews.com described the Concept Kx bobber as a modern reimagining of the original KX, an aircooled 1140cc sidevalve V-twin produced before World War II.

The V-twin motor and long, low styling with front girder forks certainly suggests the 1930s.

But underneath is modern engineering.

"In what is believed to be a world first, the Concept Kx also has a single-sided softail rear-end," Gibbons writes.

Perhaps a bit optimistically, he adds:

"Officially, Royal Enfield say that the Concept Kx is not destined for production but there are far too many completely resolved details for us to believe that’s true. Give it 12 months and you might see the real thing rumbling into a showroom near you."

Girder front suspension and stacked exhausts mark the Concept Kx.

Writing in RideApart, Jason Marker subtly raises a question about the future of the Concept Kx:

"Royal Enfield told the EICMA crowd that work on the Kx started way back in March of 2017 and that it was largely built as a design exercise to see if the company could do it. As such, there aren't any plans to bring the Kx to market."

Royal Enfield leader Siddhartha Lal tries out a clay model of the Concept Kx.

Even so, why reveal the Concept Kx now, just when Royal Enfield has the newly introduced 650 parallel twins to sell? Consider this comment from "Maynard" below:

"A year ago I thought I'd buy a Continental GT single. Then I started reading about the 650 twins so I thought I'd wait. Now that I've read about the V-twins, I think I'm gonna wait for them. I guess I can put off getting my motorcycle endorsement..."

Surely that is not the effect Royal Enfield wants the Concept Kx to create. Still, as Marker concludes, "That said, response to the unveiling was pretty positive, so I'd be surprised if we didn't see something like it on showroom floors in the next year or two."

Royal Enfield's own press release on the Concept Kx is on Motorcycle.com It contains this caveat:

"The Concept Kx 2019, takes pride of place at the very front of Royal Enfield’s extensive stand at EICMA. However, the motorcycle is only a concept, meant to showcase the prowess and creativity of the engineers and designers at Royal Enfield. The concept motorcycle has not been designed for production, but could serve as an inspiration for design language in future product portfolio."

Concept Kx Specifications

(as reported in Rushlane.com)

Displacement 838cc OHC V-twin
Bore X Stroke 3.15 in. X 3.28 in.
Fuel feed EFI drive-by-wire
Transmission 6-speed
Length 85 in.
Width 30.6 in.
Height 39.3 in.
Wheelbase 60.4 in.
Ground clearance 5 in.
Seat height 30 in.
Front wheel 3.50 X 19
Rear wheel 4.00 X 19
Brakes Twin disc front, Single disc rear
ABS All around
Engine Stressed member
Chassis Harris frame with integrated airbox
Front suspension Girder fork, single damper
Rear suspension Single damper with progressive link