Ever since Royal Enfield brought out its 650 parallel twin a few years back, for the Continental GT and Interceptor (see Costa’s ride review here), we’ve been asking: When will they put this engine into something else? And now we have the answer in front of us, with the new Super Meteor.
At first glance, this looks a lot like the previous 350 Meteor cruiser, but it’s a whole new chassis, built around that air/oil-cooled 650 parallel twin. It sounds like the engine makes roughly the same power in this bike as it did in the GT and Interceptor—around 47 hp and 38.3 lb-ft of torque. There’s probably no need to re-tune it for cruiser purposes, as that output would suit most riders nicely. Of course, like all RE’s modern bikes, the engine is fuel-injected. It comes with a six-speed gearbox.
The Super Meteor has upside-down fork and dual rear shocks. The back end is preload-adjustable, but the fork is non-adjustable. That USD front end might look trick, but it’s probably pretty basic.
The front wheel is a 19-incher, with a 16-inch wheel in back, with cast rims. Up front, Royal Enfield spec’d a 320 mm brake disc; in back, a 300 mm disc. Dual-channel ABS comes standard, as it’s required for the EU market.
Headlight and taillight are both LEDs.
The seat height is a low 740 mm, giving it that slammed look that most cruiser buyers want. Fuel capacity is 15.7 liters, and the bike weighs 241 kg at the curb, with 90 percent of fuel onboard. Kind of a hefty for a 650, but there isn’t much competition in this space, so it probably won’t affect sales.
Speaking of which—we do expect this machine to come to Canada, possibly in a touring version as well, since RE is also making that, with bags and windscreen. Stay tuned. Keep an eye on the Royal Enfield site for more info as it comes.
