Royal Enfield Meteor 350 — Simplified Maintenance Schedule and Service Intervals

This is the simplified maintenance schedule and service intervals for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350, a compact and simple cruiser released by Royal Enfield in 2021.

The Meteor 350 comes in a number of colours, each of which gets its own name. There’s

• The Supernova (touring windscreen and backrest)
• The Fireball, a plain cruiser with blacked-out pipes
• The Meteor 350 Stellar (with a backrest)

Each named variant of the Meteor 350 may have different colours, but they have the same base — a relaxed cruiser (i.e. feet-in-front-of-hips) position on a compact motorcycle with a 349 cc single-cylinder fuel-injected air-cooled engine that makes 14 kW (20 hp) at 6,100 rpm.

The same engine is used in the 2022-released Royal Enfield Hunter 350.

The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is a very simple motorcycle to ride and to service.

This page was originally published July 21, 2021, but has since been significantly updated.

This site has links for things like oil and spark plugs from which we earn a commission (which unfortunately nobody can save, not even us). If you appreciate this work, then please use those links. Thanks!

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Service Intervals

Generally, the service schedule for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is:

• A minor service every 5000 km / 3000 mi or 6 months where you inspect a lot of items (oil, filters, leads, hoses, terminals, fluids, lubrication of moving parts) and adjust or lubricate as necessary.
• A major service every 10000 km / 6000 mi or 12 months where you also (in addition to the above) change the oil, check the valve clearances (only two valves on one cylinder), check/adjust/replace the spark plug, change the air filter, and clean the throttle body.

There are a few other items to be done more infrequently, like replacing electrical terminals, the fuel filter, and rear wheel cush rubbers — see the schedule below.

Royal Enfield also asks that you change the fork fluid periodically.

What you need to service the Royal Enfield Meteor 350

Royal Enfield almost expects you to service your own motorcycle. There are lots of resources in the owner’s manual, and many guides on YouTube on how to do everything from an oil change to checking the valve clearance.

As there’s only one cylinder head and only two valves, servicing the Meteor 350 isn’t hard — which is lucky, as the service intervals are quite short at only 5000 km or 6 months!

Aside from basic motorcycle maintenance tools, here’s what you need to service your Meteor 350.

Part	Meteor 350 spec
Engine oil	SAE 15W-50 API SL grade JASO MA2 Semi Synthetic. (Oil capacity 2.2L) E.g. Mobil 1 15W-50.
Oil filter	You need to get a standard Royal Enfield Meteor 350 oil filter.
Brake fluid	DOT 4, e.g. Castrol DOT 4 (full synthetic)
Spark plug	M12 Bosch, YR7MES. Spark plug gap 0.7-0.8mm
Air filter	Either use an OEM one from a dealer, or use DNA air filter R-RE35N21-01.

Maintenance schedule for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350

Below is the maintenance schedule from the manual for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350, but adjusted and cleaned up for legibility.

We also clarified some points that made no sense (e.g. it said to clean the chain every 1000 km and every 5000 km… but intuition says the former is the more important one), fixed typos (“solvant” –> solvent, “alchol” –> alcohol), and tidied it up.

Despite the typos, the manual is quite good and has a lot of detail in it on how to do basic maintenance procedures — which is lucky, because you’ll have to do them quite often.

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 — Regular service items

The below items are things you should do on your Meteor 350 more often (every 1000 km).

Part	Regular service item
Engine oil	Check oil level and top up as necessary.
Chain	Clean, lubricate and adjust chain.
Clutch lever & cable	Adjust clutch lever and cable free play and replace if required.
Hand and foot levers	Lubricate hand and foot controls and adjust as necessary
Brake fluid	Check brake fluid level, and top up as necessary.

Standard inspection checklist

In the below maintenance schedule, we refer to a “standard inspection checklist” that you do at every 5000 km / 6-month service.

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Standard Inspection Checklist
Engine oil level – inspect * See below for replacement schedule
Air filter — Clean * More often if motorcycle is used in dusty conditions * See below for replacement schedule
Throttle cable – adjust Adjust earlier if required
Intake adapter rubber hose – inspect for cracks
Vent pipe under air filter box – inspect
Battery terminals (apply petroleum jelly) – clean, apply petroleum jelly
HT leads – inspect for cracks, wear
Starter motor & starter relay connections- inspect
Injector hoses – Inspect
Brake Pads – Front & Rear — Inspect wear levels
Brake fluid level, front and rear disc – inspect
Front and rear brake hose & banjo bolt – inspect condition
Lubricate moving parts (side stand, centre stand, pillion foot rest, gear shifter, brake pedal, levers)
Steering ball races play – inspect * Service more often if riding in harsh conditions
Swing arm pivot bush and spacer – inspect. * Service more often if riding in harsh conditions
Front fork – inspect for leaks
Tyre wear pattern front and rear – inspect
Evaporative Emission Equipment rubber hoses – inspect Drain the overfill by removing plug
Side stand switch operation – inspect
All mounting fasteners in vehicle – Check for tightness

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 — Regular maintenance schedule

In addition to the above items, follow the below maintenance schedule.

Notes on the maintenance schedule

• Follow the shorter of the time or distance interval.
• Throttle body cleaning: Just use a dry microfibre cloth. Don’t use throttle body cleaners or any solvent or alcohol-based liquids to clean it.
• Valve service — Most manuals don’t put a time requirement on this, only distance (i.e. technically you shouldn’t need to check the clearances if the bike has been sitting.)

