New 2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350: 8 Things You Need To Know
Royal Enfield have lifted the lid on the latest model to their UK lineup of motorcycles, the Hunter 350. This new, stripped back roadster, is poised to be a serious contender to the current offerings from Mutt Motorcycles and Herald, while also being a more accessible alternative to Triumph’s “Modern Classics”, and Yamaha’s “Sport Heritage” bikes.
A lot of research and development by the teams at both the Indian and English factories seem to have gone into this bike, and I have a feeling that it will sell well when it is released later this year. So here are 8 things that you need to know about the new Hunter 350.
1. Style
As I mentioned up top, Royal Enfield is heading into an already popular market, filled with modern and retro fusion bikes such as the Mutt Sabbath or Triumph Speed Twin 900 (recently renamed from the Street Twin). In fact, at first glance, this new Hunter 350 bears a striking resemblance to the best-selling Triumph model.
This design may have started with the Meteor 350 and Classic 350, but the development team have stripped back all of the chrome and old-school elements, in favour of blacked-out parts and cleaner lines throughout. Cast wheels have been added in place of the Classic’s spokes, along with a set of wide tubeless tyres. Both the front, rear and indicator lights are circular, adding to the basic, retro vibe.
What is left feels like a raw motorcycle which will appeal to many. Others will see a blank canvas, and let’s hope that Royal Enfield gives us a nice big accessory catalogue for it!
2. Colours
While the majority of this new bike sports an all-black livery, the fuel tank (along with a few choice accents) is available in six different flavours: Rebel Blue, Rebel Red, Rebel Black, Dapper Ash, Dapper White, and Dapper Grey.
These aren’t just six different colours though, as each option has its own design and layout of the Royal Enfield branding. Some, like the Rebel Blue and Rebel Red have a bit more of a classic feel to them, while the Dapper Ash and Dapper White feel much more modern and exciting.
These colours are then accented on the wheel rims and side panel, to finish off the unique styling of each variant.
These six colours will be split over two price points, with the “Dapper” variants expected to have a slightly higher price point.
3. Practicality
This blacked out styling isn’t just a visual treat with the Hunter. By stripping back the chrome pipes, adding fork covers, and swapping out the spokes for cast wheels, Royal Enfield have made a very easy bike to keep and maintain, all while keeping things looking great.
For people city-hopping or even commuting daily, having a bike which doesn’t need cleaning after every ride is an important factor. This is even more important if you live somewhere without regular access to a driveway or bike cleaning facilities.
While I am not saying that this bike will be maintenance-free (none ever are), it is certainly a lot more functional than most of the other Enfield models, which do tend to sport a lot of shiny bits with an aversion to the British weather.
4. Geometry
This Hunter 350 still has more to bring to the table than its stylish looks. The geometry of the bike has been tweaked and improved to make urban navigation even more enjoyable and exciting.
Developed at Royal Enfield’s two technology centres in India and the UK, the Hunter has a shorter wheelbase thanks to the revised rake and trail angles, a lighter Harris Performance frame, long bench seat with a lower height, and revised gearing.
The wet weight comes in at 181kg, a good 10kg lighter than the Meteor 350 and 14kg lighter than the Classic 350.
All of this comes together to make the bike more manoeuvrable and as exciting to ride through crowded streets as it is on the open road.
5. Day Tripper
For those not overly familiar with the Royal Enfield lineup, you’d be forgiven for not knowing about their Tripper TFT Navigation option. This cute little turn-by-turn sat nav debuted on the Meteor 350 and adds a very unobtrusive piece of tech to an otherwise simple motorcycle.
This system is very similar to the Beeline Moto sat nav and connects to your phone to allow you to program in your destination using the Google Maps platform. It will then show you basic waypoint information allowing you to focus on the ride.
Unfortunately The Tripper Navigator won’t be standard on the Hunter 350, but will be available as an optional accessory. I have a feeling that it will be a popular addition for a lot of riders though, especially those who are really conscious of the style element of the bike, and don’t want to clamp their phone to the handlebars.
6. Tech
Royal Enfield never overloads their bikes with complicated electronics, gadgets, or rider modes. The technology on the Hunter 350 is no exception, it is pure and simple, which fits right at home with this bike.
The instrument cluster is a mix of digital and analogue, with the main dial showing your speed. The digital display shows the odometer, tripmeter, gear indicator, fuel graph bar and low fuel warning, clock and a service reminder. There is also a USB charging port for a phone or accessories onboard.
Dual channel ABS is included as standard, along with an LED tail lamp.
7. Engine
The Hunter 350 will be sporting the same single cylinder, air-oil cooled, 349cc J-series engine which we have already seen in the Meteor and Classic 350. This engine has been a hit for Royal Enfield and gives 20.2 bhp at 6100 rpm with 27Nm of torque at 4000 rpm.
Fuel economy is claimed to be just over 85mpg, with the engine topping out at about 71mph. A primary balancer shaft has been added to keep those engine vibrations to a minimum.
The 5-speed gearbox has also been refined to suit the more aggressive riding style of the Hunter, with lots of low-end torque for pulling away from traffic lights and filtering through the rush hour traffic.
It won’t blow you away, but should provide plenty of fun.
8. Price and Availability
The Hunter 350 will be released at the Intermot show in Cologne, on the 4th October 2022. We can expect it to hit showrooms not long after that.
Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but we do know that there will be two tiers, depending on the colour-scheme. I think we can assume that it will be similar to the Meteor 350, which starts at £3,879.00 and may actually end up retailing for slightly less.
This immediately makes the bike very appealing and sets it apart from a lot of similar bikes. Mutt Motorcycles’ full 250cc range are all above this price point, and a new Triumph Speed Twin 900 will set you back over double the expected price of the Hunter!
I can definitely see this new Hunter 350 becoming one of Royal Enfield’s best selling motorcycles. Whether it will outsell the popular Himalayan? I’m not sure. But I’m confident that it will have a similar effect on the retro category that the Himalayan had on the Adventure market.
Royal Enfield has always had a loyal following by their fans, and the Hunter should certainly attract some new faces to the club!
