I'm 6ft1in tall. I previously own a royal enfield classic 350. And let me share my experience. I'm one of the several people who fell for the looks of the motorcycle, who fell for its connect with the person who rides (possibly due to the vibrations), who fell for its l...
I'm 6ft1in tall. I previously own a royal enfield classic 350. And let me share my experience. I'm one of the several people who fell for the looks of the motorcycle, who fell for its connect with the person who rides (possibly due to the vibrations), who fell for its low end torque, who fell for its sound. Initially it will attract you a lot and it will make you feel like a king of the road. As you are on love with the bike, you will love its pros and love even more for its cons! now coming to the performance it is a lazy elephant which took almost 16seconds to reach 100kph, with a ton of vibrations. But you will love it during short rides and can't cope with after 30minutes. Because after riding over 100kph over 30minutes, your hands will be numb and your whole body vibrates. And to come over this feeling, you need a healthy 30minutes of break. So riding under 80kph helps but not much by a significant margin. So, let's talk about the comfort, with the stock handlebar, I've had a lot of lower back pain. With rd350 handlebar, classic's perch is better for at least 30 minutes if ridden sanely under 80kph. After that, I've sharp pain in my knees due to constant vibrations from footpegs no matter the rpm you choose to ride. If ridden above 80kph, two more pains will shoot: one from my shoulders and other from my b**t due to the vibrations it has on offer. Talking about mileage, it will provide me 33kpl if ridden over 100kph, 38kpl if ridden at 80kph, 44kpl if ridden under 60kph.Throttle response is lazier due to carburetor, now it is much better due to the addition of fi. Brakes are poor, front disc is less bitey and rear drum brakes are wooden (now even comes with rear disc, but still feels wooden). Ride quality is good. Tube tyres are a problem. (tubeless is on offer today)and coming to the maintenance part, it digs a hole in your pocket during paid service. Free service costs a maximum of inr.1500. But paid service cost minimum is inr.2500. And at 24000kms, a paid service costed me around inr.10,000. People at royal enfield service centre never repairs but just replaces. It may be due to the sub-par quality of the spare parts. So, on even years (after first year with free services) you need to allocate around inr.6000 for servicing it. And on odd years, you must pay inr.8000-10,000 for servicing. In 3years of ownership, i've spent around inr.25,000 for services alone. I've used it for 3years and ridden it for 30thousand kilometers and finally have sold it due to heavy vibrations which causes me consistent right shoulder pain and also high maintenance it demands over years. Finally the resale value is good. Conclusion: it is pointless to buy 350cc machines from royal enfield today. Better opt for their 411cc or 650cc machines. If you want to buy a 350 from enfield, wait for their j platform launch. Thank god, they bid adeu for their 500cc uce engines. Don't commit the mistake I've once committed. Still in august 2020, this classic 350 is their best seller. Royal enfield doesn't want to let their milching cow, that's why they are gonna introduce the new j platform engines in their lower selling model, thunderbird. People must change!!! for those who are in a hurry to buy a classic or bullet 350, wait till j platform's launch.
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