Royal Enfield confirms working on flex-fuel motorcycles. Check out the timeline

Royal Enfield has confirmed that they are working on a flex-fuel motorcycle for the Indian market. The Chennai-based two-wheeler manufacturer will launch its first flex-fuel compatible motorcycle in Q3 of 2024. As of now, Royal Enfield has not confirmed which motorcycle will they modify to be able to run on flex-fuel.

Having said that, it makes sense for Royal Enfield to modify the Classic 350 first so that it can run on flex-fuel as it is the best-selling motorcycle for the brand. The Classic 350 is based on the new J-platform of motorcycles. So, it could be expected that other motorcycles that are based on the J-platform could also support flex-fuel in the future. Other motorcycles are based on the same platform as the Meteor 350, Hunter 350 and the Classic 350. Moreover, the recently launched Bullet 350 is also based on the same platform.

Royal Enfield is not the only manufacturer to work on flex-fuel powered motorcycles. Earlier Honda confirmed that they want to launch a flex-fuel motorcycle in the Indian market. TVS Motor Company was the first manufacturer in India to launch a flex-fuel powered motorcycle in the Indian market. They launched the Apache RTR 200 FI E100 back in 2019.

What is flex fuel?

Flex-fuel is a mixture of petrol and ethanol. Currently, the vehicles in India support a blend of 10 per cent ethanol up to 100 per cent. The government aims to increase the base ratio limit from 10 per cent to 20 per cent. Because of this, the blend is called E20 fuel.

Which bikes support E20 fuel?

Basically, all the motorcycles that are BS6 Stage 2 compliant support a fuel blend of up to 20 per cent. The manufacturer would often put a sticker on the fuel tank that says "Petrol up to E20".