Kms (x 1000)	0.5	5	10	15	20
Miles (x 1000)	0.3	3	6	9	12
Months	1.5	6	12	18	24	Every
Perform full inspection checklist (above)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Engine oil – replace	✓		✓		✓
Engine oil filter – replace	✓		✓		✓
Engine oil strainer on left crankcase – Clean	✓		✓		✓
Inlet / Exhaust tappet setting – inspect / adjust See below for specs	✓		✓		✓
Spark plug – Clean/Adjust, Replace			C/A		R
Air filter element – Replace			✓		✓	More often if motorcycle is used in dusty conditions
Earth wire eyelet contact – Inspect					✓
Front fork oil – Replace					✓
Wheel rim run out front and rear – Inspect	✓		✓		✓
Rear wheel cush rubbers – Inspect / Replace					✓
Brake fluid – Replace					✓
Throttle body – Clean			✓		✓	Remove throttle body and clean with a dry microfiber cloth.

Other long-term maintenance

The manual also specifies the following longer-term maintenance items for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.

Maintenance item	Period
Fuel filter in fuel pump – Replace	30000 km / 18000 miles / 36 months
Evap hoses – Replace	40000 km / 24000 miles / 48 months

Meteor 350 Valve Clearances

The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has just two valves on one cylinder. Per the service manual for the Meteor 350, valve clearance specs are:

• Intake: 0.08 mm
• Exhaust: 0.18 mm

Meteor 350 chain specs

The manual specifies that the Meteor 350 has a 104 link chain. It’s of type 520 (5/8 inch, with 1/4 inch width).

Regularly check the tension by placing the motorcycle on a flat surface, in netural gear. Measure the drive chain free play in a few places, pressing up and down, midway between the sprockets on the bottom part of the chain.

Target free play for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350: 20-30 mm (0.8-1.2 in)

To adjust chain tension, follow the below notes.

1. Loosen the axle nut, using a screwdriver to hold the axle secure while loosening the nut on the right.
2. To increase tension, tighten the chain adjusters on the left and right hand side (using a 6mm Allen key). To reduce tension, loosen the adjusters.
3. Make sure you adjust both adjsuters evenly. Check the alignment marks on the axle (around the axle nut) to make sure the axle is in the right position.
4. Hold the spindle firmly on the left, and tighten the rear hex nut on the right to 100 Nm / 74 lb-ft.
5. Check the free play again.

Tyre sizes and pressures for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350

The manual for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 specifies tubeless tyres in the following sizes and with the following recommended tyre pressures.

Wheel	Tyre size	Tyre pressure (cold)
Front	100/90-19 M/C 57P	32 psi
Rear	140/70-17 M/C 66P	32 PSI (36 PSI with pillion)

About the Royal Enfield Meteor 350

The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is a “back to basics” cruiser for Royal Enfield.

Firstly, it’s barely a cruiser — more like a comfortable standard.

But the feet are extended in front of the rider, so I guess it does meet the definition of a “cruiser”, much like the Yamaha Bolt for example.

There are other compact cruisers though (like the Yamaha V-Star 250) whose riding positions are lot more feet-forward.

Nonetheless, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has a basic cruiser aesthetic. Low-powered, easy to ride, and with a relaxed riding position, it’s meant to be a motorcycle that you can use to meander along the countryside without worrying about too much. You’ll have to downshift to go up hills and won’t be able to go up them at 100 km/h, but if that’s your goal, this is probably the wrong bike (or those are the wrong goals).

The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is otherwise, compared to most single-cylinder motorcycles, somewhat advanced. Notable features are

• Fuel injection. Many singles make do with carburettors, not needing FI to meet emissions standards. Having fuel injection means less maintenance, particularly if you leave the Meteor sitting for a while.
• ABS. The Meteor 350 comes standard with ABS. So it’s better for beginner riders who might — in spite of training and practise — panic brake by grabbing the levers. This is on top of the fact that the rear brake is a disc brake too, making it slightly easier to replace pads. (Simply because these days people are more familiar with changing pads rather than shoes)
• Turn-by-turn navigation. The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has a neat display that indicates the next turn you have to make. This makes the Meteor a compelling proposition for delivery riders…

The major downside of the Meteor 350 — like that of many Royal Enfield motorcycles (like the Himalayan) — is the frequent service required. Servicing the valves of a bike every 5000 km (3000 mi) is a bit of a chore. It really sneaks up on you quickly.

Of course, you won’t be using the Meteor for long distances, and if you do, an oil change afterwards might just be in order. So if you do a bunch of short runs (say 200 km a week as a delivery rider for 50 weeks a year), then you’ll have to do two services a year. Not bad, but could be better.

The Meteor 350 targets a new generation of riders who want something “fun” and cool looking without having to pay for an Indian Scout Bobber, for example, and who may not even have the roads to fully exploit such a bike. For such a crowd, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is ideal.

The upside of the relatively frequent service of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is that it’s not only easy… it’s part of the ownership experience. And if you feel uncomfortable, there will be not only many people who can do the service for you, but many who’ll show you how for next time.

Reference — Manual for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350

The above maintenance schedule came from the manual for the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 (which was released in 2021). You can download it from Royal Enfield’s website here.