Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650

The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 is the Chennai-based manufacturer’s flagship cruiser motorcycle. The bike looks and feels like a proper American-style cruiser, and is powered by the same 650cc engine as its siblings – Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650.

• The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 has a retro cruiser styling and it feels like a proper American-style cruiser.

• Cruiser design elements like round headlamp, wide handlebar, alloy wheels, dual chrome exhaust pipes and the teardrop-shaped tank makes the bike look authentically retro.

• The Celestial colour variant stands out a lot more when compared to the other variants because of the tall windscreen.

• The fit and finish on this bike, combined with the excellent paint finish and quality, make the Super Meteor 650 feel very premium and allows it to give the proper cruiser vibes.

• The rotary switch cubes, although they look good, are very counterintuitive and not easy to use.

• In terms of features, the bike has a simple semi-digital instrument console, with an analogue speedometer and a digital inset for fuel, trip and odometer readouts.

• The console is easy to read thanks to its placement and the semi-digital setup adds to the bike’s retro credentials.

• Riders can get the Royal Enfield tripper navigation unit for turn-by-turn navigation, which is quite convenient.

• The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 has a laid-back, cruiser-like riding triangle with some slouch thanks to the wide handlebar and forward-set footpegs.

• The seat thickness is not good enough on the Interstellar variant, so a lot of the bumps and potholes will be felt.

• The touring seat on the Celestial variant is more comfortable for both the rider and pillion and makes longer rides on the highway a breeze.

• The Super Meteor 650 is powered by the same 649cc, parallel-twin engine as the Interceptor 650, Continental GT 650 and the Classic 650.

• The engine is quite powerful with loads of torque, and despite the bike’s heavy kerb weight of 241kg (wet), the bike’s acceleration is brisk and requires minimal effort and responses to even minute throttle inputs. 

• The engine feels quite refined and there are very low vibrations present across the rev range and the gearshift quality is also decent.

• The motor can easily handle a highway cruising speed of 80kmph without feeling stressed, and can also be pushed further if need be.  

• The bike’s mileage is not that impressive, and during our tests, we got 23.63kmpl in the city and 24.69kmpl on the highway.

• The bike’s handling is quite agile and changes directions quickly, thanks to the wide handlebar which gives good leverage, making it a fun cruiser to ride around ghats.

• The bike also tips into corners enthusiastically, and riders have to be careful not to lean too much and scrape the bike’s footpegs, although the road-biased tyres provide enough grip.

• As for the ride quality, the suspension is tuned towards the stiffer side, especially at the rear, and so riding the bike over bad  potholes and bumps is quite an unnerving experience.

• One advantage that the stiff suspension brings to the table is better stability when cruising at higher speeds.

• On the Interstellar variant, the jolts from bad roads will be sent straight to your back. So getting the thicker touring seat is something that is necessary for better rides

• The brakes on the bike are quite good, but there’s a slight wobble at the front when braking hard and this can be a bit scary at times.

• The heavy kerb weight of 241kg can be a bit difficult to manage when pushing the bike around the parking lot and riding in traffic.

• If you are looking for a powerful cruiser which can easily handle your highway cruising needs, then the Super Meteor is the bike which will appeal the most, especially at the price it comes at.

• The looks, the premium feel and most importantly the performance are all really good and makes the bike feel special, along with its sweet, addictive exhaust note.  

• That said, the stiff ride quality makes the bike a bit impractical for riding everyday where one might have to go over bad roads.

• The heavy weight of the bike also makes it difficult to manage when moving it around over its competition such as the Kawasaki Vulcan S.