Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 In Europe
Meteor 350 continues its global expansion – After Thailand, it has now been launched in Europe

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has now made its way to European markets. It has been unveiled in Italy at a starting price of EUR 4,099, which is approximately Rs 3.65 lakh. UK price is £3,749, which is roughly Rs 3.67 lakhs. In Europe, it gets standard warranty of 3 years unlimited kms as well as 3 years RSA.
In the Indian market, the motorcycle is available at a starting price of Rs 1.75 lakh. Dealerships in Europe will start getting deliveries of Meteor 350 by March 2021. Meteor for Europe, will be exported from India. It will be made in India at the company plant at Chennai, and exported as CBU.
Same as India-spec model
Euro-spec Meteor 350 is the same as the Indian model, and is also A2 compliant. It will have all three variants – Fireball, Stellar and Supernova. Meteor has been designed to be a thoroughbred cruiser that would appeal to a global audience. Some of the key features that give the motorcycle its distinctive identity include round headlamp; tear drop design of fuel tank, turn indicators and rear tail light; chrome accents and broad rear fenders.
Meteor is built for both urban use as well as highway cruising. It has high set handle bars and forward set foot pegs, which ensure a comfortable, upright riding position.
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 In Europe
Meteor 350 powertrain
Royal Enfield has installed a new J series 349 cc, air-oil cooled engine on Meteor, which is capable of generating 20.2 hp of max power and 27 Nm of peak torque. Gearbox is a 5-speed unit. The engine has SOHC setup, which has contributed significantly to reducing vibrations. The motorcycle’s new chassis has also helped reduce vibrations.
As may be recalled, the earlier generation of Royal Enfield motorcycles have considerable vibrations. Such issues create fatigue and discomfort, which can be problematic during long distance touring.
A first-in-segment feature on-board Meteor is the ‘Tripper Navigation’, which offers turn-by-turn navigation. There’s a dedicated screen next to the main instrument console, which displays the direction arrows for the destination. Tripper navigation does away with the need to mount smartphones on the motorcycle. Once connected to the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth and after entering the destination details, the Tripper navigation will continue to display the directions.
RE Global Plans
By aggressively targeting global markets, Royal Enfield is working on its long term strategy to reduce its dependence on a single geography. As of now, most of Royal Enfield’s sales are from India. Exports are just a fraction of its overall sales. The company currently dominates the 200cc – 500cc motorcycle segment in India with market share in excess of 75%.
Arun Gopal, Head of Business Markets EMEA, said: “One of Royal Enfield’s core objectives is to introduce as many people as possible into motorcycling,and we see our products as instrumental to that process. The introduction of the Meteor 350 further strengthens our reputation for building bikes that are appealing, accessible and approachable for a broad demographic.”
While being the market leader is laudable, it’s also true that things can change fast in the auto industry. In recent times, competition has increased for Royal Enfield from products such as Jawa, Honda CB350, and Benelli Imperiale 400. By expanding its global footprint, the company will be in a better position to hedge risks in the domestic market. More

Royal Enfield Meteor Electric
Royal Enfield has confirmed plans to launch an all electric motorcycle in the future

