Just wondered what your thoughts were on the 350 engine?
Was interested in either the 350 or the 411 and gathering experiences!
Was interested in either the 350 or the 411 and gathering experiences!
Enfield Meteor/classic 350 owners on here?
- Thread starter neuroportal
- Start date
I've got a 350 Meteor, what would you like to know?
Lots of info on both the 350 & 411 here:https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php
Chris
Lots of info on both the 350 & 411 here:https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php
Chris
Stuart Fillingham has a load of YouTube reviews for the 350's and the Himmy 411
https://youtu.be/wNjjfaLxLs0
Thanks for those links and comments.
Interested in your impressions, Chris.
One thing I am interested is how either performs with a light pillion. More interested in the the effect on the engine rather than the various configurations of each.
Both can't easily be used on dual carriageways I appreciate, but going off around North Wales - how would either fair? Is the 411 noticeably better than the 350 or just different?
Another is about the 350 development - is it a noticeably better engine than the 411 or, again, just different?
Interested in your impressions, Chris.
One thing I am interested is how either performs with a light pillion. More interested in the the effect on the engine rather than the various configurations of each.
Both can't easily be used on dual carriageways I appreciate, but going off around North Wales - how would either fair? Is the 411 noticeably better than the 350 or just different?
Another is about the 350 development - is it a noticeably better engine than the 411 or, again, just different?
My advice, limited as it is to buying just my Himalayan, would be to ride the bikes for yourself *.
I test rode the Himalayan for a full day and the Scram for a full day, before I made my decision. Neither bike will set the world on fire and both are equal in the engine department. What though I found was that the Himalayan was the more relaxing to ride, if indeed 25 bhp can ever be anything but relaxing. What I mean is that the riding position of the Himalayan lent itself to just chugging along. The Scram I wanted to just twist the throttle to 11 and keep it there.
Had I lived in north Wales and wanted to use a bike to rag around the hills for an hour on Sunday, so as to avoid chapel, I’d have chosen the Scram. Actually, that’s not true, I’d have chosen a 600cc (or whatever) KTM. But as I don’t and, living in central London (rarely going out for less than 250 miles in a day) the Himalayan suited me better.
* That applies to any bike. I also test rode the small BMW offerings. Truly horrible.
PS There are lots of reviews on the bikes with pillions. Yes, you can use the bikes on a dual carriageway. I rode for several miles down the very busy A12 dual carriageway and on the equally busy M11 and M25. You just need to be sensible (and realistic) about it. If you worry that much, buy a more powerful motorbike or ask yourself, how many times are yiu going to find yourself on a very busy, multi-Lane, road. It’s that simple.
I test rode the Himalayan for a full day and the Scram for a full day, before I made my decision. Neither bike will set the world on fire and both are equal in the engine department. What though I found was that the Himalayan was the more relaxing to ride, if indeed 25 bhp can ever be anything but relaxing. What I mean is that the riding position of the Himalayan lent itself to just chugging along. The Scram I wanted to just twist the throttle to 11 and keep it there.
Had I lived in north Wales and wanted to use a bike to rag around the hills for an hour on Sunday, so as to avoid chapel, I’d have chosen the Scram. Actually, that’s not true, I’d have chosen a 600cc (or whatever) KTM. But as I don’t and, living in central London (rarely going out for less than 250 miles in a day) the Himalayan suited me better.
* That applies to any bike. I also test rode the small BMW offerings. Truly horrible.
PS There are lots of reviews on the bikes with pillions. Yes, you can use the bikes on a dual carriageway. I rode for several miles down the very busy A12 dual carriageway and on the equally busy M11 and M25. You just need to be sensible (and realistic) about it. If you worry that much, buy a more powerful motorbike or ask yourself, how many times are yiu going to find yourself on a very busy, multi-Lane, road. It’s that simple.
Thanks for the reply!
"My advice, limited as it is to buying just my Himalayan, would be to ride the bikes for yourself"
Always a good idea. That hasn't been discounted - I am interested in others opinions as riding pillion on a demonstrator isn't going to be an an option and knowing other's experiences is always a good source.
"I test rode the Himalayan for a full day and the Scram for a full day, before I made my decision. Neither bike will set the world on fire and both are equal in the engine department. What though I found was that the Himalayan was the more relaxing to ride, if indeed 25 bhp can ever be anything but relaxing. What I mean is that the riding position of the Himalayan lent itself to just chugging along. The Scram I wanted to just twist the throttle to 11 and keep it there."
