Royal Enfield has finally launched the Meteor 350 at a starting price of Rs 1.76 lakh. For the most part, Royal Enfield has managed to reign over the entry-level retro segment but this has also resulted in other competitors bringing in their own retro cruisers to the Indian market.
With bikes like the Royal Enfield Classic 350, Bullet 350 and the erstwhile Thunderbird 350 in play, it is no surprise that Royal Enfield managed the best numbers. Competition, however, came in from the likes of Jawa and Jawa 42, the Benelli Imperiale 400 and now, the recently launched Honda H’ness CB350. But, how will the Meteor 350 stack up against these rivals?
Let’s talk pricing first
The Jawa and Jawa 42 bikes are virtually the same except for a few minor differences and the starting price is probably lower at Rs 1.65 lakh but the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 adds a touch more modernity especially when compared to the its old Thunderbird counterpart, with a price tag of Rs 1.76 lakh. The H’ness and Imperiale on the other hand are priced fairly high at Rs 1.85 lakh and Rs 1.99 lakh respectively.
Chassis
The new Meteor 350, does away with the old double-cradle frame used in almost all of Royal Enfield’s bikes. This basically means an all-new bike. The bike uses a double-downtube frame which is wider and longer than the old bikes. However, this is also the same chassis that the Jawa, Honda and Benelli uses.
All of them also get conventional telescopic front forks and dual rear shock-absorbers for suspension. Wheel sizes are different however. Where the Meteor employs 19/17 inch front/rear rims, the Honda and Benelli use 19/18-inch rims. The Jawa on the other hand uses 18/17-inch alloys.
As for breaking, where the Meteor 350, the CB350 and the Imperiale 400 use discs at both ends. The Jawa is offered with a rear drum brake options. The front discs themselves are different as well. The H’ness gets the largest 310mm disc while the Jawa gets the smallest 280mm disc. The Meteor and the Imperiale on the other hand get 300mm discs at the front.
Now for the powertrain
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that these retro-cruisers, even with massive engines, produce just a normal amount of power. However, the Jawa bikes even with the smallest 293cc engines manage to churn out the most power at 26.5 PS. But whereas Jawa enjoys a liquid-cooled engine, the other three get air cooled motors. The Meteor’s 349cc produces the lowest power at 20.2 PS while the H’ness’ 348.36cc produces a marginally better 21.1 PS and the Imperiale 400 gets a 21 PS 374cc motor.
The Royal Enfield’s new engine however, does away with its pushrod valve system in favour of SOHC. A balancer shaft has also been added to reduce vibrations and an oil circuit for the two-valve head helps with cooling. On the other hand, Honda has given the H’ness a slip and assist clutch which helps with a lighter lever pull.
So, what do we think about it?
If you are in the market for a retro-cruiser, you have a number of options. But if you were specifically looking for the Thunderbird, the Meteor should be a decent improvement over it. At least considering the specs. As for the other competition, the Jawa definitely has the better engine, while the Honda’s aesthetics brings more of a retro big bike feel. There is no beating the sentiment of a Royal Enfield, however, and if vibrations have gone down as much as it has, I see no reason why one shouldn’t consider it.
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