Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 long term review, 1180km report

Royal Enfield’s flagship cruiser, the Super Meteor 650, is finally in our fleet. I use the word finally because the bike you see here isn’t the original long-term bike that we’d been assigned. A couple of weeks before typing out this story, I’d taken delivery of a Super Meteor 650 in the gorgeous Interstellar Blue colour option. After spending a brief time riding the said bike around Mumbai, and also getting the mandatory first service done (for Rs 2,836), we noticed the check engine light come on. This was along with a drop in engine response under acceleration.

The issue was diagnosed to be the bike’s papers choking the air filter. There’s a small, lockable side cover that we stored the papers in as there is no other storage space on this motorcycle. It turns out that this cover also encloses the air intake and you need to be careful with what you store in there. Somehow, the papers managed to slide over the filter cover and choke the intake.

While the problem was being diagnosed, we were handed over this Interstellar Green bike and this is now our long-term bike. What happened to the original bike? While it is running fine, it’s been tasked with some internal shoot duties at RE. Back to our Super Meteor 650; with the papers tucked in my bag, I’ve begun putting it through the grind of my daily office commute. I’ve faced the worst of Mumbai’s traffic, ridden the bike over the city’s roads, many of which are largely in a pathetic state, and here’s how the bike has fared so far.

Firstly, it’s astonishing that a 241kg bike is so easy to manoeuvre in traffic. Once I got used to the length of the bike, fitting it through narrow gaps wasn’t as big of an issue as I’d imagined. Part of the confidence and ability also comes from knowing that the dual exhaust pipes don’t stick out like they do on the Interceptor 650.

The engine is the sweetest part of this bike and I love the dollops of torque it produces as well as the lovely exhaust note, especially when you blip before downshifting.

The other issue, at least in my books, is the seat. As important as it may be to have that bucket seat on a cruiser to keep the visual aesthetics in check, the top-variant’s Touring seat is way better when it comes to comfort. The standard seat is simply too soft, and I’ve experienced butt aches in a little over an hour of riding. With a few long-distance rides in the pipeline, including a couple of interstate ones, fitting the touring seat has become my number one agenda.

All said, the first few days with the Super Meteor have been great. I’ve lost count of the number of times people, including a few office colleagues, have stood gobsmacked at the design and quality levels of this Royal Enfield. It truly feels like a special motorcycle. And before you ask about ride quality, I’ll say that it isn’t bad, but it isn’t as nice as I’d have liked. That said, given the limitations of a cruiser with regard to suspension travel at the back, the ride is good enough for dealing with most of Mumbai’s terrible roads.

There’s a lot in store for the Super Meteor 650, and I’m keen to find out how it performs and ages over time. Needless to say, I’m quite excited about the days ahead.