Battle Royale

Honda and Benelli may be the newest entrants to the 350cc space with the Imperiale 400 and H’ness CB 350 but the new Royal Enfield Meteor is an all new take on the segment with a livelier motor and a slew of modern features, but which one has what it takes?

It is no secret that Royal Enfield has a deep bond with Indian motorcycling culture and heritage. Our love for those thumping 350s has, historically, left in its wake a long line of hopefuls that sought nothing more than a seat at the table. Whether the offering came with better technology, more power or a better price was immaterial. The consensus was clear, the market wanted exactly that motorcycle and nothing else. Manufacturers responded with exactly that. In 2019, Benelli launched the Imperiale 400 that used the long stroke philosophy with an eerily familiar looking engine layout, a bigger bore and Bosch fuel injection. Last year Honda joined the fray with the H’ness CB 350, another long stroke single that replicates the iconic engine blueprint albeit Honda’s in-house PGMFi fuel injection system and new gearing. The irony of this road test lies in our third contender, the brand new Royal Enfield Meteor 350. The Meteor uses an all-new 350cc motor from Royal Enfield with a much shorter stroke making the bike that is least like a Royal Enfield of the lot. Each may have their own approach but all three have designs on dominance in the 350cc space.

The Benelli Imperiale 400, the winner of our last road test is now BS6 compliant but gets no changes to the design or performance. For the uninitiated, the Benelli is a fresh take on the Imperiale nameplate from the 60s. The retro cruiser from Italy is powered by a 373cc single cylinder motor that makes 21 bhp and 29 Nm of torque. Next up, is all-new made-in-India for India, Honda H’ness CB 350. While the Honda may look

Honda

1.The mono-pod instruments with a digital inset look neat but, a twin pod setup with a tachometer would have more in line with the CB genre 2. The 348cc single cylinder makes about 21 bhp, but a longer stroke and improved fueling means the Honda motor makes a peak torque of 30Nm from as low as 3,000rpm. 3. The long bench seat is contoured well and quite comfortable. 4 &5. The Honda features LED lighting all around, indicators included, a new benchmark for the segment