The introduction of Jawa Motorcycles likely impacted the Classic 350 as the volume sales dropped by 28 per cent last month
Royal Enfield sold 34,325 units of Classic 350 in December 2018 compared to 47,558 units in December 2017 and registered 28 per cent drop in sales. Ever since the introduction of Jawa Motorcycles in November, the sales of Royal Enfield has been affected especially the Classic series as it competes head-on against the Jawa Forty Two and Jawa Classic models.
The competition is going to heat up in coming months as Jawa is planning to open more dealerships and the Forty Two and Jawa are already sold out till September as they stopped online booking to manage production. The company has already introduced ABS option with Classic 350 and it is priced at a premium of Rs. 1000 over the regular model.
The Classic 350 is the best selling Royal Enfield motorcycle in December and the recently launched 650 Twins are also bringing good numbers for the company. The drop in Classic 350 sales has also impacted the overall sales of Royal Enfield as the company sold 58,278 units compared to 66,968 units in December 2017 and registered 13 per cent negative growth.
The labour strike in the Tamil Nadu plant has also affected the sales of Royal Enfield. The waiting period of Classic 350 has also come down to just seven weeks due to the low demand. The company is planning to introduce ABS across the portfolio before the April 2019 deadline as all motorcycles above 125 cc must come with ABS according to the new law.
The Classic 350 is powered by 346 cc single cylinder air-cooled engine producing 19.8 bhp of power at 5,250 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox and the braking power comes from 280 mm disc at the front while the rear gets 240 mm disc. The company offer dual-channel ABS system on the Classic series.
| Royal Enfield Classic 350 Specification | |
| Displacement | 346 cc |
| Power | 19.8 bhp at 5,250 rpm |
| Torque | 28 Nm at 4,000 rpm |
| Gearbox | 5-speed gearbox |
| Front | 280 mm Disc |
| Rear | 240 mm Disc |
| Wheelbase | 1,370 mm |
| Kerb Weight | 192 kg |
| Fuel Tank | 13.5 litres |
| Price | Rs. 1.47 lakh (Ex-Showroom) |
The Classic 350 is available in eight colour options – Lagoon, Ash, Silver, Chestnut, Black, Redditch Red, Redditch Green and Redditch Blue. The company has given telescopic forks at the front and dual-gas charged suspension at the rear. The bike comes with a 19-inch wheel at front with 90/90 section tyre and 18-inch wheel at rear with 110/90 tyre.