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My sorta brief assessment of my (long gone) RE 350 Classic.

JBacklund

JBacklund

Well travelled
Location
Summerset, South Dakota
When I first saw a photo of a UK dealership's metallic bronze and chrome RE 350 Classic, I promised myself that I would have it as soon as one arrived at my local US dealer.

It took a while, but one found it's way here and I immediately bought it.

Good lord, that thing was gorgeous.

I was all agog for the bike, loved EVERYTHING about it...except.......for all of it's visual attractiveness and mechanical refinement, it's very meager 20 hp output soon had me leaving it in the garage while I took one of our other bikes out for whatever the day's ride was to be.

With only about 300 miles on it, I sadly traded it back in to the dealer I bought it from.

I understand that 20 hp pushing a 400+ pound bike with a 230 pound rider in hilly country may be enough for some, even many, but it simply wasn't going to work out for me.

I tell.people that if it only had another ten hp, I would very likely still have it, but....it doesn't.

I can only blame myself for the situation because I had test rode an RE 350 some months before buying one, and I knew that the 350 single RE engine was marginal at best for my riding needs in our area, but put on the proverbial rose-colored glasses and bought one anyway, thinking that I would be able to adjust to it's power shortcomings(?), after all, one of my favorite bikes in our garage is a Vespa GTS 350 scooter, but the performance differences between the two machines is substantial, and not in the RE's favor.

So there it is.

But just LOOK at that beautiful little bike, eh? (Almost the same physical size as the 650 Interceptor)...
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Oh man....hate to hear this. I LOVE that color scheme. Almost "edible". Any bike that has a scheme of something that looks delicious (like the same brown on the Meteor) triggers something in my pea brain. Maybe it's a subliminal root beer float trigger?

I do have to say, I bought Pyle with 1000 miles on the clock so much of the break-in is done, and it's even loosened up more over the last few hundred I've put on.
I hope you didn't trade it too soon. I live in very steep Canyonland and Pyle hauls my 235 pound arse up the canyons "more than well enough" to make me happy....and I also have an Interceptor to compare to. Not sure if it makes any difference but it came with the DNA filter and I decatted it. Again though, I don't require out of my bikes near what I used to.
 
This review just makes me want one more, I have no self control but when forced to go slower I enjoy myself more ... that being said, I live with steep curvy mountain roads so one can ride like a lunatic and drag pegs on pretty much anything while going downhill. If I had to live with everything flat and straight I might be more frustrated.
 
I bought a J engined Bike to see what can be done about this problem of power.
Of course I could have saved a lot by getting a Hunter but it does not compare visually with that Bronze beauty.
My black Bullet has an ugly old look to it, now I just want it to go faster as well.
Part way there I think at 410cc.
 
These bikes are large for a 350cc model and heavy too. just like the older bikes were back in the 1950's.
That's without the slow speed but they have something about them that makes me very happy when I go out for a ride - British Bike Soul perhaps?
I keep warning my son about the top speed but he's adamant that when the warmer weather comes he's going to get the new (for this year) Green and Chrome model.
 
BSA Biker said:
These bikes are large for a 350cc model and heavy too. just like the older bikes were back in the 1950's.
That's without the slow speed but they have something about them that makes me very happy when I go out for a ride - British Bike Soul perhaps?
I keep warning my son about the top speed but he's adamant that when the warmer weather comes he's going to get the new (for this year) Green and Chrome model.
Click to expand...

There's just something really nice about a mellow single cylinder 'thumper', dare I say 'therapeutic'?

I'm not a power-crazed lunatic who who prioritizes hp over everything else....in spite of my Triumph Rocket 3R, which may indicate otherwise to some.

I keep saying that if the RE 350 I had would have at least matched the road performance and acceleration of my 2020 Vespa GTS 300 scooter, I would still have the 350.

The Vespa is only 278cc's, puts out 24 hp, and weighs about 80 pounds less than the RE 350, and as a result, noticably outperforms the RE.

After I bought the Vespa (used) in August of 2022, I loaded it up and took off to Minnesota from the Black Hills region where I live. I rode that scooter 420 miles to Pipestone, Minnesota on day one, then 420 miles back home on day two.

I had a very nice ride, and was able to maintain 55-65 mph easily for the entire ride.

That's what I wanted to do with the RE 350 too, but it worked too hard to maintain even 60 mph, and had almost zero margin of power for dealing with Hills or even light headwinds, and so it sat in the garage and looked pretty.

