Royal Enfield bikes in India (17)

Autocar India

•13h

Since you've said you prefer cruisers and commute in heavy traffic, of the three bikes you've shortlisted, the Honda CB350 will fit your usage the best. With its low seat, light clutch action and surefooted yet easy handling demeanour, the CB350 makes for a wonderful city companion. Its engine is smooth and torquey, and when ridden sensibly, it returns very impressive fuel economy for a 350cc machine. Plus, seating comfort for both rider and pillion is also quite nice, although if you carry a pillion frequently, it would be prudent to invest in a backrest - it should be a relatively inexpensive option to purchase.The Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350 is a beautiful motorcycle, but to achieve its gorgeous form, there are some functional compromises. It is by no means a horribly uncomfortable machine, but in comparison to its more conventional siblings - Classic and Bullet 350 - it is surely a step down. Pillion accommodations, too, are mediocre at best, and the main draw here is its unique design. The TVS Apache RTX 300 is the odd one out here and will feel very different to the other bikes you've shortlisted. It has a modern, liquid-cooled engine making substantially more peak output and a 6-speed gearbox. Outright comfort will be another strong point on the RTX, and this is likely to be the most comfortable machine of the lot, owing to its form factor. We'd recommend a test ride of all these bikes before you make a decision, and you should also decide what sort of bike you want before you do so.

Autocar India

•4d

Since you travel long distances every day, comfort should be near the top of your wishlist and under Rs 4 lakh, the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is the king of comfort. With your purchase, you can also bundle in the cross-spoke rims (priced at Rs 16,000, which is quite fair for what you're getting), which will give you the peace of mind of running tubeless tyres as well. The Himalayan's only major drawback is its large size and heavy weight, which can get bothersome for shorter riders.If you're looking for something more manageable, then bikes like the TVS Apache RTX 300 and 350cc KTM 390 Adventure are good options to consider. Both are comfortable, have gutsy performance and should return decent fuel economy too, while being easier to manage due to their low kerb weights. If you don't resonate with an adventure bike, then the 350cc Triumph Scrambler 400 models offer a good compromise with the plush suspension comfort you need, with more appealing style and less bulky bodywork.In case you decide you don't want to be at the upper limit of your budget, then neo-retro roadsters like the Harley-Davidson X440 T, 350cc Triumph Speed 400 / Speed T4 and Honda CB350 models are worth considering. These bikes have great comfort levels and will also return better fuel economy. Considering the very different nature of these bikes, take a test ride of all to be sure which one would be the right fit for you.

Autocar India

•3d

Since your usage is mostly going to be inside the city, we'd advise choosing between the Honda CB350RS and 350cc Triumph Speed 400. Both bikes have smooth, torque-focused engines, light clutch action, manageable seat heights and good weight management, which should make them easy to use in the city. Out on the highway, both feel quite unstressed as long as you keep the speeds between 100-110kph at the most in top gear. The Speed 400 will feel more sprightly than the CB350RS owing to its higher output and lower weight but the Honda's engine has a little more character than the Triumph's.The Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350 is a gorgeous and eye-catching bobber but comfort and highway capabilities aren't exactly its strong suits. If you do want an option from the 350cc Royal Enfield lineup, we'd recommend taking a look at the Bullet / Classic because these bikes are excellent at city duties and if you don't mind carrying a sedate pace on the highway, they'll do the job just fine. These options are very different from one another, so we'd advise you to take proper test rides of each to see which one suits you best before you pull the trigger on your next purchase.

Autocar India

•6d

The 349cc Triumph Tracker 400 is a lighter and less powerful machine, which will make it easier to ride and get on with in daily use. Since you are a college student who will primarily use it in the city, these are factors that will play in the Tracker's favour as will its higher fuel economy owing to its smaller engine. Coming to its tail section, there's not much you can do officially. The Tracker and Thruxton use a simpler, rectangular tail lamp, unlike the other Bajaj-made Triumphs which have a rather neat-looking, flush-fitting and ornately designed tail light. Its unlikely that this unit can be fit onto the Tracker / Thruxton without significant reworking of the bodywork and the electricals. Our advice is that if you want a road-focused 350cc Triumph with a good-looking tail lamp, opt for the Speed 400 instead of the Tracker. The Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 may make the same power but its larger, 452cc engine makes significantly more torque which will translate to a very different riding experience than the Tracker. It also has the more sporty chassis, which should make it fun in the twisties. The Guerrilla's tyres are wider than the Tracker so the Triumph will tip in quicker than the Royal Enfield, but of the two, its the Guerrilla which has the edge in terms of sportiness. To our eyes, the Guerrilla's slick round TFT dash is better-looking and has more features than the simple digi-analogue dash of the 350cc Triumphs. To see which one is the better fit for your use case, we'd advise a thorough test ride of both before you make a decision.

