Spotted: Royal Enfield 500 Scrambler Undergoing Road Trials; Launch Soon
Modified On Mar 20, 2019 12:30 PM By Mallikarjun Pillai
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The 500cc Scrambler from Royal Enfield was spotted testing with an ‘On Test by ARAI’ sticker, suggesting a launch is on the cards.
- Likely to be a Classic 500-derived Scrambler, the motorcycle was spotted testing in Pune.
- Pictures of the bike first leaked back in June 2018.
- The motorcycle was, in all probability, being tested by ARAI.
- When launched, this will be the official factory-built Scrambler from Royal Enfield.
Social media was set aflutter in June this year when spy pictures of what was purported to be Royal Enfield’s first Scrambler leaked on the web. But there was no news since then of the motorcycle and the hype around the initial pictures soon fizzled out. However, we recently spotted a motorcycle similar to the one from the leaked pictures on the roads of Pune. More importantly, the license plate on the test mule carried an ‘On test by ARAI’ sticker. This is confirmation that Royal Enfield is indeed on the verge of launching a Scrambler variant of its Classic 500.
From what we’ve seen of the motorcycle, it has a classic Scrambler stance that is complete with an upswept exhaust, a raised rear fender, rubber gaiter-equipped telescopic suspension at the front and spoked wheels shod with knobby tyres. The leaked pictures also showed the bike sporting a single seat and a luggage rack in place of the pillion seat. Interestingly, the test mule we spotted also had disc brakes at both ends. We also expect Royal Enfield to launch the Scrambler 500 (or whatever it will eventually be called) with switchable dual-channel ABS in keeping with the spirit of the Scrambler design.
The Royal Enfield Scrambler is expected to retain the Classic 500’s motor. This 499cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine produces 27.5PS at 5250rpm and 41.3Nm at 4000rpm. Royal Enfield is likely to launch this motorcycle in early 2019. As for price, we expect it to retail for a slight premium over the Classic 500, which is available for Rs 1.85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
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