Royal Enfield will keep its tradition of making neo-retro motorcycles alive with the all-new Hunter 350, which will witness a global launch on August 7, 2022. A quick sneak peek of the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 was given by Royal Enfield’s boss, Siddhartha Lal three days before the launch. And just a day after, Royal Enfield revealed all the mechanical details of the motorcycle.
As speculated before, the new Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will share much of its mechanicals with the existing motorcycles like Meteor 350 cruiser and Classic 350 neo-retro roadster. With this, the Hunter 350 becomes the third motorcycle from Royal Enfield to get the much-acclaimed new-generation J-Series engine. In addition, there’s a whole new set of mechanical hardware which sets it apart from the other motorcycles from Royal Enfield. Here, we let all the mechanical details of the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 out of the bag.
The New Hunter 350 Gets The Fantastic J-Series Engine
When the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 was in its testing phases, it was clear that the motorcycle will get a heart in the form of the new-generation J-Series engine. This single-cylinder, air-cooled, SOHC, 2-valve, 349cc engine debuted in the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 in 2020 and then replaced the old-school 346cc single-cylinder engine in the updated Royal Enfield Classic 350.
Like in the other two motorcycles, the new-gen 349cc J-Series engine in the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 is paired to a 5-speed gearbox, which too has been shared with the Meteor 350 and Classic 350. The performance outputs of this engine are similar to the other two motorcycles, as it produces 20 hp of maximum power and 19 lb-ft of peak torque. Royal Enfield claims a top speed of 70.8 mph, while the maximum fuel efficiency is 85.15 mpg.
The New Hunter 350 Is The Lightest New-Gen Royal Enfield Motorcycle
Royal Enfield confirms that the new Hunter 350 has a wet mass of 399 lb. It means that the new Hunter 350 weighs 30.86 lb lighter than the Classic 350 and 22 lb lighter than the Meteor 350. With this feat, the Hunter 350 has now become the lightest-in-weight motorcycle from Royal Enfield.
The new Royal Enfield Hunter 350 claims a seat height of 31.5 inches, which is similar to that of the Classic 350 but is higher than the 30.12 inches seat height of the Meteor 350. The 13-liter fuel tank of the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 might look similar to that of the Classic 350, which also has the same fuel tank capacity. However, the more rounded knee recesses bring some individuality to the fuel tank of the Hunter 350.
The New Hunter 350 Has A Leveled-Up Mechanical Hardware
Coming to the suspension, the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 shares both front and rear suspension units with the Meteor 350 and Classic 350. The Hunter 350 gets 1.61 inches conventional telescopic forks with 5.12 inches of travel at the front, whereas the rear has twin-tube Emulsion shock absorbers with 6-step adjustable preload and 4.02 inches travel. However, the fact that it has the lightest curb weight should make it the peppiest and most agile motorcycle to ride compared to the other two motorcycles here.
The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 is confirmed to get two variants at launch – base-spec Retro and top-spec Metro. For the Metro variant, the Hunter 350 gets 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped with tubeless tires – 110/70-17 front and 140/70-17 rear – which are the widest tires for a Royal Enfield motorcycle ever. Yes, they are wider than the tires for the 650cc parallel-twin duo, the INT 650, and Continental GT. However, the Retro variants feature conventional spoke wheels with downsized 100/80-17 front and 120/80-17 rear tube-type tires. The brake combination – 300mm front disc with a twin-piston floating caliper and 270mm rear disc with a single piston floating caliper – is the same combination as the Meteor 350 and the Classic 350.
The Hunter 350 Will Be Available In Two Variants
At the time of its launch, the new Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will get two variants – Retro and Metro. Apart from the different wheels and tires mentioned above, there is a slew of other differences between the two variants.
The base-spec Retro variant will miss out on a center stand, LED tail lamp, and rear disc brake and have a more basic-in-feel single-channel ABS, ovular turn indicators, and more-basic part-digital instrument console. The Metro variant, in comparison, feels better equipped with a more comprehensive part-digital instrument console from the Scram 411, a center stand, dual-channel ABS, LED tail lamp, rear disc brake, and a better-ribbed design for the rider’s seat.
About the color options, the Retro variant will get launched with Factory Black and Factory Silver, and the Metro variant will come with Dapper White, Dapper Ash, and Dapper Grey. The Metro variant will also be available with dual-tone color options like Rebel Black, Rebel Blue, and Rebel Red in the Metro variant. Both these variants of the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will come to the US with all these color options, thus making them the most affordable motorcycle from Royal Enfield in America.