Spell Out the Difference, Please

I’m sure you’ve got the Meteor 350 bike at hand. The only question is whether the engine is completely different from the previous one or just like the old Royal Enfield Thunderbird’s. Will it be comfortable to run at a constant speed of 100 km/h and free from vibrations?

Sarada Shankar, via social media

Hello, Sarada,

Yes, we do have the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 parked in our garage. To answer your question, yes, the engine on the Meteor is markedly different from the unit on the old Thunderbird. The new engine is a 349-cc airoil-cooled SOHC unit, whereas the old UCE in the Thunderbird was a 346-cc air-cooled OHV construction. The bore and stroke on both units are different, too: the UCE had 70 mm x 90 mm and the Meteor’s new G-Series engine gets a 72 mm x 85.8 mm configuration. The power and torque figures are also different. Whereas the old unit produced 20.7 hp at 5,250 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, the Meteor’s churns out 20.4 hp at 6,100 revs and 27 Nm of twist at 4,000 rpm. So, yes, the engine in the Meteor is a new unit. And, yes, it will cruise comfortably at 100 km/h. For more on the Meteor, check out our comprehensive review in this very issue.