Does the 2020 Royal Enfield Classic 350 still make sense?

Introduction:

At the time of writing this blog, My Royal Enfield Classic 350 is just over 4 years old and I have clocked over 19000 Km on my Hathi.

In the world of Automobiles where every year and every month there are new models and new iterations from every manufacturer, how does this seemingly ancient bike of mine stack up?

The Looks….

Well, they do say that the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and looks are subjective.

It's just a soft-looking bike not too bold not too loud, just subtle. It is indeed a very beautiful bike.
Also at some angles, it does look like a locomotive

There is a reason why so many people, from the Young Guns to Old Canons all are in love with this design, which very much started with the Bullet series.

The design itself invokes a sense of manliness, ruggedness, and macho/Alpha Male feeling. Just by looking at it, and on the other end it is also quite a voluptuous Bike.

It's by default a Studs Bike.

I would consider that the Royal Enfield Classic looks classic as its name suggests even after just being launched back in 2009 and this first generation lasted till 2021

In my opinion, it looks like a bike with multiple circles from the tyres (obviously), headlight and taillight, indicators, speedometer, engine casing, and to the tank shape of a bulge

The Quality….

Well, everything can't be perfect and the Classic 350 too is not perfect. From the rusting of fenders, rotors, and a lot of chrome parts to parts just simply falling off due to vibration in the older version (Will come to that later).

The older version did have some quality issues, but with every subsequent BS(Bharat Stage, Emission norms in India) models like 2,3,4, and 6 the quality just keeps on improving.

My being the BS6 model.

I rarely had any quality Issues with my Hathi and things remained unchanged throughout the years I had, no rusting, no weird exposed welds, it felt like this time Royal Enfield made things a whole lot better with their quality, even with their switch gears and lever feel, to the cushioning of the seats, and the Quality of the tyres (MRF).

Anything that you can touch and feel felt Pleasant and modern and not Patina like the older models after a certain period of time.

The only gripe I faced was that the Engine Casing is no longer chrome and no matter what I tried nothing worked for me, to get back the chrome, well if You have any tips please do leave a comment down below for me to give it a shot.

The Specs….

Well, it is a 349cc single-cylinder air-cooled fuel-injected mill that produces just a tad bit more than 19Bhp (feels like 15bhp) and max 28 Nm of Torque. This is mated to a Clunky 5 speed gearbox (old school baby) and all this is moving a kerb weight of 195 kg which is all packed in a Single Downtube chassis that uses the engine as a stressed member.

For all that weight and reasonable speed, the Breaking Job is done by 280mm front disc and 240mm rear disc which are working with 90/90-19 front and 110/90-18 rear tyres.

The fuel tank is just a 13.5 liter tank and the engine does give me a fuel economy of 35 kmpl approx combined.

The ground clearance is at 135mm which is adequate for everyday riding with our Indian speed bumps.

The Features….

Well if you were hoping to find a catalog of features you looking at the wrong bike, all that you get is a Speedometer which is important to know how fast you are rumbling down the road and Dual Channel ABS for those Oh Sh*# moments, that's all you get, truly ancient.

So much so you never got a fuel gauge and tachometer, the older version did get an Amp meter. Yet you do get adjustable preload suspension for the rear, that's the end of the feature list.

The Experience….

When you give it a glance it does look like a old Classic bike, and when you swing your leg over her and start her up, you suddenly feel a sense of a big bike feel from the fuel pump turning on sound to the classics thump, oh the good old thump… Don't get me wrong it sounds nothing like the first BS1 classic (THUP THUP THUP) a base heavy heartbeat sound, well this isn't far off, it still sound like (DHUP DHUP DHUP) just a little less bassy and it bit more choked, although that can be taken care by a after market exhaust (I ain't suggesting one) but it still sounds good.

The vibrations puts a smile on your face and as soon as you put in first gear, it feels like you are slotting it in by your self with a hammer. The acceleration at full throttle is as fast as a pulsar 150 but with a whole lot drama and what i mean by that is, the vibration goes on increasing to such a extent and violently it feels like its about to fall apart or burst open.

The power is good and healthy down low and it has a strong mid but at the top it's sluggish, that's typical long stroke engine characteristics, when you are rolling at speeds of 70 to 80 kmph it feels amazing, there is a slight buzz at the handlebar and at the foot pegs and very little on the seats, it doesn't bother you but anything after those speeds again the vibration gets you.

When you are cruising at 70-90Kmph and you encounter any corners all you need is to slow a tad bit down and just hold a line and stick with it,she doesn't like sudden turns and too much sporty riding. When it comes to braking, the brakes bite are very progressive but doesn't have a very strong braking force, you have to know when to brake while riding her, at sudden braking the body start to twitch and flex due to the old school single tube frame.

One thing to note here is that the abs at times work well but there were many instances where I was getting ICE ABS (you cant press the brakes and the bike just doesn't slow down) and I was on dry surface, it really scares the living hell out of me.

You might wonder what's the point of it, where there is so much vibration, brakes are not that good like modern vehicles and it doesn't handle well, why get it?

Well the best reason to get her is because of all those reasons, it is an unique experience altogether, no other bike apart from the Royal Enfield can invoke such feeling, this constant drama is making you engage with her more, you feel like you are riding and not the other way around, at times you need to take a chill pill and ride her at her own pace, and when you do that

It is one of the most rewarding bikes to ride.

It is important to clarify that the following review represents solely my personal opinion

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