While scooters currently dominate the electric segment, we could see launch of several new electric motorcycles in the coming years. This space has only a few products and it holds significant potential for growth. Not everyone fancies riding a scooter, so electric motorcycles will inevitably have to step in to fulfil customer expectations. These products will come from both startup auto firms as well as established two wheeler manufacturers.
Royal Enfield Meteor electric imagined
Royal Enfield is among the leading auto companies that are working on the development of an electric motorcycle. As may be recalled, Royal Enfield currently dominates the 200cc – 500 cc motorcycle segment with more than 75% market share. To maintain its lead position, the switch to electric is necessary for the company.
While details about Royal Enfield’s electric motorcycle have not been revealed, it is planned to be launched by 2023. It is expected to have a retro cruiser look, just like the current breed of Royal Enfield motorcycles. To get an idea about how the motorcycle might look like, here is an interesting rendering of Royal Enfield electric motorcycle.
Royal Enfield Meteor Electric
For this project, Meteor 350 has been used as the base model. Launched in November, Meteor 350 is the first of Royal Enfield’s next-gen products. It has a retro design and comes with new engine and chassis. In this rendering project, Meteor 350 electric gets a new dual tone colour theme of blue and white. This colour option is not available with the petrol powered Meteor 350.
The dual tone colour theme has been subtly used on only a few components such as fuel tank, side panels, and wheels. The fuel tank’s top section has the white shade whereas the bottom part has strips of blue. The blue colour has also been applied to the wheel rims.
Large battery pack
The most prominent change is the huge battery pack that the motorcycle carries in its belly. If the battery pack was to be as heavy as it looks, it could create balancing issues for the motorcycle. Due to their design, electric motorcycles naturally have this problem. In comparison, electric scooters have a more suitable space for storing the battery pack.
Among other changes is the belt drive that has replaced the chain drive. The motorcycle also mentions the term ‘EV’ on the side panel. Components such as the headlight, turn indicators, rear view mirrors, front & rear fenders and tail lamp is the same as current Meteor 350.
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Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Inspired Cruiser – Render
The new render shows what Meteor 350 could like if it was designed as a proper low-slung cruiser motorcycle

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 started generating a lot of buzz way before its actual launch and even after a month of its official launch, it doesn’t seem to die down. There were very high expectations from this modern cruiser which has stepped into the big shoes of its predecessor Thunderbird and Royal Enfield seems to have ticked almost all boxes.
Meteor 350 is Royal Enfield’s first of its next generation single cylinder motorcycles with brand new chassis and powertrain. The bike has caught the eyeballs of biking enthusiasts instantly with its cruiser-like low-slung stance, forward set footpegs and a raised handlebar.
However, it is not one of the traditional cruisers. These have a very low stance with relatively long front forks and a longer wheelbase. Point in case is Bajaj Avenger which sports a traditional cruiser design. Meteor 350 like the discontinued Thunderbird model is a cross between a cruiser and a street bike. Here we have with us a digitally modified Meteor 350 rendered as a traditional cruiser.
Meteor 350 as a traditional cruiser
In a video, created and uploaded by SRK Designs on YouTube we get to see a digitally re-imagined Meteor 350 as a traditional low-slung cruiser and to be honest it does look very good. For starters, the designer has taken the image of a regular Meteor and slants its front forks adding a few degrees to the rake angle thus adding a few inches to the wheelbase as well.
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Next up, the tail section is reshaped a little with the tail light repositioned lower than usual on the rear fender. The rider’s seat is also lower than the stock model and the pillion seat is now narrower than the original model.
Grab handles for pillion too have been moved forward and very low. Next, a taller handlebar is added which are usually found in conventional bobbers. The wheelbase is further lengthened by stretching the rear section of the bike.
In this case, the base Fireball variant of Meteor was chosen which doesn’t offer the windshield and rear backrest as standard and comes with bright colours. The paint scheme is changed as well with gloss black colour replacing the bright red on offer.
To complement the look further, the designer adds yellow pinstripes to the fuel tank, side panel and rear fender which gives a nice contrast to the overall look of the bike.
Royal Enfield’s plan for a cruiser
It is to be noted that Royal Enfield is indeed developing a traditional low-slung cruiser codenamed KX650 which will be powered by the 650cc parallel-twin engine as on the Interceptor and Continental GT. The motorcycle has already been spotted testing on a couple of occasions. More

Image – Bullet Guru
From the spy images of the new-gen Classic 350 seen, Royal Enfiled is not expected to make massive changes to the retro motorcycle’s design

