Planning to get a new thumping Enfield Classic 350 or a Bullet 350? Stop right there, we’ve got some news. Royal Enfield is planning to bring in dual-channel ABS for its 350 bike range. A post on Team Bhp by a forumer claims that the company will be launching ABS across the 350 range on 27th August. The bikes to be benefited are the Classic 350, Bullet 350 and the Bullet ES.
CarToq tried to confirm the rumour from several dealers and got a mixed response. Two dealers confirmed the development that ABS is on the anvil soon on the 350cc Royal Enfields but another dealer said that he had no information about the crucial safety upgrade. From the looks of it, the exact dates for the introduction of ABS on Royal Enfield’s 350cc Classic, Bullet and ES motorcycles could move up or down a bit, but it looks like Royal Enfield has finally bitten the bullet.
It must also be noted that the company is going to offer a dual channel ABS, which is much better than the single channel ABS system. In a dual channel system, there are separate sensors for both the wheels, monitoring locking and skidding under hard braking. Most of the bikes that feature ABS now use this system but there are some exceptions like the Bajaj Pulsar RS 200, which get a single channel ABS that acts only on the front wheel.
Technical specifications are likely to remain the same. Expect some minor cosmetic changes on the range, which could be inspired from the Classic Pegasus edition. The current 350 range engine is a 346 cc unit churning out 19.8 Bhp and 28 Nm of torque. Safety features like ABS are a must nowadays, especially in case of heavy Royal Enfield bikes that gain great momentum when doing high speeds.
While many may think that ABS is not much effective on low power bikes or bikes having less than 30 Bhp of power, truth be told, ABS is extremely necessary even in such bikes. It can mean the difference between life and death in emergency situations. If you are having definite plans to get a 350cc Royal Enfield from the Classic, Bullet or ES range, we recommend that you wait for a while and get the ABS version instead. You will have to shell out some extra money for the ABS-equipped bikes, but it’s definitely worth it.
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