Rear disc brake now standard across all Royal Enfield Classic 500 variants

Royal Enfield has finally introduced rear disc brake for its entire Classic 500 line-up. Previously, this equipment was limited to stealth black only. 

So now the rear disc brake can be seen on new black, tan, silver and also on the Desert Storm and Chrome variants. The Chennai-based manufacturer has priced these variants at Rs 1.85 lakhs (ex-showroom Bengaluru) which is an increase of almost Rs 10,000 over the rear drum brake variant. For Chrome, you need to shell out Rs 1.95 lakhs. Till now these variants were equipped with 280mm disc with two-piston caliper in the front and 153mm drum at the rear. The company is yet to update its official website with these changes. However, most of its dealers have already been notified. 

The Classic 500 continues to be powered by a 499cc single-cylinder air-cooled motor that churns out 27.2bhp at 5250rpm and peak torque of 41.3Nm at 4000rpm. This motor is mated to a five-speed gearbox.

As per the government draft, all new two-wheelers with displacement above 125cc need to be fitted with ABS or CBS from April 1, 2018 whereas the updated two-wheelers need to sport this safety technology by April 1, 2019. . All companies including Royal Enfield need to adhere to these norms, and this is why the company has started equipping its bikes with rear disc brakes.