2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350 First Look (11 Fast Facts)

April 20, 2023

The new 2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350 joins two other 350s in the Royal Enfield lineup—the retro-styled Classic 350 and the Meteor 350 cruiser. While the Hunter 350 shared many parts with its siblings, it has significant differences to justify its place in Royal Enfield’s 350 family. Already a hit in its home country of India, let’s find out what the Hunter 350 is about.

The 2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350 is positioned as an urban motorcycle. That’s also true for the Classic and Meteor, though the Hunter name may indicate a more rural existence. Royal Enfield describes the Hunter as a “big-city motorcycle.”

The Hunter gets 17-inch wheels at both ends to set it apart from Royal Enfield’s other 350s. That’s the wheel combo you expect on a modern motorcycle, and RE is presenting the Hunter as a more contemporary machine. This compares to the expected 19-/18-inch wheel pairing on the retro Classic and the de rigueur 19-/17-inch wheelset on the Meteor cruiser.

The Hunter’s wheels are shod with Indian-made Ceat Zoom XL tires, rather than the Ceat Zoom Plus tires on the other RE 350s. The XL is a slightly less-expensive tire with a nominally lower load rating.

That’s an all-new frame on the Hunter, and it’s lighter. The vertical single powerplant is a stressed member in the Hunter application, as no frame rails run underneath the air-cooled motor. This is one of the reasons the Hunter weighs 21 pounds less than the Meteor and undercuts the Classic’s weight by 30 pounds.

Ergonomics are one reason the frame is different. The Hunter 350 is strictly upright. That means the footpegs are mounted farther back on the bike. One reason the Meteor and Classic have the full-cradle frame is to provide a place to mount the forward footpegs.

The seat height of the Hunter 350 slots between the higher Classic and the low-slung Meteor. The Hunter’s 31.1-inch seat height is 0.6 lower than the Classic and a full inch higher than the Meteor cruiser.

Royal Enfield also employed a new frame to make the Hunter 350 more compact. The Hunter’s wheelbase is nearly an inch shorter than the Classic’s and more than an inch shorter than the Meteor, and the rake and trail are tucked in. Add in the 17-inch wheels, and you can expect the Hunter to be a nimbler motorcycle than the Royal Enfield 350s.

All three Royal Enfield 350s share the same component. The fixed-damping suspension, 20-horsepower engine, and ByBre brakes (300mm disc in the front and 270 in the rear) are shared among the three.

Although far from modern-looking, the Hunter has the most contemporary styling of the Royal Enfield 350s. There are two paint treatments—the simple Dapper and the more complex (and $200 more expensive) two-tone Rebel treatment. Royal Enfield also went with stylized versions of the Royal Enfield logo and lettering, giving the Hunter a distinctive look and fresh flair. Different lighting and seating also separate the Hunter from the Classic and Meteor.

Royal Enfield offers several options to make the Hunter more stylish and functional. An example is an urban side case, perfect for carrying a laptop.

The 2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350 has an MSRP of $3999. That makes it the least expensive mode in the RE 350 lineup. Watch for a test of the new Hunter very soon.

2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Specs

ENGINE

Type: Vertical single
Displacement: 349cc
Bore x stroke: 72 x 85.8mm
Maximum power: 20 horsepower @ 6100 rpm
Maximum torque: 20 ft-lbs @ 4000 rpm
Valvetrain: SOHC; 2 valves
Fueling: EFI
Cooling: Air
Transmission: 5-speed
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS

Frame: Twin downtube spine frame w/ engine as a stressed member
Front suspension; travel: Non-adjustable 41mm fork; 5.1 inches
Rear suspension; travel: Spring-preload adjustable twin-tube emulsion shock; 4.8 inches
Wheels: 10-spoke aluminum
Tires: Ceat Zoom XL
Front tire: 110/80 x 17
Rear tire: 140/70 x 17
Front brake: 300mm disc w/ 2-piston floating ByBre caliper
Rear brake: 270mm disc w/ single-piston floating ByBre caliper
ABS: Dual-channel standard

DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES