Every bike enthusiast knows about the upcoming Royal Enfield Meteor 350. While the industry was expecting the launch of this bike to happen this month, the company never announced anything officially. As per the latest reports, the company has now changed its plans and has postponed the launch of the 2020 Meteor 350 to next month. The actual reason behind the delay of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350’s launch date is still unknown. However, we believe it could be due to the arrival of Honda’s sub-500cc cruiser, to rival Royal Enfield and Jawa.
Royal Enfield 350 Specifications
Royal Enfield was expected to launch its Meteor 350 this month. The Royal Enfield Meteor 350’s engine specs have already leaked online. It will come with a new four-stroke, single-cylinder UCE350 motor, with long-stroke configuration and a promise that the bike would deliver high torque at low engine speeds, just like the earlier version. However, the new bike will produce 20.2bhp and 27Nm of torque, which makes it gain 1.1bhp and lose 1 Nm in the transition to BS6 compliant norms and in order to improve refinement and overall riding dynamics. The updated construction also promises to keep the signature Royal Enfield thump from the exhaust along with lower emissions, crisp acceleration and improved refinement.
The new changes to Royal Enfield’s new Meteor 350 will include, a digital-analogue instrument cluster with 8 tell-tale lights and an analogue speedometer with kmph and mph markings. There will also be a digital screen, which will display readouts for a service reminder, along with a much-needed fuel-level bar, and a few handy items like a clock, a gear indicator and an eco indicator among other things. Sitting alongside this dial will be another TFT screen, which RE calls a Tripper Navigation Display Unit. This will be paired with the rider’s smartphone via Bluetooth, it will display turn-by-turn navigation through signage in both day and night modes. The bike will also feature a USB charging port.
The bike will also feature a new double-cradle frame, which will feature a telescopic front fork and twin 6-step preload-adjustable shock absorbers. In terms of stopping power, the bike will come with a large 300mm front and a 270mm rear disc brake, with dual-channel ABS as standard.
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 was supposed to be launched by this month’s end, and battle it out with the likes of Bajaj Dominar 250 and the Jawa Forty Two. However, after the teaser of Honda Rebel, which confirmed its launch on 30th September, the launch of Meteor 350 has been shifted to next month.
While there is no clarity on Honda’s upcoming launch, but the company is expected to launch a Royal Enfield, Jawa rival. It is expected to launch a sub-500cc cruiser, which is a Royal Enfield dominated segment. Although, this upcoming Honda bike is designed for the Indian market, but whether it will arrive on an all-new platform or will be based on the Rebel 300, is yet not confirmed.
We expect the bike to be priced in the range of Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh, which will be equivalent to the pricing of other similar Royal Enfield bikes. The new cruiser will be sold from the Honda Big Wing dealer network, as mentioned in the teaser. The company had, earlier, also announced its plans to aggressively expand the Big Wing network to 75 cities across the country.