LAUNCH TEST – 2022 ROYAL ENFIELD HUNTER 350 - JUST BIKES

LAUNCH TEST – 2022 Royal Enfield Hunter 350

Words: Ash Hunter

Photos: Courtesy of Royal Enfield and UMI

The evolution and expansion of Royal Enfield’s range of accessible, affordable and LAMS-legal motorcycles is continuing at a rapid pace. In the past few years, we’ve seen the 650 twins introduced, the all-new Himalayan burst onto the adventure bike market, the Classic 350 reinvented and its Meteor 350 sibling added, while most recently, the Scram 411 has arrived.

Soon, another new member of the Royal Enfield family will be introduced to Australians in the form of the ‘Hunter 350’.

LAUNCH TEST – 2022 Royal Enfield Hunter 350

Given the new Royal Enfield’s model name is shared with my own, it made me the natural choice amongst the JUST BIKES crew to attend the global media launch for the Hunter 350, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, this past August.

Taking inspiration from what Royal Enfield’s already done with the Meteor 350, the Hunter 350 is a variant of the Classic 350, but this offshoot brings an urban feel and more modern look - in the same vein as what’s been done with the Scram 411 variant of the Himalayan.

This “urban” edge to the Hunter 350 is part of a deliberate approach on Royal Enfield’s part to make the bike attractive to young people, knowing the roadster style, blacked out engine, short muffler and modern colours will appeal to riders who aren’t attracted to the retro look of the Classic 350.

While Royal Enfield has its adherents and has been hugely successful in Australia, they also have a bit of a “grandpa bike” perception in some circles, so the Hunter 350 aims to address that, toning down the heritage styling, without abandoning the brand’s DNA of pure, accessible motorcycling. Royal Enfield themselves describe the Hunter 350 as “old school meets new-age cool” and that’s pretty much spot on.

While some may think that having three naked 350s is too many, Royal Enfield’s sales so far prove otherwise, with more than 500,000 of these J-series 350 singles sold since 2016.

The New and the Familiar

As mentioned, the Hunter 350 is very much an offshoot of the Classic 350, using the same J-series engine, same five-speed transmission, same suspension set-up, ABS braking and some of the same cycle parts, too. There are some differences beyond the cosmetics, though, and for new riders, they’re particularly important ones.

For starters, the rake on the Hunter is reduced from 26 to 25 degrees, with the resulting decrease in trail making for more direct response to steering input, a reduced turning circle and increased manoeuvrability; features that really came into their own on the narrow, crowded streets of Bangkok for the media launch and will be appreciated in many other inner-city applications, too.

The 19-inch front, 18-inch rear wheel combination of the Classic 350 is replaced with 17-inch wheels at each end, and these are cast alloy, not wire spoke. The wheels contribute to a reduction in ground clearance from 170mm to 150.5mm, which most riders won’t even notice, but they will notice the more accessible seat height as a result of those smaller wheels. At 790mm, the Hunter 350’s seat height is a full 15mm lower than the Classic 350.

The Hunter 350's frame is all new, shorter overall and narrower at the front of the seat, making it easier to get your feet on the ground. And although the suspension is quite basic, 41mm conventional forks and newly-developed emulsion rear shocks are better than many riders would expect and certainly up to the demands that most LAMS riders will put on them. Those rear shocks feature 6-stage preload adjustment, too, to handle a pillion or luggage.

Riders will also appreciate the reduced weight of the Hunter 350. Paring back the mudguards, shortening the exhaust system, abandoning the traditional headlight casquette and trimming fat here and there from other areas means the Hunter 350 tips the scales at 181kg wet – an impressive 14kg below the Classic 350.

Of course, that reduced weight means the Hunter 350’s 349cc engine has less heft to haul. The air/oil cooled single is unchanged in terms of output from the Classic 350, and while it may be simple, it’s also frugal, meaning the Hunter 350 will be inexpensive to run, even when the federal government’s fuel excise reduction expires and an extra 22c is added to the cost of each litre of fuel. From full, the 13-litre tank delivers a claimed range of around 300km.

Add Royal Enfield’s standard three-year warranty and you have a bike that will take many young riders through their Learner Approved Motorcycle restriction period.

Small Bike, Big City

Rumours of the Hunter 350 started circulating some months prior to the launch in Bangkok, which being a global launch, not just Asaia-Pacific, was huge. Royal Enfield flew in hundreds of journalists, photographers and videographers from around the world to ride the new bike.

To avoid the worst of the Thai humidity, we started our time on the Hunter 350 at night, riding through central Bangkok, one of the biggest and busiest cities in Asia. We also rode around a tight, narrow kart racing circuit, where the bike proved to be quite capable - something we wouldn’t have said about many other small, low-priced machines.

