Royal Enfield has been working on an all-new 350cc motorcycle and a slew of spy-shots have already been doing the rounds on social media. Now, it has been confirmed that the new motorcycle will be christened as 'Meteor 350' which, in all likelihood, will replace the Thunderbird 350 in the Indian market. It has also been learnt that the Thunderbird 500 will be phased out from India. Underpinning a new J1D architecture developed in-house by the company, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 was recently spotted in Kutch, Gujarat during its TV commercial shoot.
Royal Enfield used to sell a motorcycle with the 'Meteor' nameplate back in the 50s and it has revived it again for this all new motorcycle. Going by the spy-shots, it is clearly visible that it sources most of the components from the Thunderbird X which includes alloy wheels, exhaust pipe and the blackened out engine. Though, the fuel tank design has been reworked and it comes finished in a bright yellow color scheme. The motorcycle is also expected to feature a semi-digital instrument cluster and toggle switches as standard. Royal Enfield Meteor 350 could be the company's new global model as the Thunderbird moniker is owned by the British brand Triumph in several international markets like Australia & New Zealand. So, it might discontinue the Rumbler model (Thunderbird range) in these markets in favour of this new bike.
Mechanically, Royal Enfield Meteor will retain the Classic's 349cc single cylinder engine as indicated by the 350 badge. Though, the company has updated it by including fuel injection technology to make it BS6 complaint. The engine develops top power of 19.8bhp and peak torque of 28Nm with the Classic 350 while linked to a 5-speed gearbox. We expect the same figures with the Meteor as well. The suspension duties are helmed by telescopic forks at front and dual shock absorbers at the rear while it boasts of twin disc brakes on both ends with dual-channel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) as standard. Royal Enfield Meteor price is likely to be Rs 1.60-1.75 Lakhs (Ex. Showroom) with competition coming from Benelli Imperiale 400 and Jawa Forty Two in India.
Source: Mad Biker YouTube Channel