Last April, we broke the news that Royal Enfield (RE) was testing a new motorcycle that was intended to replace the aging Thunderbird 350. A couple of months later in November, RE officially unveiled their newest model, the Meteor 350, a retro throwback, inspired by the original Royal Enfield Meteor that was produced during the 50s.
Now, the Meteor 350 is officially here in the Philippines.
Just like most launches these days, the official Philippine launching of the Meteor 350 was done virtually, with guests and media representatives sitting comfortably in their homes.
Meteor 350
The new Meteor 350 inherited its name from another iconic RE motorcycle from the 1950s. Launched 69 years ago, the Meteor was a significant touring motorcycle with a reputation that has stood the test of time.
Now in 2021, the new Meteor 350 “easy cruiser” carries Royal Enfield’s signature styling but with many modern firsts. It was designed and developed by the teams of designers and engineers based at Royal Enfield’s two state-of-the-art technical centers, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and Bruntingthorpe, UK.
For the first time on an RE 350cc motorcycle, the new Meteor is equipped with Tripper – a convenient turn-by-turn (TBT) navigation pod.
According to Royal Enfield, they have invested a lot of time and effort in making the Tripper navigation simple and sharply intuitive. It was designed to integrate smoothly with local Google Maps data.
Royal Enfield is also proud of how the new Meteor 350 was developed. RE says the design teams have refined all the mechanical fittings, as well as the overall finish of the new Meteor 350 to make it a true top-class modern motorcycle while still retaining the Royal Enfield DNA.
The new Meteor 350 is powered by a single-cylinder, 349cc air-cooled EFI engine that produces 20 Ps of power and about 27 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. It is mated to a 5-speed transmission with a 7-plate clutch.
To keep the engine smooth, a new balancer shaft was put in place, while still retaining the signature “Royal Enfield thump”. Other features include ABS, LED lighting, alloy wheels and a USB charger.
The Meteor 350 will come in 3 variants; the Fireball at PhP232,000, Stellar at PhP242,000, and the top-of-the-line Supernova with an SRP of PhP252,000.
