By: Javed Ali Khan
Pictures: Javed Ali Khan
The day I received the official media unit of all-new Royal Enfield Classic 350 2021 for review, I remembered that as an ‘80s kid, my first relationship with automobiles was in the form of a Bajaj Priya, owned by my father in the late ‘80s. The next big thing with a set of two wheels which I saw on the roads was a motorcycle with round lights and two small lights next to it on both sides. It was none other than a Royal Enfield bullet 350. The big bike with a bulky appearance and large fuel tank was literally an ‘Army TANK’ for a boy born in 83. In 2001 I entered college and the best thing to happen was that I had the opportunity to ride bullet 350 owned by my elder brother on regular basis and the worst part was that many a time I did not realize whether there was fuel in it or not. And yes, as the bullet had no fuel gauge, things made it more difficult for me like any other rider.
Design, Comfort, and Ergonomics
In the Year 2021, as a person whose passion for automobiles (lead to the creation of AutomotiveKeeda) and anything which is fast and has curves, I recently rode and reviewed the all-new classic 350 and was grinning with happiness when I saw a fuel gauge in the speedometer. I mean it, the fuel gauge, could have been aesthetically designed better keeping in mind that Royal Enfield has still kept the lines and the curves intact which reflect upon the 120 years of history and makes you a proud owner and a participant of lineage. The bike we had with us, the chrome series with dual-channel ABS, resembled 1984 bullet vividly, if not an exact copy, though Royal Enfield clearly states that the all-new classic 350 is based on the Postwar G2 model.
Classic 350 has been bulked up starting from the headlight, towards the front shocker covers and it continues up to the dual-channel disc brakes. The appearance of classic 350 is dominating, one look on the motorcycle and you feel confident that it will be fun to ride this Beauty on Wheels. The comfort of riding classic 350 lies in its ergonomics and once you sit on the motorcycle you don’t feel like a separate entity rather the motorcycle wraps itself around you. The twin down-tube chassis has indeed made the new classic different and better from its predecessor as you find the seat, handlebar, and footpegs just at the right spot for enjoying your hard-earned money, giving you the best out of your investment.
I believe that if you are new to riding a two-wheeler then you don’t have to spend money on a 100cc or 150 cc motorcycle, rather you can buy a classic 350 right away without worrying about how heavy it is because you don’t feel the weight while on the move or while on the curves. Yes, it has its own limitations but again, we all have, don’t we. One limitation which has been taken care of is the lock at the neck of the handle has been transformed into a single key operation which makes it more functional – ignition cum handle lock.
Performance and Fuel Efficiency
Let’s be straight, the bike is not what it used to be in the past. There was a time when to overtake someone, you pushed today & you reached next day and if you applied brakes in a sudden manner then the rear wheel used to lock. But these two things have been taken care of, if not completely; to an extent that it hits 100 on the speedometer in 15 seconds and comes to a complete halt from 100 within 4 seconds. This is quite good considering the fact that in India a person, an animal, or a vehicle can appear from nowhere in no time, it’s like PC Sarkar (one of the greatest Indian magicians) pulling a pigeon out of his coat.
The gear ratio from 1st to 3rd is quite good and helps you to overtake traffic around you without any discomfort but 3rd to 4th is where you find a bit of lag. This is, probably to make city driving pleasure and highway driving comfortable. In 3rd gear, one can easily pull the bike from 30km and push it almost up to 50 km comfortably. This also translates into good fuel efficiency as we were able to achieve almost 32Km/ltr and that too in a congested area, regular traffic and highway journeys – all combined together.
What next?
Well, the scope of improvement is always there and what we felt was that a top speed of 120km/hr for a motorcycle like this is on the lower side. Yes, we did give a reference of ‘a person, an animal and a vehicle’ but here we are talking about cruising while on expressways which are safe and beautifully designed. Also, we would love to have a digital cum analog console for a change.
We would suggest you go for a classic 350 if you are looking for a motorcycle which is comfortable in traffic and long journeys. But as always, we would suggest you take a test ride before making that important call which would eventually make or break your relationship with motorcycles.