That Royal Enfield's twin 650 engine was not going to be exclusive to those retros that we already know is something that has been known since the beginning of this saga. But that the third to arrive was a custom has been a small surprise.
Now that I try the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650, I seem to remember that not half an hour had passed since the first time I saw the twins in a motorcycle show (I don't remember which one it was), and someone had already insinuated close to my ear « Super Himalayan. Since then I have always been almost completely convinced that this engine would arrive shortly after mounted on a trail with a certain retro style.
For this reason, the first time I read that the RE Super Meteor was coming, I admit that I was surprised. It didn't seem logical. The custom segment is not exactly in fashion, with fewer and fewer models on offer, and yet the trail boom seems to have no end, because every day there are more motorcycles with mixed wheels and sales continue to rise.
But they say that "doctors have the church" and in this case that applies to the fact that, with worldwide coverage (Royal Enfield usually thinks of that magnitude), surely a 650 custom does have to pull, and not just because it is an attractive motorcycle with proven and convincing mechanics, but precisely because that way you will find yourself with fewer rivals.
Okay, some do, but certainly not the fierce fight of the trail. In addition, the brand is convinced that with this motorcycle they are capable of growing the segment. This was even stated during his presentation by Siddhartha Lal, one of the brand's directors.
And once again, as usual with recent Royal Enfield launches, the bike has been created at the company's English headquarters, with a chassis designed by the folks at Harris, a company owned by Royal Enfield, and tuned in Europe to later send to India to be manufactured, just as it was done with the last known "six and a half".
It is a motorcycle that, in principle, is intended to be sold in Europe as a custom medium for the A2, but with a displacement bonus over its rivals (and therefore torque), while in India, a market that It counts its sales by millions of units where Royal Enfield is the "queen" of the market, its 650 is a premium product almost par excellence.
Of course, only this fact ensures that RE has a brutal cushion and can allow launches that are "not very logical" from our point of view: if a few million of that model in question are going to be sold there, what can we say from Europe where, with Good luck, can you count more than ten thousand?
But, in the end, it is already known that this is also, and in part, a matter of luck. Fortunately, it allows us to have more models, some of them really interesting, like this Super Meteor; if it weren't for this ability to sell so many motorcycles in India, surely we wouldn't be seeing models as original as the ones that RE has been presenting lately.
Let's be realistic. In a market like custom, who would jump into making a new 650 two-cylinder as nice as this? In the end, fans of this type of motorcycle are in luck because the Super Meteor is one more option for them, with two versions (standard and tourer), at a reasonable price and, once tested, it can be said that it is really nice.
How is
the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Astral
This has not been as apparently simple as lowering the seat of the Twin and mounting a different handlebar, along with some footpegs. Actually, the work has been significant and has resulted in an all-new bike that feels different, even from its 650-powered brethren.
As an example, suffice it to say that it has a new chassis with a swingarm that is also unprecedented, all made of steel and studied for its new functions. It should be noted that in the cycle part, an inverted fork has been used for the first time in RE, an element that also aesthetically impacts a cruiser, being signed by Showa. A whole guarantee.
At the rear, two preload-adjustable shock absorbers continue to be mounted and the wheels, on alloy wheels, are 19″ at the front and 16″ at the rear, a very standard measure among motorcycles of this style that helps to achieve that “long&low” image that is usually Search in the custom world. It uses front and rear discs, one only in front, both 320 mm in diameter with the well-known ABS, now mandatory.
The engine has only been readjusted and modified in its exterior finish for its new use. It is still the air-cooled parallel twin with a 270º crankshaft, which mimics the operation of a V2, with plenty of torque and bottom-up response as it should be. The cylinder heads are SOHC four-valve, counter-rotating shafts, with a six-speed gearbox and slipper clutch. It delivers the 47 CV of the legal limit for the A2 and it does so at 7,250 rpm, with a torque of 52.3 Nm at 5,650 rpm, with a very flat curve.
In the equipment, this RE, as with the inverted fork, also debuts another technology: for the first time in the brand the headlight is LED, like the rear optics. We found a USB near the handlebars, which allows you to keep your mobile plugged in so as not to lose charge while you connect it via Bluetooth to the "turn by turn" navigation system, installed in a small sphere separated from the frame; It is the well-known "Tripper" system of the brand.
