So really, the motorcycle isn’t all that different from the well-loved (and sometimes troubled) model that it replaces. The suspension is also revised from the Meteor 350 to suit the new format, but visually looks the same as any Classic. The two cast alloy options just don’t seem congruent with the image of the Classic, but there are many, many options and 11 colourways to choose from. Personally, I like the 19-inch front/18-inch rear wire-spoke wheel combo. Image: Royal EnfieldĪlso new are the wheels, which can be cast or wired, depending on the model you choose. The new Classic 350 is available in eleven colourways, including the (L-R) Signals, Chrome and Halcyon versions. We’ll skip the tech discussion for this review, because the Tripper navigation system and app integration are identical to what we saw on the Meteor 350. Other borrowed bits include the switchgear, handlebar grips and on the top model, the Tripper navigation screen only this time, it is nicely integrated into the instrument cluster. It’s the same basic motorcycle with slightly different geometry and the format is different. The motor and frame are mostly borrowed from that motorcycle, with a slightly shorter wheelbase and taller seating position. Just like the Meteor 350, from which it borrows heavily, much of the Classic 350 is all-new. The Classic 350 is new in all the right places This is a Royal Enfield you’ll be happy to swing a leg over. Even the large chrome exhaust looks about as clean as it can in a BS6 world, and even sounds okay. You have the classic tank, shrouded telescopic forks, the nacelle that houses the instruments (Royal Enfield has always called it something I quickly forgot), the little metal peak over the headlamp – all hark back to Royal Enfields of old, all totems of their legacy in motorcycling, and all perfect nods to what came before. But everything comes together to recreate a very beautiful motorcycle. To the wheels, to the frame, the motor looks a bit different, as does the swingarm, there are disc brakes front and rear, and a myriad other changes. At first and even second glance, the 2021 Classic 350 looks every bit like the old one. So why is it still authentic? Royal Enfield has gone to great lengths to not change the things that people like, and design is clearly front-and-centre on the priority list here. The design and styling elements that have endeared the Classic 350 to many are still in place with the 2021 iteration. All the things that the older Classic is, well, not. It’s solid, smooth, happy to rev, makes decent power and torque (20.2 hp and 27Nm). It may have something to do with the fact that it’s fuel-injected, but the point is that this is an all-new engine, just like the one in the Meteor 350. And with the new Classic 350, you’ll probably never have to. After twenty years of dismantling carbs on the roadside with my RD350, I’m quite ready to never do that again.
If that’s you and you like to regularly scrub your hands with kerosene, stop right here and go buy your mechanic another pack of smokes. There will be those that lament a certain lack of ‘character’. The TL DR is this: if you’ve always wanted a Royal Enfield, or owned one in the past and are still faithful, the new Classic 350 is a great choice. You might imagine from the tone so far that this is going to be a generally positive review. I’m hoping that RE picks up that 21-month-old Meteor from me as quickly as possible and replaces it with a shiny Halcyon Green C350. It took a while, but it was worth the wait.
Twenty-one months since, we have the refreshed Classic 350, which was the bike I wanted all along. Back in November 2019, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 was one of the first vehicles I reviewed, just a couple of weeks after I joined Tech2.