[TusharK]

Royal Enfield has introduced two new colour variants for its Classic series. The bikes now come equipped with rear disc brakes. Gunmetal Grey has been added to the Classic 350 while the Classic 500 gets the Stealth Black colour. Both the colour options are finished in matte. The Gunmetal Grey Classic 350 costs Rs. 1.60 lakh, while the Stealth Black Classic 500 is priced Rs. 2.05 lakh (on-road, Chennai).



The Royal Enfield Classic range is inspired by the J2 and other British motorcycles from the 1950s post-war era. The classic 350 retains the chrome exhaust like the current line-up, while the Classic 500 gets an all-black exhaust.



The Classic 350 is powered by a 346cc, single-cylinder, carbureted, air-cooled Unit Construction Engine (UCE). It makes 19.8 BHP @ 5,250 rpm and a peak torque of 28 Nm @ 4,000 rpm. The Classic 500 uses a 499cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with electronic fuel injection. It produces 27.2 BHP @ 5,250 rpm and a maximum torque of 41.3 Nm @ 4,000 rpm. Both bikes use a 5-speed constant mesh gearbox.

Both the Classic 350 and 500 get 35 mm telescopic front forks and twin-shock absorbers at the rear. Braking duties are handled by disc brakes at both ends.

[TorqueyTechie]

While the brake upgrade is definitely a plus which was needed, the others are mostly a cosmetic upgrade. RE is slowly becoming the Maruti in 2 wheeler segment taking over from Hero. To keep themselves in public eye ( and to probably negate the debacle of Himalayan ) they are coming up with new colors.

But people are lapping it up. I have seen many redditch series RE's on roads here in Bangalore. They bring what the Junta wants! Just hope that someone at the top level uses their head for once and does something about their QC team.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Both the Classic 350 and 500 get 35 mm telescopic front forks and twin-shock absorbers at the rear. Braking duties are handled by disc brakes at both ends.

Compared to the older classics, these models have the new box type swing arm too.

[Geo_Ipe]

Am I the only one who can't see a rear disc here? Or is it on the other side? If it is, then why doesn't RE put up a picture from that side showing us the disc!?

Hoping that the next upgrade will be ABS!!
And not a "Limited Edition" with fancy graphics!

[The Brutailer]

Boy does that matte black bullet (classic) look yummy! I'm in love.

And after I've finished drooling, even I can't spot the rear disc in the picture. Stupid mistake by the marketing team. Nevertheless, a very welcome addition.

Still wishing for the day when ABS is standard on a Royal Enfield.

[BANDHAV]

Originally Posted by adrian

Compared to the older classics, these models have the new box type swing arm too.

These updated Classics have borrowed the swingarm from the Thunderbird series, the fitment of rear disc brake became a possibility due to the same only.

[abhishek46]

These new colours along with the earlier 'redditch' colours are simply awesome.

Addition of a better swing arm may result in slightly better handling/ride.

Lastly, I presume that the 350cc mill in the classic can be easily be termed as the most reliable 'RE' till date. The number of horror stories & catastrophes in CL350s are much less now & much much lesser than the Himalayan & 500cc ones.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Am I the only one who can't see a rear disc here? Or is it on the other side? If it is, then why doesn't RE put up a picture from that side showing us the disc!?

Indeed! A disaster of a press release by the PR idiots. Here's a zoomed-in pic which shows a bit of the rear caliper. Must be a small disc to get completely covered from the right side:

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by GTO

Must be a small disc to get completely covered from the right side:

Probably a slipped disc, eh?

On a serious note, I think it's high time rear disc and ABS became standard fitment in RE bikes. If their customer's are happy to pay 1.5L plus for bikes without these, surely they won't penny pinch a few ten thousand more for bikes with rear disc + ABS!

Cheers,
Vikram

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

Boy does that matte black bullet (classic) look yummy! I'm in love.

And after I've finished drooling, even I can't spot the rear disc in the picture. Stupid mistake by the marketing team. Nevertheless, a very welcome addition.

Still wishing for the day when ABS is standard on a Royal Enfield.

Here a picture with the Rear Disk on the Classic.
As we know, RE prefers to mount the disk on the Left side.

[VW2010]

On a serious note, I think it's high time rear disc and ABS became standard fitment in RE bikes.

Personally i think its an overkill for these bikes. The rear disc in Continental GT was pretty much unused in my short term exchange based ownership. The front disc is a completely different story and i wanted to actually retro fit it into my old classic.

I would prefer their R&D to develop a better 500CC engine that deliver atleast 50-60 BHP and then add features that is required for supporting a faster bike.

[pradipk]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Here a picture with the Rear Disk on the Classic.
As we know, RE prefers to mount the disk on the Left side.

Attachment 1674933

It's clear from the front wheel that ABS is present, however is this the bike for India or the picture of Export variant which got ABS sometimes back? I mean Indian Classics will have only Disk in Rear or ABS is there as well.

Thanks,
Pradip.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by pradipk

It's clear from the front wheel that ABS is present, however is this the bike for India or the picture of Export variant which got ABS sometimes back? I mean Indian Classics will have only Disk in Rear or ABS is there as well.

Thanks,
Pradip.

The Indian model don't get ABS.
The picture looks like it is from an export army green 500 with Avon tyres which doesn't sell in India.

[Charioteer]

The first of the Classic 500s of 2018 with rear disc brakes have started finding their owners here at Mumbai.

Confirmed from Royal Enfield Bandra, Mumbai that the first Classic Desert Storm of the year has been registered to some proud owner, who has been waiting since Nov 17.

They also have Squadron Blue and Classic Chrome Graphite available - with rear disc brakes - and they offered one of them to me in lieu of a DS, that I have been awaiting since beginning of the year. I intend to wait further though to get the colour of my choice! The second DS of the year hopefully should be mine !

Meanwhile, out of curiosity, I also checked from Dhone Automobiles in Pune and found the dealer holding 2017 stock of 500s, without the rear disc brake. They didn't have any idea about when the new Classic were arriving.