2022 RE Classic 350 REVIEW Price Mileage Performance Colours & More!

2022 RE Classic 350 Review | By Syed Shiraz | Pictures by Bobby Roy

“Hell, NO!”, I said, refusing to take the keys of the sparingly used Hero Honda Ambition 135 that was parked away from the many Bullets at my maamu’s (maternal uncle) workshop. “I’ll take that red one…”, I continued, gesturing at the most beautiful motorcycle that was slyly glancing at me from amidst the hordes of Enfields parked alongside. 

This was a fine day in the summer of, no, not 69, but 2001. That morning, I had given my Jawa 250 (a Type 353/4, and not one of the four-stroke pretenders you see occasionally on the roads today) to him for restoration and since back then it was the only motorcycle I owned, I needed another motorcycle to ride around. 

So maamu offered the Hero Honda to me, which he had bought for his elder son in an effort to rope him into motorcycling. But while the younger son had been addicted to Enfields since the second grade, motorcycles of any kind didn’t figure anywhere on the elder one’s priority list. He was more into fabrics and fashion designing… 

Yes, the new motorcycle you see in this story is donning the same attire. And that’s perfectly in line with “Classic Reborn”–RE’s catchphrase for their latest 350. However, like the late Paul Walker said to Vin Diesel in The Fast & Furious 4, a lot has changed. 

2022 RE Classic 350 Review: Design and Style 

What hasn’t changed is the design of the motorcycle, and I can’t thank Royal Enfield enough for that. So you already know by now that I love how this motorcycle looks. What you don’t know is that this statement is coming from someone who has always valued function over form. For example, a motorcycle’s primary function is to take you from point A to B without breaking down, and even if design wise it’s the two-wheeled equivalent of the Pontiac Aztek, I would prefer it any day to a gorgeous but unreliable motorcycle. The latter image is something that Royal Enfield motorcycles had cultivated with ease in the past few decades…

I’ll tell you in a while whether RE has managed to shun that image, but right now let me just talk a bit more about this motorcycle’s design. See, like I mentioned earlier, this motorcycle looks almost similar to the aforementioned Deluxe (and also the Machismo that came later on), which means that it still retains all the ingredients of making grown men feel weak in the knees. Not just that, some even say that looking at it frequently for longer periods accelerated puberty in many young boys and girls…

I won’t get into discussing the individual design elements as the overall form has remained the same for over a hundred years, and that’s why it would just suffice to say that it’s nothing short of incredible that it still looks mesmerising after all these years! 

2022 RE Classic 350 Review: Ergonomics, Ride, Handling, Performance and Mileage (Fuel Efficiency)

Beautiful looks alone will take you nowhere if the rest of the motorcycle lacks substance. And I’ll state it right away that RE jokes stop now! In fact, they should have stopped right after the Meteor 350 proved to be absolutely reliable like any other modern bike, but, I guess, it would take only an RE with the quintessential classic Bullet style to hammer it in place.

The new Classic 350 borrows the chassis and engine from the Meteor, and that combination makes a world of difference. But before I tell you more about it, let me quickly talk about the ergonomics. On this new Classic 350, you still sit absolutely upright like earlier and you will love the fact that there’s not even a millimeter of “reach” to the handlebar, unlike on the Meteor that does require you to slant that wee bit forward to grab the ‘bar.

The side panels don’t protrude massively like on the previous Classic, which means that despite the increased seat height (5 mm higher than the outgoing bike’s) it’s much easier now for shorter riders to touch down with both feet at the same time. Anyone who’s five feet and above can easily ride this bike. If you’re shorter, RE has a low seat in its list of accessories that brings down the seat height by a whopping 30 mm! That should enable even those riders who’re around 4’9″.

The weight distribution is better now and it feels lighter than the previous Classic. That makes it easier to manually push and pull out of parking lots, and also less intimidating to ride in dense traffic.

