Royal Enfield Bullet 350 (2024) - Technical Review
By Ben Purvis
Has written for dozens of magazines and websites, including most of the world’s biggest bike titles, as well as dabbling in car and technology journalism.
11.09.2023
Price: £4629 | Power: 20.2bhp | Weight: 195kg | Overall BikeSocial Rating: TBA
Retro bikes are still all the range and they don’t come much more authentic than the Royal Enfield Bullet – a machine that can trace its heritage all the way back to 1932 and from a styling perspective hasn’t moved on much since then.
For years that refusal to move with the times made Royal Enfield the butt of jokes, but in today’s market, where authentic retro appeal is much sought-after, the slow pace of development is a positive boon. And the latest Bullet 350 is genuinely a new model despite sticking close to the appearance of its predecessors, boasting the same ‘J-Series’ engine that debuted in the Meteor 350 in 2020, bringing Euro5 compliance to Royal Enfield’s entry-level models.
Retro doesn’t get much more authentic
Sub £5k price is within reach of the masses
Surprising touches including USB charge port
Not a powerhouse
Priced higher than similarly-engined HNTR 350 and Classic 350 that shares its platform
No lightweight
Review – In Detail
Price & PCP
For and against
Engine & Performance
Handling & Suspension (inc. weight & brakes)
Comfort & Economy
Equipment
Rivals
Verdict
Owner Reviews
Specification
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Price
The Bullet 350 starts at £4629 if you opt for a simple black or maroon paint scheme, while the more ostentatious ‘Black Gold’ version – which has subtle two-tone effect with matt and gloss black elements, plus a copper and gold tank badge, copper pinstripes and a blacked-out engine, exhaust and wheel rims – carries a slight premium at £4709. Not expensive by any measure, but it’s worth noting that you can get a bike with the same engine – the more modern-looking HNTR 350 – for as little as £3899, the cruiser-style Meteor 350 from £4059, and the single-seat Classic 350 from £4619, making the Bullet the high-end model of the 350 range.
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Engine & Performance
The 349cc ‘J-series’ engine debuted in the 2021 Meteor 350 and, with 20.2bhp on tapm, arriving at 6100rpm, it’s no fireball. Peak torque is 19.9 lb-ft, but at least it’s all there at 4000rpm so you’re not forced to rev it too hard to get all it has on offer. You’ll still be needing the gears to get the what performance is available, and like the Meteor the Bullet has a heel and toe rocker-style shifter – a proper retro touch – and just five speeds. So few ratios might seem a little too retro, but bear in mind the Bullet didn’t even get that many until the 2000s, and even stuck to an old-school right-foot shifter until this century, so the left-foot shift and five gears is still plenty modern in Bullet terms. The engine itself is an SOHC single with two valves and air/oil cooling, and the internal dimensions are unfashionably under-square, with a 72mm bore that’s dwarfed by the 85.8mm stroke. As with Royal Enfields of the past that simplicity is a selling point rather than a drawback. Enfield’s huge success in India is, in part, down to the fact its bikes can be depended upon and are easy to fix. In outright performance terms, the Bullet 350 should hit 70mph – just – but realistically it’s going to be more comfortable sitting in the 50-60mph bracket for longer rides.
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight & Brakes)
The J-series engine is fitted in a similarly conventional, simple frame – a twin downtube spine chassis – with suspension that’s also very much in the traditional mould. 41mm right-way-up forks at the front offer 130mm of travel, while the twin shock rear offers a touch of adjustability with six steps of preload. The tyres are considered wide in Bullet terms, but to most of us the 100/90-19 front and 120/80-18 rear are on the spindly side of slim. But what’s the point of anything wider? Narrow tyres avoid excessive changes to the geometry as a bike turns, and the large wheels are well suited to coping with rough roads – another boon in Royal Enfield’s Indian homeland, but increasingly one that riders in the UK will appreciate as the country’s plague of potholes remains rampant. One downside to the simple, rugged design is that the Bullet, like other Enfield 350s, is a little heftier than you might expect, with kerb weight of 195kg. The brakes – a single 300mm front disc with a two-pot caliper, a 270mm rotor and one-piston stopper at the rear – feature the mandatory ABS at both ends.
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Comfort & Economy
The Bullet’s thickly-padded dual seat might not look as cool as the single, tractor-style pad of the Classic 350, but it promises more comfort as well as the ability to lug a passenger around. At 805mm it’s neither excessively tall nor ultra-low, and it sits behind a 13-litre fuel tank similar to the Classic’s. Those litres are going to take you a long way. Royal Enfield claims economy of 2.63l/100km, or 107.4 miles per imperial gallon to use a more familiar measure. That means each 13-litre fill has the potential to take you more than 300 miles.
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Equipment
The ‘equipment’ part of most modern bikes’ spec sheets is packed with initialisms and acronyms, with multi-layer menus to navigate and a baffling array of modes and features. That’s not the case with the Bullet 350. It has what you need, including two-channel ABS and even a USB port on the bars, but while the instruments – a single, large speedo set into the top of the headlight cowl – have a small digital display, there’s not much else to mention in terms of tech. There’s a range of optional extras on offer to tailor the bike, including different seats, bars and luggage, but if you’re looking for all the latest bells and whistles the Bullet probably never appealed to you in the first place.
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Rivals
The Bullet 350’s main rivals are, most likely, its own stablemates – if you’re in the market for a retro bike in the sub £5k arena, Royal Enfield very much has you covered. However, you might also be swayed by the Benelli Imperiale 400 (a classic Italian name that somewhat disguises the model’s Chinese roots), which is even cheaper, while the likes of the Mash Five Hundred – which actually has a 400cc engine – also target a similar customer.
Royal Enfield Classic 350 | Price: £4619
Power/Torque: 20.2bhp/19.9lb-ft | Weight: 195kg
Benelli Imperiale 400 | Price: £3699
Power/Torque: 20.8bhp/21.4lb-ft | Weight: 200kg
Mash Five Hundred | Price: £4299
Power/Torque: 27.1bhp/22.9lb-ft | Weight: 160kg
2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Verdict
We’ll give a verdict after we’ve ridden the bike.
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2024 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET 350 Technical Specification
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