Royal Enfield has finally launched the Hunter 350, the third bike based on the beloved J-Series platform engine. The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 unlike the Classic 350 and the Meteor 350 is a proper roadster with sportier intentions. The Hunter 350 will be available in two variants the base variant - Retro and the top variant — the Metro. Prices for the bike start at 1.5 lakh and its rivals include the Jawa 42, the Honda CB 350 RS, the Yezdi Roadster and the newest neo-retro competitor, the TVS Ronin.
The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 sports an all-new design which is unlike what we’ve seen from the company in recent times. Although if you look closely there are certain elements of the Interceptor in the Hunter. The bike has a proper new-retro look to it. You have a round headlamp upfront and right below it is these fork gaiters which lend it a scrambler-esque look. You have a nice wide handlebar atop which sits the same instrument cluster as found on the Meteor 350. The base Retro variant gets a slightly different, more basic cluster. Then you have a 13-litre fuel tank which looks muscular. Behind the tank is a one-piece seat with a slight scoop for the rider. At the rear end, you get a nice two-piece grabrail on the Metro or a single steel pipe grabrail for the Retro. As with any Royal Enfield, you also get a bunch, six to be specific colour options to choose from for the Metro variant, which are divided into two series - dapper (single tone) and rebel (dual tone), and two colours on the Retro variant.
The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 makes use of the same J-Series engine that debuted on the Meteor 350. It is in the same state of tune as well, meaning it makes the same 20.2bhp at 6100rpm and 27Nm of torque at 4000rpm. The gearbox, clutch and all other components remain unchanged. The only change Royal Enfield has made is to the throttle map to make it a little sharper and also changed the design of the exhaust to a stubbier unit.
In terms of chassis, the Hunter gets radical changes in this department. There is a new twin downtube frame without the cradle as found on the Classic 350 or the Meteor 350. This frame hangs off of 41mm telescopic forks up front and twin shocks at the rear. The biggest change is that the Hunter 350 uses 17-inch wheels at both ends. This should make it a very agile bike. All the changes in the chassis have resulted in a 181kg wet weight for the Metro variant making it well over 10kg lighter than the Classic 350. The braking setup has been carried over as is from the Classic 350. The Metro variant makes use of 17-inch tubeless alloys with a 110/70 section tyre up front and a 140/70 section tyre at the rear and gets disc brakes at both ends with dual-channel ABS. The Retro variant gets spoked tubed wheels with a smaller 100-section tyre at the front and a 120-section tyre at the rear. The Retro also gets a drum brake at the rear meaning it has to make do with a single-channel ABS system.
As is the case with all Royal Enfield motorcycles, the Hunter 350 gets a host of bespoke GMA accessories, including but not limited to LED turn signals, rearview mirrors, touring seats, a tail tidy and luggage solutions. Prices for the Hunter 250 Retro start at ₹1.5 lakh while prices for the Metro variant start at ₹1.64 lakh and go up to ₹1.69 lakh. We’ve already ridden the bike, so stay tuned for our first ride review which comes out at 10 AM on August 10.