Classic 350's battle: Honda H'ness V/S Royal Enfield Meteor

   

 

Namaste, Hello, Vanakam, Sasriyakal, Kemcho!!!! and welcome you all to another blog. I know it's been a long time I've posted, but behen ki shaadi thi yaar toh samajlo😅😁😁. Okay then, let us all begin this new year with lots of positivity and happiness HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS !!!!.                                                                               

Chalo idhar udhar ki baate bohot hogayi let's start with the real topic. Till now I've been posting only about cars, so let us shift to two wheels fun... What you all guys say? Yeah I know it's been a dream for many to ride their bikes from K2K(Kashmir 2 Kanyakumari) including me!! So to ride from K2K you need some relaxed and comfortable bikes, mainly capable of doing these long rides and many of them also need bikes that will be pocket friendly😁😁. 

I think you all have guessed which bikes I'm talking about...! YESS!!!! one of them is the ROYAL and has been in India since 1955... Phew, that's way too long and it has been dominating the 350cc segment since then. The other one needs a little intro as it is new in the market and is very capable to give a fight to the ROYAL family, But the company is very famous as their product is purchased by each and every family in India, i.e., HONDA H'NESS CB 350(pronounced as "highness"). Just look at the name guys!!! to keep up with the ROYAL's they haven't even left the name 😂. Joke's apart!! let's be serious and continue the blog. Sorry people I can't be serious, humor and jokes will keep you alive till the end of the blog otherwise you'll leave it in the middle and sleep. Okay, intro I've given a little... let's get into deep! I mean really deeeeeeepp!!.

HOW DO THEY LOOK???

They both might look the same but are different in terms of riding stance, as H'NESS is a modern classic and METEOR is a modern cruiser that is more of a relaxed style of driving than the classic riding style.

CB350(H'NESS):

      

 On H'NESS you get a lot of chrome and silver styling bits to make it retro in styling which also includes all retro necessary styling elements with the inclusion of modern bits like round shaped LED headlamps, LED turn indicators, retro-styled LED tail lamps, with some useful features like alloy wheels, part digital instrument cluster with Bluetooth connectivity(only voice navigation)when you have a helmet with headset connectivity. You also have traction control which I think is not necessary for this segment of bikes. Bluetooth feature is available only on the top model of CB 350(H'NESS).

METEOR 350:

                                             

RE Meteor 350 doesn't offer you much chrome bits as the CB 350 offers, on the other side RE has decided to keep it simple and cool with matte black finishing. This one here also includes round-shaped headlamps but halogen, round turn indicator, and round-shaped tail lamp. It also offers part digital instrument cluster. This one offers a turn-by-turn navigation meter with Bluetooth connectivity in addition to voice if you have headset connectivity.

                                    

They both offer charging ports, and side stand engine kill option

So in styling, they both look great and is left on individual according to their taste.

HEART or ENGINES we can say!!

They both consist of a 350 CC single-cylinder air-cooled engine. They produce none the less same power with 1 HP more or less. CB 350 produces 21.1 HP and 30 NM torque. METEOR makes 20.2 HP and 27 NM torque. Both are mated to a 5-speed gearbox, but the CB 350 has the advantage of slip and assist clutch over METEOR. 

CB350's ENGINE:

CB 350 engine is a long-stroke engine that needs a frequent gear change whenever you need to overtake or climbing up the mountain roads. CB 350 does have a very weak bottom end, but it does come alive at the mid-range and goes crazy at its indicated top speed or at the top range. And it does start to vibrate at the top end which is not a huge problem.

But where the CB 350 has its own weaknesses the METEOR shines pretty well. I mean it has a very strong bottom and mid-range but, ( yeah I know there's always a BUT!!!😁).... BUT, it doesn't have a top-end as the CB 350. Never the less it doesn't make much of a difference. It's very easy to use and doesn't need frequent gear change whether it may be in the city, highway overtaking, or mountain roads, METEOR does it with ease. It also has vibrations once you cross that 100kmph barrier, it's not a deal-breaker.

