Royal Enfield Classic 350 Signals ABS: Watch the FIRST video review

Last week, Indian motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield launched the Classic 350 Signals Edition in India. The Classic 350 Signals Edition is the first-ever motorcycle from Royal Enfield to be offered with dual-channel ABS as standard. Youtuber Dino’s Vault managed to get his hands on the all-new Classic 350 Signals Edition and here’s what he had to say.

Dino starts off by talking about the design of the new Classics Edition of the Classic 350. He likes the blacked out parts like the housing for the headlight, engine, rims and exhaust among others, which provide a good contrast to the two colour options on offer.

The first, Airborne Blue, is an ode to the Indian Air Force, which has used Royal Enfields since the 1960s. The ‘Stormrider Sand’ colour salutes the Border Security Force (BSF), which has been using these bikes since its inception in 1965. Dino adds that the stencilled number on the fuel tank and the unique logo give the new bike a hint of exclusivity. Dino then informs us about the various accessories including military panniers, pannier-mounting kit, windshield kit and alloy-wheel kit.

However, what seems to surprise the reviewer, who is not a big fan of the regular Classic 350 cc, is that despite RE not claiming to have changed anything mechanically (except for the new ABS setup), the way the Classic 350 Signals Edition rides is different from other bikes.

He claims that the despite weighing the same as the regular bike, the new Signals edition feels lighter on the go and is much easier to flick about. Dino also goes on to claim that the new bike feels a lot peppier to ride as the initial pick-up from the engine is instant and that he liked revving the engine a whole lot more than before.

The third major difference according to Dino is the gearbox, which now easily shifts into neutral, something he claims was a lot more difficult to do in the older bikes. Finally, he claims that while the vibrations from the bike are still there, they can be avoided by shifting up early. He claims that while riding between 60-70km/h, in top gear, the vibrations from the bike are non-existent, though they do return once you go past 80km/h.

Then, Dino finally gets to show off the braking performance, which is now enhanced thanks to the addition of dual-channel ABS. The new Classic 350 Signals Edition gets a 280-mm disc brake up front and a 240-mm disc brake at the rear, both of which are ventilated. Dino takes the new bike to some rather rough roads to test out the new braking performance and brings the retro cruiser to a halt from 55km/h in just 2.2 seconds.

Dino RE Classic 350 Signals Edition easily rides over bumps and undulations without any problem and offers superior high-speed stability and ride comfort. However, he advises you to ride carefully over speed bumps while riding with a pillion on board, due to the 135-mm ground clearance.

Via Dino’s Vault