The frame is a single sphere with an odometer around a digital display with mileage, fuel level, gear, Eco driving, and little else. No, there is no rev counter. The control clusters finished in aluminum on the outside do attract attention, giving a retro touch that also exudes quality. Something similar happens with the levers: they are specific to this model, different, adjustable in distance, and are perceived as quality, as well as offering good touch and grip.
The gas cap is keyed and hinged (on previous Twins you kept it in your hand). The stirrups, advanced and covered in rubber, are comfortable and also appear to be well-finished. And the logos on the tank stand out, which, as always in the brand, are very careful, in this case with a successful retro aesthetic. Finally, the exhausts are different and attractive, while as standard we are planted with a side leg and central stand.
How's
it going
Allow me to go for a while through "the hills of Úbeda" and talk to you a little about my things. Years ago I became fond of classic motorcycles. Regardless of the fact that with some of them, you are surprised by how they are able to go in "appropriate" places (a Shrapnel, on good condition ground, with the bike well tuned up can scare someone on any modern 250), the normal thing with almost all of them is that you learn to appreciate the pure pleasure of riding a motorcycle.
Those bikes of yore were seldom made for "push" in the modern sense. The idea was, and is, to wear them relaxed listening to the engine and the air that it gives you, and looking at landscapes. Well, it must be because RE has long experience in motorcycles like this, but what comes to me from this Super Meteor is that it has something special to ride that identifies with what I'm telling you.
Let me explain: the normal thing is that with a modern motorcycle, you need "a certain rhythm" to be entertained. I remember a few years ago with the brand's Continental 535, that "usual" single-cylinder engine, you came to the conclusion that no matter how much the motorcycle seemed somewhat modernized, it was precisely a "teacher" teaching you "traditional motorcycling".
In other words, to enjoy the scenery and the purring of the engine while relaxing while driving very calmly and slowly, among other things because either it was that, and you really got to enjoy it, or you got dental insurance because of what vibrated if you tried to go up in laps, you were going to spit out fillings.
A few years later, not long ago, we tried the new 350. We started with the Meteor 350 and then with the Classic and we found a much more modern engine, really current, but with a long stroke that invites that same type of riding, or rather, of riding a motorcycle: relax, listen, look and think about how beautiful everything around you is.
Nothing to do with the twins or the Himalayan. These two, indeed, can be ridden very calmly and they are nice bikes, but they are also modern bikes, very well made, which surprise you with the speed at which you can ride “if you get into it”. Well, the Super Meteor is back to that pure, unhurried, landscaped style of motorcycling.
But not because it is incapable of shooting at high speed, because it is and a lot. Keep in mind that we have a chassis tuned by Harris, with an engine that has already surprised us in the Continental GT and Interceptor. It runs quite a lot and accelerates very well if you open the throttle decisively. Another thing is that the motorcycle does not ask you for it...
When you get on you realize that it is not high. It measures only 740 mm from the seat to the ground but doesn't "come up" if you like short bikes because it's very wide and I, with my 1.65, reach the ground better on the Interceptor than on this one; add to this that the stirrups are far enough away that it is not particularly comfortable for you, if you are not taller than me.
The engine is perceived as very smooth, with a hoarse and pleasant sound, not at all loud. There are no vibrations either and the touch of the controls is perfect, added to the fact that you can adjust the levers to the distance that is most comfortable for you. It is not particularly light either, since the 241 kg in running order is enough to consider it a really big bike.
On the highway, the bike moves well. It is capable, as I was saying, of running a lot and the chassis is well-designed. It brakes correctly, although sometimes the touch of the rear seems not very fine; it's also possible that the forward controls aren't exactly the best with my height and it's just harder to find foot position.
But it enters curves very well, maintaining the line easily and giving good sensations. You go out, open the gas and since it has a good response, it pushes you into the next one with the forcefulness of today's motorcycle.
In the city, despite that weight, it is a nice bike. The driving position is comfortable and it handles well. It's not particularly narrow, but it's not too wide either. Of course, the rear shock absorbers go right under you and are not particularly soft: when you go through a speed bump or a pothole, you feel it bouncing too much on the seat if you do not roll slowly.
And on the highway, an environment where the Celestial version is surely more recommended, it is advisable to stay within the legal speed limits, not only for the sake of your points but also because the driving position implies that above the 110-120 km/h you notice how the wind wants to take your hands off the handlebars.
Pros:
- Custom 650 with good torque
- Well-adapted engine response
- A great option for walking
Cons:
- It does not have a rev counter
- Weight to raise it to the center stand
- Aerodynamic protection
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