I felt something that’s increasingly rare in today’s motorcycle market for the first time swung my leg over the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 – a genuine connection to motorcycling heritage with enough modern performance to satisfy contemporary riders.
This isn’t just another retro-styled bike trying to cash in on nostalgia.
It hearkens to motorcycling’s golden age yet in form and substance remains true, rather than houtoiian.
This wasn’t only the latest launch from Royal Enfield, when they added the Super Meteor 650 to their range.
It was a statement of what their next generation cruiser motorcycles would look like in an age where character seems increasingly manufactured and less earned.
A Heritage Reborn for Modern Roads
The language of the Super Meteor’s design tells you everything without even pressing the starter.
The teardrop tank, sculpted fenders like softly arched wings and of course that distinctive headlamp nacelle each represent motorcycling’s golden era; but it never feels forced or fake.
Over a period lasting three weeks, I lived with the bike. I spent nearly 800 miles traveling everywhere from crowded city streets to open country highways, and as each day passed it was becoming increasingly clear that this was a machine tailored for two separate lives.
What makes the parallel-twin 648cc engine of the Super Meteor so satisfying to ride?
Most modern motorcycles, delivered with a twist of your wrist moment usually rip all out; the Super Meteor, though, builds its torque in a smooth, linear and predictable way.
It feels a little bit different from how bikes were before — not just something you directed to go one place: you pushed back on them as well.
Still, though, 47 horsepower might not impress spec-sheet racers.
The story can rarely be told fully with number alone.
What’s important is in how those horses come along, and on that the Super Meteor hits it perfectly for cruiser riding.
From 2,500 RPM on, the bike pulls strongly–catching elsewhere in the range of 3,500 to 5,000 RPM.
Engineers at Royal Enfield obviously knew what they were doing; riding pleasure doesn’t consist merely of output but the subjective aspects that embody ‘character’ and ‘usability’.
During my time with it, I found myself repeatedly drawn to early morning rides when the roads were almost deserted.
Cruising at 60 mph has its own kind of quiet, but filled with the gentle hum of the engine beneath you at some 4,000 RPM.
As for the vibration, it remains but has been muted. Rather than harming riders’ enjoyment by its presence, this new-configuration engine only adds a sort of feedback – the effect of feeling in touch with the machine’s workings beneath you.
Handmade Touches Inviting Sharing
What sets the Super Meteor apart most today is the craftsmanship which runs through every detail of its build.
The paint depth in areas like the tank is of a standard that makes you want to park it where it can catch the sunlight.
Switchgear operated by your thumbs gives the impression of bulk and you don’t feel ticky-tack under the bright lights -a fault often seen in fellow machines at this price point.
On my test ride through a spring shower, I discovered how carefully integrated the motorcycle’s electrical components are–these are no afterthoughts but rather integral parts of its design.
The riding position is especially notable.
The forward-set footpegs and handlebars that are hanging back make for a posture that isn’t relaxed but tiring as with many of the larger American cruisers.
On a day trip of 150 miles by the coast, I arrived at my destination free of the lower back pain that frequently accompanies cruiser rides of similar length.
It seems that Royal Enfield has decided to take the position of just right for medium-height riders, who find themselves looking for slightly more room to stretch out for tall riders.
But what I liked most about the Super Meteor was how it felt to be a blank sheet of paper.
Thought perfectly enjoyable when taken straight out of the box, you feel like the bike is asking for customization.
Its simple, classical lines made it as easy for the user to add saddlebags, windscreens or alternative exhausts as possible without looking cluttered.
In an era when so many motorcycles are launched with an almost complete design, there’s something refreshingly honest about a human-like machine leaving a sky blue window for its owner’s personal expression.
At the same time, however, this attribute also applies to its mechanical aspects.
Because the engine is touchable instead of sealed away, home maintenance is not the prospect that it can be with more complex machines.
Oil changes and basic service items don’t require specialized equipment either, and their software no matter; making this a relationship that can deepen through owner involvement rather than necessarily mandatory dealer visits.
While in motion, I met plenty of other motorcyclists drawn to the Super Meteor’s siren song by their visits to gas stations and coffee shops.
Subsequent conversations invariably followed the same script – while the usual performance-related issues of handling and braking were disposed of quickly, feelings as subjective as stroke, character and meaning were pursued at greater length with people clinging to any part of modern motorcycles that they could find.
Although the Super Meteor seems to be articulating a time and place when only a few machines enjoyed cross-generational appeal.
Older riders like its thoughtful design and mechanical simplicity; younger riders are also looking for something beyond both the heavy, high-bar American cruisers and plastic-coated sports bikes at this end of the scale.
For those who seek a motorcycle and a joy of riding more than some mere figures on paper will make them eagre to do whatever it takes, the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 looks to be an appealing option as well.
It may look constrained, but it has enough power to enthrall, styling which respects the past without making a travesty of it, and make quality much higher than anticipated given the price point.
In today’s motorcycle environment, where bikes are divided into increasingly polar opposites – utilitarian commuter pieces here on one hand and technology-laden flagships there far off out at sea – it is back to the ground for riders with a bike like the Super Meteor.
It doesn’t try to be the fastest, most advanced or anything else – except perhaps the best riding experience you can have.
And really, it does well in that particular quest.