Hello,
I have been riding a TB350 for the past five years and have been happy with it for my regular work commute, city rides, and occasional long trips. Recently, I have started doing slightly longer intercity rides, and the bike feels underpowered. As you know, it struggles beyond 80 km/h and vibrations begin to set in.
I am planning to upgrade to something that can comfortably cruise at 100–120 km/h when required (for overtaking or maintaining speed on a freeway where permitted). My natural instinct is to consider the current Meteor lineup, but I am unsure whether the vibration issue at higher speeds has been resolved. I am comfortable with the height, weight, and ergonomics of the Meteor (TB) series.
Lately, the Harley X440 has also caught my attention, but I am wondering whether its higher cost justifies my needs and if it truly offers value for money.
Please suggest a good cruiser similar to the Meteor 350, or in the same category, that can cruise comfortably at 100–120 km/h without vibrations or rider fatigue. Thank you.

Question

Autocar India team · Accepted Answer

The Harley-Davidson X440 that you are considering will be a good upgrade from your Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 for highway cruising. Do bear in mind that while it will have significantly lower vibrations at 100-120kph, there will still be some vibrations to contend with because this is, after all, a long-stroke, small-capacity, single-cylinder engine. However, they are definitely manageable and shouldn't be a problem.

Something else you should also look at, since you are getting into long-distance riding, is the Royal Enfield Scram 440. The Scram has better suspension comfort, more upright ergonomics and is more spacious, which means after mounting luggage you won't feel hemmed into place on the seat. It has a similiar engine to the H-D X440 and can comfortably cruise at 100-110kph, but above that, some vibrations are to be felt. That is par for the course in this category, and almost no single-cylinder bike will be butter smooth at these speeds.

If you want an option that's more affordable than these two, the Honda CB350 trio warrants consideration. They will have lower performance than the two 400cc+ bikes we mentioned earlier. But it will be capable of sustaining 100-110kph on the highway while being quite smooth owing to their tall gearing, which actually works in its favour here.

We would recommend a thorough test ride of these bikes before you make a decision.