Royal Enfield Plans New Hunter 350 Model

[advrider]

Royal Enfield continues to expand its 350 series, with considerable buzz from India about a new model dubbed the Hunter 350. At least, that’s the story from moto publications in India, which are all running grainy images of the new machine. For example:

It’s the same everywhere else—spy images of a retro-styled machine in a more stripped-down form than previous entries built on the J-platform, which currently includes the Meteor 350 and Classic 350. That gives us a pretty good idea of what specs we will see on the new machine. The engine will be an air-cooled SOHC single, with 349cc capacity. EFI will be standard, both for fuel economy and more importantly, meet anti-pollution standards. Expect 20 horsepower at the crank, at 6,100 rpm—not enough for triple-digits on the Autobahn (if that’s still allowed?), but enough for practical day-to-day use for the kind of customers these bikes are aimed at.

You can expect ABS as standard in some markets, perhaps optional in others, just like the Tripper GPS navigational module. Aside from that, it’s basically expected to be a cheaper, lighter machine for customers with tightening budgets in our current economy. That’s the way things are headed.

The Hunter 350 is expected to hit the market in late summer, 2022; perhaps it’ll head to Euro customers sometimes in the winter, and North America could see it by summer in 2023, if Royal Enfield maintains its usual delayed release to western markets.

Wen Scrambler?

The question now is, how long until RE makes a scrambler based on this bike? Answer: Uh, probably never. We’re still waiting for the 650 twin scrambler, and there is a lot of demand for that one. While an affordable 350 scrambler would be just what the market wants, Royal Enfield seems loath to head too far into this market.

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