Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350: Very rarely is a motorcycle a spot-on reflection of a place, but the Royal Enfield Classic 350 captures the spirit of the languid Goan coastline like no one’s business.
On this sun-soaked strip of India’s western coastline, the din of Royal Enfield engines has become as ubiquitous here as the crashing of the waves and the thumping bass of the evening beach parties.
With its easy-going soul, tough skin and enduring appeal, the motorcycle has become an automatic two-wheeled ambassador for India’s most favourite holiday destination.
Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350: A Timeless Design.
The Classic 350’s design language resides in a completely different planet altogether – the one where a motorcycle was a simple, mechanical device, meant to ferry people from point A to point B, and probably a bit more, and not a tech showpiece.
With its teardrop gas tank, sprung single seat and large fenders, this is an instantly recognisable form three decades in the making.
The round headlamp enclosure (which now holds LED illumination) is a reminder of an old-school look, but the light gives a good spread of view on Goa’s narrow and pitch-dark backroads.
Furniture at one-off examples scattered throughout Goa bears the patina of sun and spray in the paint finishes, rather than neglect, a testament to the tables and chairs in constant use in the coastal setting.
The gloss on the chrome wears out after some time and you get this super cool patina and for some reason I like the bike even better (seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me?). It’s a process of nature that works for Goa’s slow pace – where it’s authenticity which matters more than perfection.
The recent upgrades to the Classic 350 platform, though, certainly addles a better switch gear quality and instrument console, yet, the almighty circular dial for the analogue speedometer remains dominantly deployed while it is lent a minuscule digital read-out for the entire chorus of basic information.
The updates do bring it up to speed with modern-day expectations but at no point do they detract from the fundamental essence of what makes the bike such an ideal companion for Goan exploration: all that retro appeal.
Where Bodily Kind Meets Many COASTAL Highways
And nothing is the heart of the Classic 350 more than its 349cc single-cylinder engine—constructed with a long-stroke design to provide lower-end grunt rather than top-end horsepower.
The new J-series mill is now developing approximately 20 bhp and 27 NM of torque in such a thumping beat that the fans endearingly label as “thump”.
The laid-back power from the engine seems tailor made for driving this vehicle through Goa’s meandering coastal roads – the journey being more important than the destination.
CLEVE-p88 Mechanical highlights include a counter balancer that mellows out the old-school vibes without removing all the engine character.
That five-speed transmission is no quick shifter and it does require delberate inputs, leading to a sedate riding style – just as Goa likes it.
It gets around 35 kilometers a liter (important when you are driving to the state’s more remote beaches and villages, as gas stations are few and far between).
But the dual-channel ABS with front and rear disc brakes do provide fixed faith braking adequate to the bike’s performance limits and enough conviction to help you miss that wayward cow or surprise scooter manoeuvre that is oh so often seen on Goan roads.
The suspension—old-style telescopic forks in front and twin rear springs in the back—takes on the blocky roadwork with damped authority if not complete plushness.
A Perfect Companion to a Visit to Goa
Even more importantly, the personality of the motorcycle can add to the appeal in a place like Goa, and here’s what makes the Classic 350 even more at home in a place like this.
Don’t expect either to keep up a pace – the Royal Enfield’s ideal cruising rate of 70-80 kph is perfect for Goa’s poke-along coastal roads where half the point is the scenery -and not flying by it.
The feel is relatively upright, with a nicely generous view of the landscape for most of the day.
The bike tips the scales at about 195 kilos, which is both light enough for the sandy coastal roads on which we rode (we did throw in some silt as well), as it is heavy enough and with a slim enough profile to insert itself though crowded marketplaces in Anjuna and Calangute)
That useful ground clearance is handy when driving along dirt road paths that lead to beaches or hilltop views of the Arabian Sea.
It’s the reason rental fleets across Goa are full of Classic 350s — it is rugged enough to give one confidence through mile after mile of well-laid tarmac, but not so much as to intimidate inexperienced riders.
Itstoo simple to operate and don’t forget and predictable behavior also made it the choice for the foreigner touring who on looking to have a short ride of two wheel freedom when relaxing in Goa.
Brotherhood and community among the community and each other.
The Classic 350 from Royal Enfield is now a part of transport zeitgeist of Goa, lets put it that way and to not stand out like a sore thumb, all it takes is a bit of camouflage with this most opened two-wheeler.
Local greasemonkeys have mastered an intimate knowledge of the vehicles, so if you happen to break down on your long wander, you’re likely to find someone who can patch it up.
There’s often roadside assistance, not rendered by the eminences of authority, but by fellow Royal Enfield riders, brothers in arms by the highway.
This camaraderie sets the stage for the numerous Royal Enfield cafes and hangouts that have mushroomed across Goa where bikers come to exchange stories and discuss routes.
Weekend breakfast missions to Arambol Beach, or sundowner meets at Vagator are the stuff of folklore among holiday-goers and locals alike, who come together across cultural divides to bond over the motorcycle ride.
For many a godless, heathen visitor to the subcontinent, a Classic 350 is a way-station: a digestible amount of Indian biking, without the crushing terror of city traffic.
The slowpoke tempo, endowed by the motorcycle’s character, offers guests time to acclimatise to the peculiarities of the local road culture and develop a bit of road confidence before graduating to Belgium-bigger excursions (to Hampi or the Western Ghats, just an inch yonder).
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Change but not a sea change
By giving the Classic 350 a revision, Royal Enfield has proven, it seems, that evolution is more their thing than revolution.
The term modern café racer is often banded around as a label; here at Spirit of the Seventies this is, in parts, very true but this is much more than a smoky, shortcut ride down Cafe Racer Boulevard, it s a continuation of the original with all that s good being turned up several notches resulting in a transformation, you could say that in its 40 year transition it has become a snarling, squirming, tyre-smoking Monster that s still young at 40!
It is a philosophy that mirrors the maturation of its host Goa—embracing the overbearing thrust of modernization, but working to ensure the cachet of that, which makes Goa, what it is today.
Despite being a generation old, and the fact that customers today have an option of more technologically superior motorcycles, the Classic 350 remains a fan favourite for providing one of the truest form of motorcycling experience.
In a world of transportation that is looking more homogenized by the minute, the R.E. has character—mechanicals that feel soulful, as opposed to the sterility of a clinic.
It is Goa that one feels an authenticity the most (hard to find the word in a place that has priced it here) but it is tarnished with commercially packaged tourists.
For those who want to escape their resort compounds and the organized-tour treadmill it’s easy to fall into and actually feel like he or she’s experiencing Goa, the Royal Enfield Classic 350 hits a sweet spot of capability, character and approachability.
The bike is more than just a means to ferry people from one place to another, but the only way to experience Goa — the journey and the destination melt into a golden thigh-slapping good time in India’s doppelgänger to the sandy open beaches abroad.
