The launch of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 marked a change in the company's focus towards the 350 cc motorcycle segment in India and globally. It was the first model to be launched, which was based on Royal Enfield's all-new J-platform. The Meteor 350 replaced the Thunderbird 350 in the company's line-up and has been doing consistently well for RE ever since it was launched in November 2020. Here are the top 5 highlights of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.
(The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has a new design, with new body panels, a new fuel tank shape, and even the badges and decals are all-new. The silhouette though is typically Thunderbird. But there are more changes in the details; in fact every single component is brand new)
(The instrument console is all-new with an asymmetric twin-pod, with the larger dial housing the analogue speedometer, and a small LCD console giving read-outs for trip meters, odometer, clock, fuel gauge and even a gear position indicator. The smaller pod on the right also displays a bigger read-out for the clock, but it also doubles up as the display for the turn-by-turn navigation, accessed through the Royal Enfield Tripper app with Bluetooth connectivity)
(New cast alloy wheels are wider, and now the rear wheel is a 17-inch unit Wheels shod with tubeless tyres, and dual-channel ABS is standard. Front suspension is a 41 mm telescopic fork with 130 mm of travel, and at the rear, the twin tube shocks gets 6-step preload adjustability. Braking duties are handled by dual-channel ABS, with a 300 mm front disc with a twin piston caliper and a 270 mm rear disc with a single piston caliper. )
(The new 349 cc single-cylinder air and oil cooled engine makes 20.2 bhp at 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. For the first time for a Royal Enfield 350 cc single, the pushrod architecture has been done away with, and the new engine uses a single overhead camshaft, and employs a gear primary drive instead of chain. Royal Enfield says the new engine offers a wider torque spread, across the rev range)
( There are three variants of the motorcycle on sale, which are the Fireball, Stellar and Supernova. Prices for the Meteor 350 start at Rs. 1.78 lakh. The biggest rivals of the Meteor 350 are the Honda H'Ness CB 350, Jawa Forty Two and the Benelli Imperiale 400. )
