ROYA L ENFIELD HUNTER 350 A RRIVES

Following its global media launch in Thailand last August, the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 star ted arr iving at Australian dealerships in December, with a New Zealand release expected soon

This all-new addition to the Royal Enfield range is L AMS legal and shares its engine and several mechanical components with the Classic 350 and Meteor 350, but is lighter, with revised geometr y and moder n styling

As stated in JUST BIKES’ launch test of this model, the Hunter 350 is aimed at a younger market, toning down Royal Enfield’s her itage themes in favour of a more contemporar y look, which includes the treatment of things like the fuel tank, wheels, headlight and seat, as well as the colour options and graphics.

MODERNISED, REVISED, REDUCED

Beyond colours and styling, the Hunter 350 has some more significant changes compared to Royal Enfield’s other 350 models. These include smaller wheels, a shor ter and narrower frame, steeper rake and shor ter wheelbase to make it nimbler in city traffic

At the global launch, Royal Enfield descr ibed it as “ a new geometr y for a new geography”, reflecting the urban focus of this model, as opposed to the deliberately retro vibe of the Classic 350 and cr uiser aesthetic of the Meteor 350

The Hunter 350 also weighs less than its siblings – at 181kg, it’s 10kg lighter than the Meteor 350 and a full 14kg lighter than the Classic 350 This has been achieved through abandoning things like the traditional headlight casquette, tr imming down the mudguards and shor tening the exhaust system.

J Series Power

The Hunter 350 uses Royal Enfield’s ‘J Ser ies’ engine; a 349cc single with air-oil cooling, digital electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection. The same engine powers the Classic 350 and Meteor 350

Maximum outputs on the Hunter are unchanged, with 15kW (20 2hp) at 6100rpm and 27Nm at 4000rpm, but Royal Enfield has tweaked the power deliver y, making it a little more aggressive on the throttle response compared to its siblings Of course, the Hunter’s lighter weight also means there’s less bike to move, making it feel more rapid.

Offer ing enough power for city and suburban r iding, the J Ser ies engine also delivers a maximum speed of 114km/h, so it’ll be suitable for br ief highway stints Fuel economy isn’t listed, but the air-oil cooled single is said to be fr ugal, aided by the bike’s lighter weight, allowing the 13-litre tank to deliver around 300km of r iding range

The engine is matched to a five-speed transmission and chain final dr ive that the Hunter 350 shares with the Classic and Meteor.

Suspension And Braking

To the Hunter 350’s unique frame, conventional 41mm forks are fitted at the front end, with dual coilover shocks at the rear. The latter benefits from newlydeveloped emulsion technology recently applied to other Royal Enfield models and features 6-stage preload adjustment

Front and rear suspension travel is listed at 130mm and 102mm, respectively.

Braking consists of a single 300mm disc with two-piston caliper on the front end and a 270mm disc with single piston caliper at the rear Dual-channel ABS is standard and non-switchable.

Wheels are 17-inch alloys front and rear (compared to the 19-inch front, 18-inch rear combination on the Classic 350 and a 19/17 combo on the Meteor 350), which plays a par t in the Hunter’s reduced ground clearance and lower seat height of 790mm compared to the Classic’s 805mm

PURE AND SIMPLE

Staying tr ue to Royal Enfield’s ethos of ‘Pure Motorcycling’, the Hunter 350 isn’t loaded with tech Beyond ABS, there’s an LED tail light, USB por t under the handlebars and an LCD display in the analogue speedo that shows odometer, tr ipmeter, fuel level and gear indicator info

The offset position of the instr ument pod allows for Royal Enfield’s ‘ Tr ipper’ appbased navigation system to be added, but this is an extra-cost option.

Other options include engine and sump guards, different seats, a pillion backrest, LED indicators, bar-end mirrors, a windscreen, panniers and var ious cosmetic accessor ies.

Style Six Pack

Overall, the Hunter 350 is available in a choice of six colours, split equally between ‘Dapper’ and ‘Rebel’ themes

With a blackout treatment of the engine, frame, sidecovers, suspension, handlebars, headlight shell and other elements, each of the available colour options are largely limited to the fuel tank, with Dapper White, Dapper Grey and Dapper Ash each offer ing different graphic treatments, complemented by side cover decals and r im stickers

It’s much the same for the three Rebel offer ings – Red, Blue and Black – but the two-tone colour treatment and suppor ting graphics are bolder It should also be noted that the Rebel options add $100 to the Hunter 350’s r ide away pr ice.

New Entry Point

To make the Hunter 350 viable for new, young r iders in the L AMS market, it’s pr iced from $7,590 r ide away (NZ$7,590 + ORCs), making it the cheapest new Royal Enfield you can buy - $400 cheaper than the Classic 350 and $600 under the Meteor 350, based on current pr icing

This is backed by a 3-year, unlimited kilometre warranty and 24/7 roadside assist for 3 years as standard.

To make purchasing the Hunter 350 easier, Royal Enfield have set-up an online pre-registration ser vice for customers at www.royalenfield.com.au

At time of wr iting, it had not been confir med when the Hunter 350 would arr ive in New Zealand, but it’s expected soon K iwi customers can pre-order their Hunter 350 at: www. royalenfieldmotorcycles .co.nz

All the specs, features, colour ways and options available on the Hunter 350 for the Australian market also apply to New Zealand

For more details, go to the respective websites or see your Royal Enfield dealer.