Royal Enfield has a new motorcycle in the works called the Meteor 350. Spy photos of this new motorcycle have emerged in the past as well, but now Automobili Infiniti has managed to get hold of production-ready photos of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.
This new single-cylinder motorcycle is likely to be a replacement for the Thunderbird 350X. It features all-new cruiser styling, which seems like an evolution of the design of the Thunderbird 350X.
What's interesting is that it will no longer have the 350 cc unitary construction engine (UCE) that powered the older 350 cc motorcycles from Royal Enfield. Instead, there's a modern single-cylinder 350 cc motor that's fuel-injected and seems built on the base of the 650 cc twin-cylinder motors.
While the styling of the motorcycle is distinctly retro, it is a fully modern motorcycle under the skin. It has a new double-cradle chassis and sports disc brakes with ABS. Gone is the old kick-start option with the UCE engine. This one only has electric start as an option.
The engine also is likely to be a more free-revving unit although power specs are not available. The UCE engine put out 19 bhp of power, but this motor is likely to put out more. It has an overhead camshaft, which means it will likely be able to rev-higher and feel smoother.
The instrument console has an asymmetric design, with a large speedometer and smaller tachometer with an LCD panel for additional information. The switchgear has a round knob-like design that's quite unique and retro-looking.
The bike appears to be running on 18-inch alloy wheels with telescopic front suspension and dual adjustable shock absorbers at the rear. The low, wide riders seat and forward-set footpegs hint at a laidback cruiser riding position.
Once the coronavirus situation normalises, expect this motorcycle to be introduced in the market in the latter half of the year, as it is production-ready.
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