Fast Blast: Royal Enfield Classic 350

Fast Blast: Royal Enfield Classic 350

It’s motorcycling Jim, just as we used to know it

Here at Australian Road Rider, well, we get to ride a whole bunch of exotic things. And, we get to ride some totally non-exotic things as well. That’s where the Royal Enfield Classic 350 comes in. It’s pretty slow, built to a very reasonable price and is really dynamically left behind in this day and age. It never claims anything different. It’s an honest bike.

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And, alongside that admirable trait, it’s fun. Straight out, fun. I love that people gaze at it, young women point at me when I ride it and I get dragged off by wannabes in Honda Jazzs. Now and then I even beat one.

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I’m a bit of a Brit Twin tragic, and well, so is this bike. Only it’s Indian, not British. Look, I could go on and on trying to find euphemisms for the Enfield, damning it with faint praise. Simple fact is, it doesn’t come with a whole bunch to overly excite a buyer on showroom appraisal. Except ‘feel’. And, this one feels great. I plug along with the long stroked, 346cc (yep, this is the less-powered one in the range, alongside the stratospheric 500) air-cooled single calling the shots, and life feels good. This is a bike that takes you back to the roots of your motorcycling; the reason for doing it in the first place. It’s relaxing, you certainly get the time to appreciate your ride and there’s a certain cool about the whole deal. No, really!

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Anyway, we have this one at the moment and will do a full road test in issue #134 of Australian Road rider. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…