Royal Enfield Meteor 350 cruiser bike has been launched today. It comes as a replacement for the Thunderbird 350 X. It is built on a completely new platform and gets many modern features. The Meteor 350 is priced between Rs 1.75 lakh and Rs 1.90 lakh (ex-showroom Chennai). At this price range, it directly competes against the newly launched Honda H'Ness CB350. But is it be capable enough to steal Highness CB350's charm? Let's find out…
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Vs Honda Hness CB350 – Engine Specifications
| Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Honda H’ness CB350 | |
| Engine | 349cc, single-cylinder, counterbalanced engine | 348.36cc, single-cylinder counterbalanced engine |
| Cooling System | air-cooled | air-cooled |
| Fuel Supply | Fuel Injection (FI) | Fuel Injection (FI) |
| Max Power | 20.48PS at 6100rpm | 21PS at 5500rpm |
| Max Torque | 27Nm at 4000rpm | 30Nm at 3000rpm |
| Gearbox | 5-speed | 5-speed + slipper clutch |
Both the Meteor 350 & Highness CB350 gets counterbalanced engines for better refinement. However, the CB350 has slightly more power and torque than the Royal Enfiled offering. Even the CB350 makes most of its power & torque at a lower rpm range. Further, it also features an assist and slipper clutch, which makes the clutch operation quite smooth.
Underpinnings & Dimensions
| Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Honda H'Ness CB350 | |
| Frame/Chassis | Double cradle frame | Half Duplex Cradle |
| Front Suspensions | Telescopic forks | Telescopic forks |
| Rear Suspensions | Twin shock (6-step adjustable) | Twin – Hydraulic (5-step adjustable) |
| Front Brakes | 300mm disc | 310mm disc |
| Rear Brakes | 270mm disc | 240mm disc |
| ABS | Dual-Channel ABS | Dual-Channel ABS |
| Front Tyre Size & Type | 100/90-19 57P (Alloy Rim with Tubeless tires) | 100/90-19 57H (Alloy Rim with Tubeless tires) |
| Rear Tyre Size & Type | 140/70-17 66P (Alloy Rim with Tubeless tires) | 130/70-18 63H Tubeless (Alloy Rim with Tubeless tires) |
| Ground clearance | 170mm | 166mm |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 15L | 15L |
| Kerb Weight | 191kg | 195kg |
| Wheelbase | 1400mm | 1441mm |
| Seat Height | 765mm | 800mm |
The underpinnings of both the bikes are almost identical. Both bikes use a similar suspension setup, the only difference here is the tuning. Both these cruisers have disc brakes at both ends with dual-channel ABS as standard. However, the Hness's front disc is marginally bigger than the Meteor's, and the scene is vice-versa for the rear brake.
The fuel tank capacity of both the bikes is identical, however, the Meteor has slightly better ground clearance even though its rear-wheel has a lower size. It is also 4kh lighter than the H'Ness CB350.
Also Read: Honda H'Ness CB350 Vs Royal Enfield Classic 350: Specifications And Price Comparison
Features
| Features | Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Honda H'Ness CB350 |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument CLuster Type | Twin-pod semi-digital | Semi-Digital |
| Fuel Gauge | Digital | Digital |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ |
| Navigation & call/SMS alerts | Navigation | ✓ |
| USB Charging Port | ✓ | ✓ |
| Headlamp | Halogen | LED |
| LED DRLs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Taillamp | LED | LED |
| Assist and Slipper Clutch | ✖ | ✓ |
| Side Stand Indicator with Engine Cut-off | ✖ | ✓ |
| Distance to empty/Average Mileage/Real-Time Mileage | ✖ | ✓ |
| Battery Voltage meter | ✖ | ✓ |
| Trip Meter | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gear Position Indicator | ✓ | ✓ |
| Engine Start/Stop Switch | ✓ (Rotary) | ✓ |
| Hazard Switch | ✖ | ✓ |
| Engine Starting method | Electric | Electric |
| Selectable Torque Control | ✖ | ✓ |
| Traction Control | ✖ | ✓ |
| Windshield | ✓ | ✖ |
Compared to the other RE offering, the Meteor 350 gets a bunch of modern bits, but the Highness CB350 is better loaded and a clear winner here. However, the Meteor has a separate and larger display for navigation feeds, which is a lot easier to read. It is also important to read that the Navigation feature is standard in Meteor 350 across all the variants whereas Hness CB350 offers this feature only in top-line DLX Pro trim.
Price Comparison
| Model | Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Honda H'ness CB350 |
| Variant-wise Price (ex-showroom) | Fireball – Rs 1,78,744 Stellar – Rs 1,84,337 Supernova – Rs 1,93,656 | DLX – Rs 1,86,500 DLX Pro – Rs 1,92,500 |
(prices updated in January 2021)
The Meteor 350's base variant manages to undercut the H'ness CB350 by a quite margin. However, the top-spec Supernova variant is Rs 1,156 more expensive than the Honda H'Ness CB350's top-of-the-line DLX PRO variant.
Also Read: Save Up To Rs 43,000 On Newly Launched Honda Hness CB350
Verdict
The Honda H'ness CB350 is surely the most feature-packed bike here. However, in terms of pricing the Meteor 350 makes more sense, especially if the base variants are concerned. But if the budget is not a concern for you, then H'Ness CB 350 has all the charm that will make you buy it.
