What is the difference between Thunderbird 350 X and Meteor?

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 will be the bike that replace Thunderbird 350 series. The bike is around Rs 11,900 dearer than the Thunderbird 350. It looks similar to the Thunderbird 350X and carries the same fuel tank, side panel, and alloy wheels design. However, the Meteor 350 gets a split seat setup which could have a slightly different ride height than the Thunderbird 350X. The Meteor 350 also gets a different headlamp casing. While the Thunderbird 350 had a projector headlamp setup, the Meteor gets a simple halogen-bulb setup. It also gets a different tail lamp and turn indicators. The twin-pod instrument console is asymmetric now. We expect to see a speedometer and tachometer in there along with a few telltale lights. The switchgear is all-new too and similar to the Royal Enfield Concept KX that was shown at EICMA.The Meteor 350 sits on Royal Enfield’s J-platform. Unlike the Thunderbird’s single downtube frame, this one is a double-cradle frame. The all-new BS6-compliant air-cooled motor shares its engine casing with the Interceptor 650. It is expected to feature an engine displacement of around 350cc along with fuel injection. Instead of the traditional pushrod layout, the new motor gets an overhead camshaft. You might miss out on the legendary thump, but it gets more performance than the Thunderbird 350’s 9.8PS and 28Nm. It could get a counterbalancer to minimise vibrations. The gearbox is likely to be a six-speed unit for relaxed highway cruising ability. Like the Interceptor 650, the Meteor 350 could get a slip and assist clutch to reduce clutch effort.