Autocar India

•17h

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 currently on sale supports petrol with up to 20 percent ethanol. E20 is the current baseline fuel available across India and while draft notifications proposing petrol with higher ethanol blends have been proposed and certified, this is still quite a ways away from becoming the available petrol blend in the near future. Therefore, you shouldn't worry too much right now and go ahead with your new purchase happily!

Autocar India

•1w

We'd suggest you take test rides of the 350cc KTM 390 Adventure and Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 both to make sure you make an informed decision about your next adventure bike purchase. Both bikes have distinct strengths and are actually very different to ride. The KTM is lighter and more agile endowing it withbetter road manners. Its engine is nice to use if you enjoy riding spiritedly most of the time because it is fun to chase the redline and shift through the gears using the quickshifter. However, the KTMs are buzzy machines and the 390 Adventure's comfort isn't the benchmark today in the ADV category. On the other hand, the Royal Enfield bike is the more rounded and mature machine. It has superb ride comfort and gutsy performance but its weight and overall size aren't to everyone's liking - and its oddball design is quite polarizing too. However, the Himalayan is the better overall package in our opinion. A test ride will help you figure out which bike is better for your needs.

Autocar India

•1w

The Royal Enfield Scram 440 is a good choice for your usage, although bear in mind that during tight and technical off-road sections, its near-200 kilo kerb weight will need a lot of caution and skill to work around. As a road bike, it is a comfortable, relaxed and fuss-free companion but if you want the latest features and gadgets, this is not the bike for you. The 350cc Triumph Scrambler 400 X is a good allrounder and is actually a rather good handler despite its 19-in front wheel and dual-purpose tyres. Its engine isn't the most characterful though and the tall 835mm saddle may not work for you if you're a shorter person. These are two of the best made-in-India scrambler machines under Rs 3 lakh and depending on the sort of experience you are after, both will work well.

Autocar India

•5d

Around that price point, you have two very different options. The first is the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, which will have similar attributes to your Dominar in being a laidback, road-biased machine. The highlight here is the twin-cylinder engine, and this is one of the biggest reasons to get one. The Interceptor is a proven product, and since you are coming from a Dominar, you should be able to handle its weight and size without too much of a problem.Another option you could look at is the KTM 390 Adventure S, the top model with the adjustable suspension and tubeless spoke wheels. This bike will have a comparable engine character to your Dominar, but brings in added capability in terms of long-distance riding and venturing off-road.These are two very different machines, and picking between the two will not be straightforward. Take a thorough test ride of both to make an informed decision.

Autocar India

•1w

If you want the highest level of comfort in this price bracket, there are primarily two options to look at - the Hero MotoCorp Xpulse 210 and the Royal Enfield Bullet 350. The Xpulse will, of course, have the better ride quality of the two with its long travel suspension, but it's actually the Bullet which has the better rider's triangle and seat comfort. There are other factors at play here, too. The Xpulse is taller but lighter, while the Bullet has a lower seat but weighs nearly 200 kilos.A test ride of both will help you decide which is the best option between these two for you.

Autocar India

•2w

A cruiser will be more manageable for your shorter stature but a roadster (like the RE Hunter 350 and Triumph Speed 400) will be a more capable and comfortable bike. Aside from the RE Meteor 350, there's really no mainstream small capacity cruiser worth considering under Rs 3 lakh. If you want to switch to a roadster, we'd recommend the TVS Ronin because that bike has a low seat height and is still comfortable with its neutral ergonomics and light kerb weight. The 350cc Triumph Speed 400 will be the quickest and most dynamically capable of all three machines listed above. The RE Hunter 350 is a very good all-rounder as long as you have no sporting intentions. A test ride will help you decide whether you're ready to make the switch from a cruiser to a more conventional machine or not.