Riding fast on this small bike was a lot of fun, with the new, Harris Performance-developed frame and re-tuned suspension combining with the 17-inch wheels to provide a quick-steering and highly flickable machine that was easy to filter through traffic and manoeuvre around roadworks and potholes (which Bangkok had in abundance, by the way).

While it’s shorter, lighter and more manoeuvrable than the 350 singles it’s based on, the Hunter 350 is still a ‘full-sized’ bike, able to cater for riders from shortish to quite tall. It’s not like a 125 or 200, but it’s not an intimidating 200kg-plus machine, either. That’ll appeal to first-time riders, as will the smooth throttle response and the ease with which you can select neutral from the five-speed gearbox - something that can’t be said of a lot of modern motorcycles.

Maxing out at 20.2hp (15kW), the Hunter might seem underpowered for Australian roads, but it’s enough power for city and suburban riding, while the 27Nm of torque means there’s enough grunt to get away from the lights ahead of traffic. Royal Enfield has tweaked the power delivery, making it a little more aggressive on the throttle and a bit sportier than the Meteor and Classic. This suits the roadster styling of the bike, although at full throttle the only extra performance compared to its siblings comes from the aforementioned lower weight.

Tech – But Not Too Much

In standard trim, the Hunter 350 is as close to a basic motorcycle as you can get today – although Royal Enfield has hidden some of its modernity away, so the roadster lines can shine.

Royal Enfield’s ‘Pure Motorcycling’ philosophy means the Hunter 350 isn’t loaded with tech or extra – some may say unnecessary – features, like heated handgrips, multiple riding modes, traction control, Bluetooth, etc, most of which aren’t needed by LAMS riders and would add too much cost to the bike if they were incorporated.

There is electronic fuel injection and digital ignition... beyond that, the tech seems to date back decades, but that’s a bit of an illusion. Modern technology, metallurgy and better-quality components have all been built into the Hunter 350.

The tail light is an LED unit and the instrument pod combines an analogue speedo with an LCD display for the odometer, tripmeter, gear indicator, fuel (with low fuel warning), clock and a service reminder. The offset position of this pod allows for Royal Enfield’s ‘Tripper’ app-based navigation system to be added alongside, but it’s an option on the Hunter 350, not standard like it is on the Meteor 350 cruiser.

Tucked in under the wide handlebar is a USB port for recharging your phone or aftermarket GPS device.

Braking is made up of a 300mm front and 270mm rear disc brake with a two-piston caliper on the front disc and single-piston on the rear. Dual channel ABS is standard, with a nice, progressive response from the lever and somewhat more direct intervention via the pedal.

Inner City Ripper

For getting around town – commuting to work or school, riding to save money on fuel or parking – the Hunter 350 is a ripper. It’s best suited to roads with speed limits up to around 80km/h. It will handle freeway speeds, but it’s close to tapped out once you hit 110, and it’s tiring to ride any bike at its top speed. Learners and P-plate riders aren’t allowed to go that fast, anyway.

Other riders will look at the Hunter and see the perfect base to build an inexpensive custom bike. A Hunter could easily be converted from a roadster into a cafe racer, for example.

Royal Enfield can help you get the custom ball rolling with a range of accessories developed for the bike, including bar end mirrors, LED indicators, a tinted flyscreen and tail tidy, some of which were fitted to the press bikes in Bangkok and looked great. More functional accessories that will be available from local launch include luggage and crash guards.

With its roadster style, modern good looks and an expected low price (no figure had been released at time of writing), the Royal Enfield 350 Hunter is fairly unique. You can buy great bikes from a range of manufacturers for similar money, but it’s hard to find a roadster as good looking as this one for under $10,000. Indeed, there are very few similarly-styled new machines that are learner approved.

Final Thoughts

Riding the Hunter 350 through Bangkok was a lot of fun, certainly much more fun than trying to drive a car. In Australian cities, it will be a similar story, with getting around on a Hunter a more enjoyable experience than doing so with a roof and steering wheel.

And you should be able to get one for around $40 a week, which is incredibly affordable. It’ll probably be really easy to sell when you’re ready to upgrade, too.

Six colour schemes will be offered from launch – Rebel Blue, Rebel Red, Rebel Black, Dapper Ash, Dapper White and Dapper Grey – which add distinctive graphics to elements like the fuel tank, side covers and wheel rims.

The Hunter 350 is due for local release before the end of 2022, and while pricing hasn’t been released, JUST BIKES expects it’ll cost a touch over $8,000, as the related Classic 350 and Meteor 350 are currently available for $7,990 and $8,190 ride away, respectively. Even if it carries a premium of $500 or more over these models, the Hunter 350 will still represent great value and remain accessible to many riders who might otherwise look to secondhand.