1953 Royal Enfield Meteor 700 compared side to side with new Meteor 350 in video

Royal Enfield is the world's oldest motorcycle brand to remain in continuous production. The company announced the launch of Meteor 350 back in November 2020 in India, and the motorcycle is exported to a number of international markets where it has become a fairly popular model. Now the UK-based Hitchcock Motorcycles has compared the original 1953 Royal Enfield Meteor 700 to the new Meteor 350 highlighting how the motorcycle technology has evolved.

Both the motorcycles are decades apart and the use of different technology is evident in both bikes. The original model gets polychromatic copper beach paint which was considered an innovation for its time. The signature round headlamp as well as a single pod instrument console on the old Meteor also can't be missed. These elements can also be found on the existing Royal Enfield bikes. There is a winged 'Royal Enfield' brand logo on the tank of the motorcycle which also sports plastic grips. The twin-seat setup gets spring for comfort.

The bike features spoked wheels considering alloys weren't available at that time. Other noticeable features of the old Meteor include its familiar straight exhaust pipe design that is quite common on Royal Enfield bikes even now. The low placed handlebar, mid-set foot and spring-loaded seats seem to give the bike a fairly comfort-oriented riding stance.

In comparison, the new Meteor 350 features a completely modern design language. There are alloys wheels, a semi-digital instrument panel with Bluetooth connectivity, a single-cylinder powertrain with a counterbalancer and a single overhead camshaft technology.