Royal Enfield has big plans for future. The bikemaker had earlier last month revealed its plan to introduce 28 new bikes in the next seven years, i.e., a new bike every quarter of a year. This started with the launch of its new cruiser Meteor 350 a month ago which replaced the outgoing Thunderbird 350 and 350X from the company’s lineup.
Going by Royal Enfield’s plans, it seems the next bike is scheduled to be launched in the next couple of months which means early 2021. If we were to guess, the brand’s next big-ticket launch is expected to be the new generation model of Classic 350.
Undoubtedly, Classic 350 has been the most popular motorcycle from the Chennai-based manufacturer ever since it was launched more than a decade back. It has been known for a while that Royal Enfield has been developing a new generation model of the retro-styled motorcycle. Testing prototypes of the same have also been spotted on a couple of occasions in recent past. Readers have been very inquisitive about this new avatar.
New Underpinnings
Expectedly, this new bike is likely to share much of its elements with RE’s new Meteor 350. For starters, it is going to be based on the same J platform as the cruiser. It will now be underpinned by a double-cradle chassis as opposed to current model’s single downtube frame. Although, Royal Enfield is not expected to divert too much from the current Classic’s design language since it is still very well received by consumers.
New Gen Classic 350 On Test
New Powertrain, Transmission
However, the biggest update will be the new 349cc single-cylinder air-cooler long-stroke engine which produces 1 bhp more and 1 Nm less than the current 346cc UCE unit. This unit produces 20.2 bhp and 27 Nm of peak torque.
It will also be paired with a new 5-speed gearbox and clutch with less moving components in order to reduce friction. These mechanical changes will result in reduced vibrations and improved ride quality.
More Features on offer
It is also expected to borrow some of Meteor’s features, the most notable being the Tripper Navigation system which provides turn-by-turn navigation to the rider connected via the Royal Enfield App on a smartphone. Also, a modern part-digital part-analog instrument cluster is also expected to be offered.
If all these components from Meteor 350 are indeed carried over to new-gen Classic 350 it would surely be a much promising option to consider with many new rivals like Honda H’Ness CB350 in the foray. Prices are expected to move slightly northwards considering the updates incorporated. More

Image – Abhinav Bhatt
Both Meteor 350 and H’Ness CB350 have distinct exhaust notes and both have been appreciated by audiences

We have covered both the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and Honda H’Ness CB350 quite extensively ever since they were launched. These two motorcycles have been compared to each other in many different aspects such as their real-world performance, highway performance, acceleration test and even their service costs.
It’s now time to compare an inherent quality of these motorcycles, something which has been a point of attraction for both these bikes- their exhaust notes. Now, Royal Enfield has always been known for its classic thump which gave it its famous recognition in a neighborhood. Does it still sound the same or does Honda stake a claim here?
A video, uploaded by Abhinav Bhatt on YouTube shows the comparison between exhaust notes of the two motorcycles. The vlogger rides both bikes individually one after another to give us an idea of what these bikes actually sound like.
While many might have heard these exhaust notes individually when tested side by side it gives us a difference in sounds of the two exhausts. Abhinav has ridden the two bikes on the same road, in the same manner, giving us a better idea at how the two bikes actually sound while riding in similar conditions. Take a look at the video below.
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Meteor 350 Exhaust Note
We already know that both are completely new bikes with brand new powertrains. Starting with Royal Enfield, this new generation 350cc engine is starkly different from the previous UCE 350 engine present. The prime difference being the use of an overhead camshaft (OHC) setup instead of a traditional pushrod setup. While the former has many benefits it dilutes, Royal Enfield’s signature ‘dug dug’ sound has been diluted which is a damper for many.
The engine is definitely quieter and refined thanks to the addition of a counter balancer shaft. This has also led to a reduction of vibrations quite considerably, therefore improved ride and handling. The exhaust note is a lot more pleasant and linear thump to it which would definitely lure young riders. Although its signature thump has not completely vanished and one can still get the same feel by the number of exhaust options offered by the company.
Honda CB350 Exhaust Note
On the other hand, Honda CB350 does remind us of an old school Royal Enfield motorcycle to some extent. It has that robust and raw thump of a retro motorcycle which older RE bikes were known for. In other words, traditional Royal Enfield lovers would like the sound of CB350 more than that of Meteor 350. However, by no means does this engine sound crude in any way and is equally refined as its nemesis.
Powertrain, Transmission Details
Meteor 350 is powered by a new 349 cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine which returns an output of 20.2 bhp at 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. This unit is mated to a new 5-speed gearbox. The CB350, on the other hand, is powered by a 348.36cc, air-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine which makes 20.8hp at 5,500rpm and 30Nm at 3,000rpm. It is paired with a 5-speed gearbox as well. More