The Meteor strikes

Royal Enfield has launched the brand new Meteor 350 as a replacement to the Thunderbird. The bike comes with a new motor and chassis and promises a lot. But does it deliver? We find out

- Rahul Ghosh

A company needs to be really brave to accept criticism and move towards making its products better. Royal Enfield it seems belongs to this rare breed. It appreciates its legacy in form of the 350cc UCE motor powering the Bullet and the Classic 350, but also acknowledges that these bikes are for the purists. The bikes also lack modern features which are essential to pull in newer riders on board. So to get newer riders on board the company has launched a slew of new models which include the Himalayan, the 650 twins and now the Meteor 350. The Meteor 350 then replaces the Thunderbird here in India and here is how different the bike is and how it rides.

While most of you will just say that the Meteor 350 is a rebadged Thunderbird, let us tell you that there is literally nothing in common between the two bikes. The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 comes with an all new cruiser design. The bike gets chunky forks up front and a plastic fender. The bike features 19in alloys up front and 17in alloys at the back. The bike rides on tubeless Ceat tyres which are specifically made for this bike. The headlamp is a simple halogen unit which comes with a LED DRL and is flanked by chrome winkers.

Likes Smooth engine, comfortable seating

Dislikes Stiff ride at the back