Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spotted Testing Again; Launch In Early 2022

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spied

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 is expected to go on sale in India early next year; will be powered by a 349 cc OHC engine as the new Classic

Royal Enfield is preparing to launch a host of new motorcycles over the next 12 months or so and just a few weeks ago, the highly anticipated second generation Classic 350 debuted. The retro roadster is based on a new twin cradle chassis and is powered by a revised 349 cc single-cylinder air- and oil-cooled engine with SOHC setup as in the Meteor 350.

The same chassis and engine combination will be expanded to more 350 cc motorcycles within the brand’s lineup and the motorcycle next in line to get the treatment appears to be a scrambler. Expected to be christened the Hunter, it could be introduced in the early parts of 2022 following the launch of the more road-biased Royal Enfield Scram 411 based on Himalayan.

The test mules of the RE Hunter 350 have been caught on camera several times over the last few months and new spy shots have now emerged from Chennai where the company’s production plant is located. It is clear that the Hunter has not reached its production-ready state yet but some of the design details are more than apparent such as the circular headlamp cluster.

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spied 1

The flat handlebar setup and slightly rearward set footpegs can also be noted. It boasts a single-piece seat, round-shaped tail lamp with halogen turn indicators, slightly upward tilted exhaust system, spoked wheels with disc brake, etc. We do expect the Hunter to be offered with a dual-channel ABS system in the top-end variants.

Other highlights are twin rear shock absorbers, telescopic front forks, a semi-digital instrument console with a possible Tripper Navigation system, and so on. The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will compete against Honda CB350 RS and Jawa Forty Two upon arrival and previous test mules indicated that alloy wheels could also be made available.

The 349 cc fuel-injected engine will likely continue to produce the same power and torque outputs as in the Meteor and new Classic. It develops 20.2 bhp maximum power and 27 Nm of peak torque and is connected to a five-speed transmission.

Spy Image Credit: Kushal