Royal Enfield rolls out next-gen Bullet at starting price of Rs 1.73 lakh; to be equipped with J-series engine

The bikemaking arm of Eicher Motors has said that the Bullet will be equipped with the new J-series engine that does its duty on other RE models such as Hunter 350, Classic 350, and Meteor 350.

Royal Enfield (RE) rolled out the next-gen Bullet 350 motorcycle on September 1, at a starting price of Rs 1,73,562  for the base variant. The mid-range model is priced at Rs 1,97,436, and the top variant at Rs 2,15,801 (all ex-showroom).

Positioned between the Hunter 350 and the Classic 350, the bookings for the all-new Bullet will start from today and deliveries will commence from September 3.  It will be taking on the Honda H'ness CB350 and  the Jawa Forty Two, among other 350 cc motorcycles.

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Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director at Royal Enfield's parent company Eicher Motors Limited (EML), had hinted at Bullet’s rollout during a recent post-earnings  call. “We have a gamechanger that we will roll out during the end of this month, and it will shake up the market,” he had said, without revealing what he was talking about.

The bikemaking arm of Eicher Motors has said that the  Bullet will be equipped with the new J-series engine that does its duty on other RE models such as Hunter 350, Classic 350, and Meteor 350.

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The motorbike is powered by a 349 cc, single-cylinder, air-oil-cooled engine, which has a peak power of 20.2 bhp, max torque of 27 Nm, and is mated to a five-speed gearbox.

Speaking about the launch, B Govindarajan, CEO, Royal Enfield, said, “We have retained the legacy of the Royal Enfield Bullet as it transitions to a new avatar and rides on.”

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The motorcycle will have redesigned headlights and taillights, while retaining the classic Bullet 350 styling of the outgoing version. It will be available in five colour options: military red, military black, standard maroon, standard black, and black gold.

The 2023 Bullet also gets a new digital-analogue instrument cluster with an LCD screen, a new handlebar, a switchgear, as well as a USB port. It is equipped with a telescopic front fork and dual rear shock absorbers.

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While the entry-level variant gets single-channel ABS, rear drum brakes, and solid-coloured tanks, the mid-range is equipped with dual-channel ABS and rear disc brakes. The top-spec variant gets a matte-and-gloss black tank, copper-and-gold 3D badge, copper pinstriping, and blacked-out engine and components.

The automaker added that the new Bullet will be launched in Europe by October-end.

It may be recalled that Royal Enfield had  recently indicated that it is unfazed by the recent premium motorcycles rolled out by homegrown two-wheeler manufacturers such as Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto, in association with Harley Davidson and Triumph Motorcycles, respectively.

“We are not obsessed about competition. We obsess about the consumer and his wants. We are obsessed about stuff like a better and a  more enjoyable ride. So we’ve built a fortress. It's not going to be easy for, let's say robbers, to penetrate,” Lal said at the recent post-earnings call.

Lal’s statement was in response to Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj’s light-hearted comment, wherein he told a TV channel, “If Royal Enfield is where the money is, then we have no choice but to rob the bank.”

As per data shared by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), sales of 250-750 cc motorcycles stood at 7,91,878 units during the last fiscal, up 38 percent from 5,74,675 units in FY 2021-22.  Royal Enfield had a 93 percent share of this market .

Lal acknowledged that due to stiff competition, the company's market share in this segment may gradually decline from 90 percent to between 80 and 85 percent in the medium-to-long term.

“We are at about 90 percent market share (currently) and it is not going to go much further north. We believe the market will grow tremendously over the next few years. Also, there is a growing trend of premiumisation,” Lal had said during the earnings call.