Royal Enfield might be making tracks into the 21st century with models like the soon-to-be-revamped Himalayan and Scram , and even working on an electric bike for the future , but the company ' s ' day job ' is its heritage and that ' s where the new Bullet 350 is aimed . Built around the Euro 5-compliant ' J- series ' engine that first appeared in the Meteor 350 in 2020 , the Bullet 350 combines Royal Enfield ' s heritage with the sort of attractive pricing that the brand has become known for , all while intentionally avoiding any sort of gimmicks or over-the-top technology . That J-series engine is a 349 cc , aircooled SOHC single that puts out 20.2 |
hp at 6,100 rpm and 19.9lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm , making for leisurely progress but avoiding the need to thrash it . Driving through a five-speed gearbox with an old school heel-andtoe rocker shifter , that engine ' s design is rooted in the past , with two valves per cylinder and a long 85.8 mm stroke combined with a small 72 mm bore . It ' s a recipe for low-rev torque rather than out-and-out performance , but one that should also make for a reliable , understressed engine that ' s simple and easy to maintain . There ' s also some remarkable fuel economy on display , with 2.63 l / 100 km ( 107 mpg ) possible to give a range of nearly 500 km ( 310 miles ) from the 13-litre tank . |
It ' s bolted to a traditional steel spine frame with 41 mm forks and twin rear shocks , offering little in the way of adjustability beyond six stages of preload at the back to accommodate different loads . A single 300 disc and two-pot front caliper do most of the braking , assisted by a 270 mm rotor and single-piston caliper at the back . ABS is standard , as required by law in Europe . The Bullet ' s thickly-padded seat might not look as good as the Classic 350 ' s |
single-seat unit , but it offers an extra dose of practicality that ' s a key part of the bike ' s appeal and its 805 mm height is within reach to most riders . Concessions to 21st-century technology are limited to a small LCD display inside the analogue speedo and a standard-fit USB socket on the bars to charge phones or power a sat-nav , a level of simplicity that ' s likely to be appealing to most Bullet customers rather than seen as a downside of the bike . |
After being officially shown a year ago without any details on their technical specifications , Kawasaki ' s Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 electric bikes have been given a full unveiling - revealing some rather underwhelming figures for performance and range . Given the bikes ' visual similarities to the Ninja 400 and Z400 , which share many of the same body parts and other components with the electric models , you might have expected a similar level of performance , but in fact , the electric models are below even the Z125 and Ninja 125 in that respect . The two electric Kawasakis are mechanically identical to each other . |
Both have an air-cooled , permanent magnet motor that ' s rated at just 5 kW ( 6.7 hp ) with a shorter-term peak of 9 kW ( 12 hp ). That makes them fractionally too powerful to be classed as ' L1e ' mopeds , but rather less powerful than the typical 11 kW / 15 hp 125 cc model in the ' L3e ' licence category . Top speed depends on the selected riding mode and varies between the Ninja and Z , with the faired Ninja having the higher top speed rating . In ' Eco ' mode , the Ninja manages 64 km / h ( 40 mph ) and the Z can hit 62 km / h ( 38.5 mph ). In ' Road ' mode , the Ninja does 88 km / h ( 55 mph ) and the Z can achieve 85 km / h ( 53 mph ). In |
both modes , there ' s an ' e-boost ' available , adding a brief hit of extra power , that increases top speed by between 10 and 14 km / h , with both models having an absolute maximum of 99 km / h ( 61.5 mph ) in ' Road ' mode with e-boost activated . Using all that performance will inevitably impact range , and there ' s not a huge amount of it . Under WMTC conditions , both bikes are rated to be able to do 72 km ( 45 miles ) on a charge . The energy is held in a pair of removable batteries , each with a nominal 50.4 V and 30 Ah capacity , weighing 11.5 kg . Charging time is 3.7 hours per battery . With the |
batteries fitted , the Ninja weighs a total of 140 kg and the Z e-1 is 5 kg lighter at 135 kg . Will those performance and range figures be enough to tempt riders away from combustion engines ? It seems unlikely , but we ' ll find out in 2024 when the bikes are on the market . |