Who hunts the Hunter? Motorcycle enthusiasts, apparently. We've been keeping our eyes on the upcoming Royal Enfield Hunter 350 for well over a year as of July 7, 2022—and it seems like it’s almost here. Back in early 2021, a heavily-disguised test mule version was first spotted roaming Indian roads in Tamil Nadu.
Fast-forward to June, 2022, and Enfield is still slightly attempting to shroud the bike in a teeny-tiny bit of mystery, but not much. An eagle-eyed bikespotter tipped off motorcycle and automotive publication GaadiWaadi, and we’ve got a glimpse at what appears to be a production-ready Hunter 350 out on the street.
You know what? It looks quite a bit like the leaked design documents that BikeWale got its hands on in June, 2022. Those retro-modern naked looks are all present and accounted for in these photos, along with the addition of a few touring accessories that have been fitted to the test bike as well.
Production-Spec Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Spied With Touring Accessories https://t.co/3RKSaKJAwY pic.twitter.com/VWMvlkOexK
— GaadiWaadi.com® (@gaadiwaadi) July 5, 2022
The teardrop tank, upright seating position, round mirrors, single ByBre disc brakes with ABS, low-mounted exhaust pipe, round headlight, round taillight and rear turn signals, and 17-inch alloy wheels are all plainly visible. Design documents leaked in previous months showed all of these things in detail, and they look pretty much exactly as depicted earlier.
This particular unit also sports a small, smoked flyscreen mounted above the headlight up front, a single hard pannier on the right, and a small pillion backrest just above the taillight cluster. It’s unclear what kinds of trim levels Enfield might be intending to offer with the Hunter, but at least one will probably get the Tripper Navigation option in addition to the regular speedo pod that should be mounted neatly up front.
There’s still a small amount of disguise employed here, with a bit of wrapping on the tank and pannier, and some kind of sticker that looks like etched correction tape over the Royal Enfield name badge on the engine case’s righthand side. (To be honest, that sticker probably draws more attention to the badge than if Enfield had just left it out undisguised.)
We still don’t have an exact launch date for the Hunter 350, but it’s widely expected in late July/early August, 2022. Once official details are announced, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.