.jpg?w=700&c=0 "Royal Enfield 350cc bikes now sold without gear position indicator")
The rare earth supply crisis was most well-known to affect EV and hybrid motorcycles, but the reality is that these materials are widely used in applications such as motor sensors that find their way into all automobiles.
- Royal Enfield 350cc models to be shipped with a neutral indication system
- The brand will retrofit it once the component is available
Royal Enfield has released a circular to its dealers
As of now, only 350cc models are affected
Royal Enfield has now made a move to work around the rare-earth supply constraints by removing the gear shift indicator from its 350cc J Series motorcycle. We first noticed this when we recently rode the new Meteor 350 and have subsequently discovered that the same applies to all of the company’s 350cc bikes that have a gear position indicator. Other models in the company’s line-up don’t seem to be affected as of writing this.
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Thankfully, the good news is that this is just a temporary measure. The company has released a circular to its dealers, stating that the bikes that have been sold without the sensor installed will be equipped with one once the component stock is available. That means that customers looking to buy a new Royal Enfield 350cc bike soon might have to ride without a gear shift indicator until the company is ready to retrofit one in their bikes.
The rare earth supply situation has been slowly improving, and it is not as bad as it was a few months ago, so hopefully, RE won’t have to do this for very long. That said, Royal Enfield appears to be the only two-wheeler manufacturer that has taken a step like this so far.