METEOR'S ENGINE:

The "J" series engine which debusses with the METEOR will now be seen in all the upcoming models of RE. Surprisingly, the RE engine is way much refined than its predecessor engines. The CB 350 has a little edge or advantage as it is a little more refined, but we can hardly notice the difference, never the less they are the same for me.

But I do have a complaint with both these bikes i.e., they should have provided some horsepower which would have made these bikes capable of cruising at triple-digit speed with ease as we do get some nice long and smooth highways. 

HOW DO THEY HANDLE AND BRAKE??

They both handle really well no complaints with both these bikes. METEOR is more of a relaxed driving style and some might not like that, personally, I'm not a huge fan of this riding style. CB 350 is also put together very well and does handle well. firstly I thought due to its short handlebar it might be a little tough at cornering but eventually, I understood it isn't much of an issue. METEOR will scrape its belly early due to a ground clearance issue.

In the engine department METEOR exceeds a little, but when handling comes both bikes gave neck-to-neck fight. It's always fun to see neck-to-neck competition. METEOR does carry 10 kilos more than the CB350, but it's all laid out so well that it hardly makes any difference.

Both bikes come with dual-channel ABS and do kick in whenever the lever is pulled hard. But the METEOR could have some more bite with the brakes, it doesn't mean that they are bad but could have been better. CB does shine well here and has that bite and stops on demand.

 WHO RIDES BETTER??!

METEOR does have a disadvantage because of its laid-back styling and as most of the cruiser cant offer comfort METEOR too cant match the comfort level of CB. As CB is a naked classic it has much more to offer in riding comfort. Even if you have sudden bad conditions to ride you can stand up on CB and glide through potholes which cant be done on METEOR as it has front set footpegs.

They both have a basic suspension setup with telescopic suspension at the front and spring coils at the rear. In this department, CB does shine and has a very well set up which absorbs big speed breakers or potholes easily and METEOR does have the disadvantage(cruiser as you all know😁😁). I don't say that cruiser aren't comfy at all but they do fall back when you compare with other styles.

ARE THEY POCKET FRIENDLY??

Honda CB 350 comes in two variants, the DLX, and the DLX PRO model. Deluxe model here gets a dual-tone paint scheme, Bluetooth Navi, and one extra horn compared to the base model. Prices start from 1.85 - 1.9 lakhs (Ex-showroom) and is available only in HONDA's BIG WING showroom which are very few in INDIA. But Honda has promised to open more showrooms soon. 

RE METEOR comes in three variants FIREBALL, STELLAR, and SUPERNOVA which are never the less all visual or cosmetic changes and has nothing more important difference. Price varies from 1.78 - 1.93 lakhs (Ex-showroom) and is available pan INDIA in their Royal Enfield showrooms.

WHICH ONES TO BUY??

My personal preference in this battle will be H'NESS CB 350. Many of you might question why I'm choosing this over a ROYAL?? There's a reason because of its naked classic styling, refinement, braking, and lastly that top end. Only in this battle, I support CB 350, but just imagine the METEOR engine in classic 350 which is already a king of this segment it'll take the battle to next level. Because METEOR being a cruiser is giving a very tough fight to CB350.

There is also a problem with HONDA as it is not available everywhere because it is being sold through its BIG WING network which are not much compared to RE showrooms which makes it difficult to test ride, booking, and servicing as you need to travel some kilometers to keep your motorcycle happy.

HONDA had every good chance to snatch the throne from the king by giving some more features, power, etc., or by making it available through their local HONDA network for now. Once they are done with expanding their BIG WING networks they could have shifted it. What have you done HONDA??? delivered such a good product but if you had given a little more then you had all possibilities of dethroning the king. 

Never the less it's you who are going to buy so please go, do have a test ride before you buy and compare which suits you more. Do make a sensible choice.

Thank you once again everyone for the patience you might have shown and came to the end. Please do support me if you like my blogs by sharing them with your friends, family, and one who needs to clear their doubts in this comapro.

Thank you all BU- BYE!! TAKE CARE AND BE SAFE.

Meet you all in the next one very soon!!!