The Thunderbird 350 was one of the more popular Royal Enfield bikes.
The Thunderbird 350 is a capable motorcycle but it has its issues.
You can get one of the more recent models for Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh.
The Royal Enfield Thunderbird has been one of the more popular models from the iconic two-wheeler marquee in India. The model was first introduced in 2002, and the company launched several different iterations of the Thunderbird, before discontinuing it in 2020. While initially, the bike was only available in a 350 cc variant, later the company also introduced a 500 cc model. Now, we have already shared the advantages and disadvantages involved in buying a pre-owned Thunderbird 500, today, we will share some pros and cons of buying a used Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350.
Pros
The Royal Enfield Thunder 350 is a very comfortable cruiser. The low-set bucket style seats, slightly front-set footpegs and wide handlebar offer relaxed riding ergonomics.
The bike is powered by a 346 cc single cylinder unit construction engine (UCE) with twinspark technology. The motor is tuned to make 19.1 bhp and 28 Nm of peak torque, while mated to a 5-speed gearbox. And pulling power of the bike is certainly impressive.
The Thunderbird came with an LED taillight and a projector lens headlamp that offers good illumination. The more recent examples were equipped with ABS and that's the version we'd recommend you get.
Compared to the Thunderbird 500, the 350 cc model is much less expensive to maintain as the parts are cheaper. Also, the latter offers better fuel economy and lesser vibrations.
One of the iterations of the bike was the Thunderbird 350X which came with alloy wheels and bolder colour options.
Cons
The Thunderbird 350 is a heavy motorcycle, tipping the scales at 197 kg. So, keep the weight in mind before looking for one. The deadweight would seem twice as much during a fall or breakdown.
The Thunderbird 350 gets a torquey engine with good low- and mid-range performance, however, the bike has no top-end performance. Even touching triple-digit speeds will be a bit difficult. 75-85 kmph is the sweet spot for this motorcycle.
The older Thunderbirds were notorious for having small mechanical issues after a few years, so it's best thoroughly check the bike before purchasing it. We would suggest not going for a model that's older than 2015.
Royal Enfield bikes hold strong resale value, which is especially the case with the Thunderbird 350. Getting a 2015 or of a higher model year Thunderbird 350 under Rs. 1 lakh would be really tough. The price can go as high as Rs. 1.5 lakh.
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