The new bike borrows its switchgear as well from the Meteor and it’s not a secret anymore that the quality of not just the switchgear but also of every part in and on the motorcycle has improved by leaps and bounds. This is indeed an “all new Classic”, gentlemen. And I can indulge in some chest-thumping to have used an oxymoron as a literary device in a motorcycle review…

Speaking of thump, let me burst your bubble via a prickly fact: the bassy thump associated with the Bullets went away with the cast-iron engine. Your UCE Classics and Thunderbirds do NOT have that thump. Of course, your aftermarket cans are loud, but there is a big difference between cacophony and music. For example, while a nicely tuned CI engine at idle is like listening to the percussion intro of Hotel California’s acoustic version on a Marantz, a UCE with an aftermarket can is like listening to a Jhankar Beats cover of the same song. You shouldn’t do that. It’s almost sacrilegious.

The new bike’s symphony is again not a match, but it certainly gets closer to the original than any other RE has! So if the original was an 11 on 10, and the UCE bikes a 5.5-6.0 on 10, the new bike is a solid eight in the aural department.

But where the new bike just simply decimates both the CI and UCE bikes is in outright performance and refinement. Picture all three at a traffic signal, waiting for it to turn green, and then it happens. The UCE bike (with an aftermarket silencer) makes a lot of noise but doesn’t seem to be going that fast. That’s true; it isn’t. The CI bike also makes a lot of noise now (because it was not made to be revved like that from a standstill) but goes even slower than the UCE bike. And then the rest of its progress is marred by consecutive false neutrals. The guy on the new Classic 350 is already home by now. If you think I am exaggerating, just take a look at the video below and let me know if you can even think of launching any of the previous REs like this:

And you can do this all day on the new bike. Just like you can on any other modern motorcycle. But you don’t buy a Classic 350 for traffic light GPs. You buy it for endless mile crunching at 80 km/h. That was the “safe limit” of the UCE Classic 350. Beyond that, either the bike would come undone or the vibrations will force you to bring the needle back to 80 km/h.

This new J-Series engine allows you to keep the needle pinned at 120 km/h (it doesn’t go beyond that, which is okay) all day if you would want to. The vibrations are certainly there, but now they don’t get severe at any point–not even at 120 km/h. But you can feel that the bike is happiest between 80 to 100 km/h. But again, you know that now it will not fall apart or shake your bones and teeth from vibrations should you be compelled to ride at full clip for longer durations. Now you can ride it the way you want, without any fear.

The suspension is quite nice too, but if you’re on the lighter side like me (60 kg) the rear might feel slightly stiff. I reckon heavier riders to find it just perfect. It handles a lot better than the previous Classic though, and feels quite reassuring in corners. Straight line stability is also at its best yet for a single cylinder Bullet. The brakes now provide more stopping power than the Me Too movement, while its thirst for fuel is considerably lesser than the USA’s for oil. During this test, I rode mostly above 80 km/h and it returned 28.52 km to a liter. A considerate right hand might yield over 30 km/l.

2022 RE Classic 350 Review: Miscellaneous

The new bike gets a modern single key operation. The Tripper app navigation works fine on most occasions, and while it’s standard on this top-end variant, it’s an optional accessory for the lower trims. Also, if you are paranoid about tubed tyres, get the Meteor or wait for RE to introduce alloys for the Classic. On second thoughts; don’t be a wuss and buy the bike. Just be a bit careful on unfamiliar roads and surfaces to avoid punctures.

2022 RE Classic 350 Review: Verdict

The old Bullets, including the previous Classic 350, were always a heart purchase. All ownership stories were akin to forced relationships of unrequited love. This time around though, your heart is not only in the right place, but the object of your affection will love you back too. Go commit.

2022 RE Classic 350 Price and Colours

Rs 1,87,346
Redditch Red
Redditch Grey
Redditch Sage Green
(Only Single Channel ABS on these three)

Rs 1,90,043
Halycon Grey Single channel ABS
Halycon Green Single channel ABS
Halycon Black Single channel ABS

Rs 1,96,125
Halycon Grey Dual Channel ABS
Halycon Green Dual Channel ABS
Halycon Black Dual Channel ABS

Rs 2,07,539
Signals Marsh Grey
Signals Desert Sand
(Dual Channel ABS is standard)

Rs 2,14,743
Gunmetal Grey
Dark Stealth Black
(Dual Channel ABS is standard)

Rs 2,18,450
Chrome Red
Chrome Bronze
(Dual Channel ABS is standard)

All prices mentioned are ex-showroom, Chennai.