A boost to perhaps even 30 hp would make the RE 350 a lot more usable in my real world of Hills and Black Hills back roads, give it just enough 'oomph' to encourage a multi-day road trip, and still preserve the easy-going thumper charm inherent in this type of bike.

A true top speed potential of 75-80 mph (again, matching my Vespa 300) would also have it holding 55-60 mph on most highway uphill grades and give it a chance of dealing with headwinds and two-up loads, etc.

A few more photos of my RE 350 are in order here...
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I just freaking love that colour, I don’t know what it is about that poop brown with the chrome but damn… I was considering a Meteor 350 for a long while, but coming from a 125cc 15hp I knew what I was getting into, so I splurged on a Interceptor and I love it. Btw, have you considered a classic 500? If I recall correctly they’re 30hp ish and you can always add the rear led tailight and more “modern” indicators and touches of the 350 aftermarket. The black/chrome version it’s a looker too, and even it’s not going to win any drag races at least you have those 10 extra horse to play
 
My pre-unit Bullet only made 20hp, but it was essentially an antique. And used as such.

I realize that, in many places, 20hp is enough, but in the wide open spaces of the American west, it's not. RE's reputation at the time, and lack of dealer network, probably affected the sale of the 500 UCEs. But that has been much improved lately. A 500 J model wouldn't be a big seller, but it might be the bike the SR500 faithful have been waiting for.

(Might as well wish for a winning lottery ticket while I'm at it).
 
Does make buying second hand good value, I wanted specifics otherwise it would have been a good option, kicked myself only days later when I saw sh bikes for way less, shouldn't have looked.
What is the history with the building " Pump House" ?
 
By 2000km (~1200 miles) both of my 350s would run 65 mph (110kph) all day long with no troubles. Steep hills might take shifting back to 4th in order to clear without dropping below 60, although your steep hills and mine may be different. I've yet to find a hill that 4th gear wouldn't do at 60+mph (The Metric Tonne), but then I don't live in the Rockies or the Alps or even the Welsh Highlands. Even with a headwind 60-65 on the flat is no strain at all and I often find myself happily doing 65-70 to keep up with traffic in a 55mph zone. While that's near the upper end of what the bike will do, it'll do it all day long for me.

Not sure why you got a gutless wonder or however that ended up, but your reports of speed are well below mine. I tip the scales at 240 pounds, so it's not likely to be my svelte frame making me go faster. I didn't even break my Classic in properly, which is probably why it only gets 65 MPG on 87 Octane.
Oh well, I can always just break in a 410 kit better than I did the 350 cylinder and see what that does.
 
2LZ said:
Oh man....hate to hear this. I LOVE that color scheme. Almost "edible". Any bike that has a scheme of something that looks delicious (like the same brown on the Meteor) triggers something in my pea brain. Maybe it's a subliminal root beer float trigger?

I do have to say, I bought Pyle with 1000 miles on the clock so much of the break-in is done, and it's even loosened up more over the last few hundred I've put on.
I hope you didn't trade it too soon. I live in very steep Canyonland and Pyle hauls my 235 pound arse up the canyons "more than well enough" to make me happy....and I also have an Interceptor to compare to. Not sure if it makes any difference but it came with the DNA filter and I decatted it. Again though, I don't require out of my bikes near what I used to.
Click to expand...
Salivating over one more bike -- whether color, model or style -- keeps us young!
 
Woodstock said:
I love the Bullet. I find it underpowered when I need quick acceleration, but I never open the throttle all the way as it is.
Click to expand...
Now that I have about 1500 miles on Pyle, I did take it out on our two lane highway last week, and got it up to about 70 on the speedo for a minute. Just wanted to see if it would do it, but yah, it really loves 55-65-ish. Comfy there.
These things shut off at 73???? Speed limiter? I can see a rev limiter, but a speed limiter? I guess the Hunter doesn't do this, from what I've read? Not that I'd go through the trouble. Pyle is for show and appearance. If I want to go faster, I got the Interceptor.
 
2LZ said:
These things shut off at 73???? Speed limiter? I can see a rev limiter, but a speed limiter?
Click to expand...
That's certainly how the Meteor works..
Hitchcocks dyno says 75mph @ 5750 rpm. (LINK to YuTube Video)
The motor must rev to at least 6100, that being where maximum HP occurs.

There is , ALLEGEDLY, a fix....(For the Meteor 350 anyway. Can't see why Classic or Bullet would be different... :unsure:)
View on YouTube to read the comments.

 
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