That is good to know. Bear in mind that the last few bikes I owned, other than the CB, are the VFR800, A Ninja 650 and a 1050GT and I have no illusions about performance here.
"Had I lived in north Wales and wanted to use a bike to rag around the hills for an hour on Sunday, so as to avoid chapel, I’d have chosen the Scram. Actually, that’s not true, I’d have chosen a 600cc (or whatever) KTM. But as I don’t and, living in central London (rarely going out for less than 250 miles in a day) the Himalayan suited me better."
Yes - that has also been considered but with the raft of average speed cameras now existing - I'm looking more to continue enjoying being out on a bike exploring as opposed to riding for its own sake, if you see what I mean.
"If you worry that much, buy a more powerful motorbike or ask yourself, how many times are yiu going to find yourself on a very busy, multi-Lane, road. It’s that simple."
I'm not worried about that situation, I'm curious.
Thanks for the info, Wapping!
"My advice, limited as it is to buying just my Himalayan, would be to ride the bikes for yourself"
Always a good idea. That hasn't been discounted - I am interested in others opinions as riding pillion on a demonstrator isn't going to be an an option and knowing other's experiences is always a good source.
"I test rode the Himalayan for a full day and the Scram for a full day, before I made my decision. Neither bike will set the world on fire and both are equal in the engine department. What though I found was that the Himalayan was the more relaxing to ride, if indeed 25 bhp can ever be anything but relaxing. What I mean is that the riding position of the Himalayan lent itself to just chugging along. The Scram I wanted to just twist the throttle to 11 and keep it there."
That is good to know. Bear in mind that the last few bikes I owned, other than the CB, are the VFR800, A Ninja 650 and a 1050GT and I have no illusions about performance here.
"Had I lived in north Wales and wanted to use a bike to rag around the hills for an hour on Sunday, so as to avoid chapel, I’d have chosen the Scram. Actually, that’s not true, I’d have chosen a 600cc (or whatever) KTM. But as I don’t and, living in central London (rarely going out for less than 250 miles in a day) the Himalayan suited me better."
Yes - that has also been considered but with the raft of average speed cameras now existing - I'm looking more to continue enjoying being out on a bike exploring as opposed to riding for its own sake, if you see what I mean.
"If you worry that much, buy a more powerful motorbike or ask yourself, how many times are yiu going to find yourself on a very busy, multi-Lane, road. It’s that simple."
I'm not worried about that situation, I'm curious.
Thanks for the info, Wapping!
Thoughts on my Meteor 350:
Firstly, I've never ridden it with a pillion so I can't really comment on its suitability. However although it's only 20 bhp, it is a very torquey engine & the torque curve is very flat. The engine is incredibly smooth for a single, and the gearbox is one of the best I've ever tried. (after ditching the awful heel/toe lever).
Although it's more suited to minor roads, it is capable of dual carriageways & it's happy at 60mph with a bit in reserve if needed. They are electronically limited to approx 72mph, not just a rev limiter, but a speed limiter as well. I'm very happy with it & I'm planning a camping trip on it in the summer.
Firstly, I've never ridden it with a pillion so I can't really comment on its suitability. However although it's only 20 bhp, it is a very torquey engine & the torque curve is very flat. The engine is incredibly smooth for a single, and the gearbox is one of the best I've ever tried. (after ditching the awful heel/toe lever).
Although it's more suited to minor roads, it is capable of dual carriageways & it's happy at 60mph with a bit in reserve if needed. They are electronically limited to approx 72mph, not just a rev limiter, but a speed limiter as well. I'm very happy with it & I'm planning a camping trip on it in the summer.
Thanks Chris!
Neuroportal Bill Smiths Chester has a 350 classic and a Himmy as demonstrators. I saw them when I was in last week. I know A&D are selling their Himmy and Scram demonstrators , but they may have others to back them up.
Freddy Dobbs ( Youtube) prefers the Classic 350 engine to the the 411, based on smoothness.
I keep thinking I may chop my 390 Duke in for a RE , then I give it some berries and think again
I spoke to a guy at A& D the other day who had done 1800 on his Meteor , he was very pleased and interestingly said , wherever he parks up folk come to talk to him about it. Guess I fell into that category too.
If you are concerned about a pillion , drop me a PM when you are thinking of going for a test ride and if I can Ill ride over and sit on the back for you
Freddy Dobbs ( Youtube) prefers the Classic 350 engine to the the 411, based on smoothness.
