The Chennai-headquarter based Motorcycle manufacturer, Royal Enfield will soon be featuring dual-channel ABS on its existing offroader machine, Himalayan. Along with this, the brand will also be including a single-channel ABS on the Classic, Bullet and Thunderbird series. In terms of pricing, the new ABS variants of the Royal Enfield lineup will be more expensive than the standard and could range between Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000.
For those who don’t know, ABS stands for Anti-Lock Braking System, which allows the wheels to maintain tractive contact with the road surface according to driver inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up (ceasing rotation) and avoiding uncontrolled skidding.
The bit of information comes from the ZigWheels report, however, for now, the RE authorised dealers are currently unaware and do not have any clue about the ABS fitted Royal Enfields machines hitting the Indian roads.
It is worth noting, that according to the revised Indian motor laws it is mandatory for motorcycle companies in India to install an ABS for bikes/scooters having an engine displacement of 125cc and above, starting from April 2018 for new ones and April 2019 for the existing ones.
Since the Himalayan is an off-roader machine it comes with the 21-inch wheel at the front and 17-inch at the rear, which requires dual-channel ABS for tough terrains. In single-channel, only the front wheel is equipped with the ABS, while in dual-channel, both the wheels come with the ABS.
As far as specifications are concerned, the Himalayan is powered by a 411cc, air-cooled engine, which generates the power of 25 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 32 nm peak torque at 4,500 rpm. Mated to a 5-speed transmission, the offroader weights 182 Kg with extra mass of 15-litre fuel tank.