I keep thinking I may chop my 390 Duke in for a RE , then I give it some berries and think again
I spoke to a guy at A& D the other day who had done 1800 on his Meteor , he was very pleased and interestingly said , wherever he parks up folk come to talk to him about it. Guess I fell into that category too.
If you are concerned about a pillion , drop me a PM when you are thinking of going for a test ride and if I can Ill ride over and sit on the back for you
That’s very good of you, Steve!
It was A&D I was in last weekend having a look over them.
It was A&D I was in last weekend having a look over them.
I have a Classic 350 with only about 600 miles on it so far and haven't yet ridden with a pillion, but in the early 70's I had a 250 Crusader and that was fine with a pillion on the sort of roads on which one would ride such a thing. However, it would only do about 50 miles between big-end rebuilds
The 350 J series engine does appear to be a nice unit, as is the gearbox. I would add these observations:-
As supplied, it appears that almost all Classic 350's have the gear shift lever set too low - unless you habitually ride in sandals and not boots. To adjust is simple but does require moving the frame slightly as the lever fouls the footrest support and won't come off.
Said footrests are essentially horizontal and, even with the shift lever raised a spline, it is still difficult (for me at least) to change up wearing boots. This has been solved by fitting a heel and toe shift (contrast with the Meteor comment above) - £28 posted quickly from India and appears to be a genuine RE part, fits very well and shifting is now a breeze.
Third, and most important, is that the first service is at 300 miles and, according to RE, should include a check / adjust of the valves. I quote from the Service Manual - "Valve clearance setting at First Service (500 km) and above mentioned internal service period instruction is mandatory".
My own experience, and that of many others, is that a lot of dealers DO NOT undertake this check at the first service. I knew for sure that they didn't do mine and I didn't complain because I wanted to do them myself anyway. I did them the day after the "service" and found that the inlet valve had ZERO clearance (should be 0.08mm iirc ) and the exhaust had about half the 0.18mm iirc that it should be.
Checking and adjusting the valves is a simple job but is quite time consuming, as you have to remove the tank and the rocker cover gasket is a bit of a pig to get back in.
I've only ridden in cold (and wet) weather so far and am really looking forward to some warm weather riding around mid Wales on the little Enfield.
The 350 J series engine does appear to be a nice unit, as is the gearbox. I would add these observations:-
As supplied, it appears that almost all Classic 350's have the gear shift lever set too low - unless you habitually ride in sandals and not boots. To adjust is simple but does require moving the frame slightly as the lever fouls the footrest support and won't come off.
Said footrests are essentially horizontal and, even with the shift lever raised a spline, it is still difficult (for me at least) to change up wearing boots. This has been solved by fitting a heel and toe shift (contrast with the Meteor comment above) - £28 posted quickly from India and appears to be a genuine RE part, fits very well and shifting is now a breeze.
Third, and most important, is that the first service is at 300 miles and, according to RE, should include a check / adjust of the valves. I quote from the Service Manual - "Valve clearance setting at First Service (500 km) and above mentioned internal service period instruction is mandatory".
My own experience, and that of many others, is that a lot of dealers DO NOT undertake this check at the first service. I knew for sure that they didn't do mine and I didn't complain because I wanted to do them myself anyway. I did them the day after the "service" and found that the inlet valve had ZERO clearance (should be 0.08mm iirc ) and the exhaust had about half the 0.18mm iirc that it should be.
Checking and adjusting the valves is a simple job but is quite time consuming, as you have to remove the tank and the rocker cover gasket is a bit of a pig to get back in.
I've only ridden in cold (and wet) weather so far and am really looking forward to some warm weather riding around mid Wales on the little Enfield.
Just to add to my comment above on the heel and toe shift, the part for the Classic fits good and solid, unlike the weird floppy arrangement on the Meteor. I understand that TEC Bike Parts do a more substantial replacement for that.
Yes, it's the TEC lever assembly I've fitted to my Meteor. 
Intriguingly, in this Indian comparison of the two the Classic appears to be fitted with a heel and toe change..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xwFfMX9D8M
.....and the heel and toe shifter is on the Classic in the factory videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCM2J99Ug3Q
For that money, I'd be tempted by a used <10,000 mile Kawasaki W800 or fuel-injected Bonneville. Characterful bikes that are a pleasure to ride at Enfield speeds and would shrug off the weight of a pillion.
I do like the red and chrome Classic, just such a classic looking 350.
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