I began having a few second thoughts and followed up almost every other day with the showroom whether test rides had begun or not.
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Hey everyone, this is my initial ownership thread of the latest entry to the Royal Enfield stable the Super Meteor 650. To begin with, some context I’ve been looking forward to this bike for over a year now.
Context
Over the years I’ve graduated towards the cruiser format as for me it feels the most comfortable with the forward set footpegs and low seat. However, an absence of options in the market led me to get the Thunderbird 350X back in 2017.
With the Meteor being launched shortly after I was immediately swooned by it and remember thinking why not stick the Continental engine in this and take over the segment between the Avenger and Vulcans/entry Harley market? Seems like Royal Enfield had similar thoughts! As soon as the rumours, followed by sightings started cropping up, I knew I wanted to try this out as soon as possible.
Royal Enfield over the last ten years or so has incrementally been upping their game, which was evident in the TB x series to the 650 Twins to the Meteor. It’s almost as if they’re using scrum. Now while the Thunderbird X had its own set of problems these increments were giving me confidence. So when I was unable to make it to Rider Mania due to health reasons and in spite of trying whatnot to get a preorder, I settled for booking on the day of the launch.
Launch and wait
On the day of the launch, I had cleared my calendar and made sure no more meetings were scheduled and hurried over to the showroom. Seeing it in the flesh, it was exactly what I was hoping for and my confidence levels continued to rise.
The first thing that struck me was the fit and finish quality. The bike looked so well done. I had asked a colleague and friend and fellow automotive enthusiast to keep my excitement in check. After spending around 30 minutes or so going over the bike including sitting and gunning the engine a bit, he gave a nod of approval and I booked the interstellar grey variant for Rs.10000.
For the accessories, I went with only the sump guard and oil filler cap as my idea and understanding from the pricing was that accessories can be added on top after understanding compatibility and need, saving a bit on the road tax. So the variant model decision was based purely on the color choice I wanted. The dealership staff was extremely courteous and equally excited. We were communicated that the test drives should be available late next week and deliveries will mostly start from the 1st week of March for the preorders.
Predelivery/online review concerns
As the media gag was lifted, a flurry of online reviews came in and I poured myself over them as I had not had the chance to ride the bike as such yet. While the reviews were overall quite positive (as they generally tend to be) there were a lot of people raising concerns over the low ground clearance, stiff suspension, heavy weight of the bike leading to manoeuvrability issues in the city, heavy clutch, uncomfortable stock seat and heat output of the engine. Overall essentially whether the bike works in the Indian environment. All in all, I began having a few second thoughts and followed up almost every other day with the showroom whether test rides had begun or not.
Test ride
Finally one day, I got a call from the Sales rep who was coordinating with me, that a test ride was available and that I could come down to the showroom sometime today. I quickly made arrangements to go down and found myself at the godown for the test ride. Here I won’t go into too much detail as I’ve covered a good majority in the unveiling thread, however, in short, all of my doubts quickly started vanishing after a good hour-long test drive.
Delivery and dealership experience
A couple of days passed and I received a call from the sales rep saying that my bike had arrived! I was pleasantly surprised but wasn’t about to complain about an early delivery. She asked me to come down to the showroom to complete some of the formalities and complete the payment amounts which came to 4.47 On Road including the extended warranty for 5 years as I didn’t go for the RSA, so I hurried over to the showroom later that evening.
There were a few RTO papers to sign along with RE documents. For the payment, they offered some decent financing options though I didn’t end up going with them. They also asked me to visit the godown to do a PDI. I made my way down there, but to be honest other than a slow video for evidence and a quick look at all the connectors and bodywork didn’t really do anything else.
This is also where I got a bit curious about the “choice number” bit and decided to experiment this time around. Accordingly, they connected me with their agent. The process went smoother than I was expecting. I simply gave him a list of a few numbers I thought were aesthetically pleasing, I paid him the amount as per the RTO website along with a commission of 1000 bucks and then within 24 hours he sent the tax receipt from the RTO and I also received an automated message from the RTO saying that the number had been blocked for me.
Within the next 48 hours, it was registered to the Chassis/engine no. of my bike. On Saturday, 11th of February they called me in the morning to take the delivery, so I went down with my Uncle who is also fittingly the same person who got me into automobiles. Here looking back I think they could’ve done the delivery part with a bit more pomp but all in all, nothing to really complain about. They were prompt and to the point explaining the basic features and parts of the bike. After which they handed me the keys and makeshift free helmet and off I was!
1 week and 500 kms ownership experience
It’s now been over a week of owning this beauty and I’ve managed to cover 500kms including daily commutes, city pleasure rides and a team-bhp meetup.
Pros
- Riding stance comfort
- Maneuverability in the city for its size/weight class
- Aesthetics
- Power delivery
- Fit and Finish
Cons
These are really niggles rather than cons.
- Exhaust covering near the stand missing facilitating dust sticking to the pipe.
- Better electronics cluster – Fuel economy would be nice to have as well as more accurate fuel readings.
- Horn could be a bit better, it feels a bit too squeaky and a bit out of place. I feel the pitch could have been deeper.
Design and finish
The design is absolutely beautiful if you ask me. It has a massive road presence and the contours are perfectly done. The tail end and the tank are the crowns though and look stunning. The badging on the tank is masterfully done and interestingly even the saree guard is well made and has a sandpaper-type finish which feels as if it was part of the design and not an afterthought to just meet compliances.
The touches of aluminium finish over the bike and the switches themselves feel premium. The stock mirrors again feel great and the ball joints in them finally hold their position properly without being hard to change when needed. Finally, I don’t have to fiddle with the mirrors multiple times throughout a ride. They provide a nice clear view of everything behind you allowing for further comfort both during city and highway rides.
As typical with most bikes, it doesn’t have any real storage space, so I went ahead and installed the ViaTerra Seaty, which looks nice and discreet but has the capability to expand for decent storage space when needed. (Photos and link coming soon)
Ride quality experience
So with a week of daily commuting along with a decent patch of highway driving, I feel I have a fair understanding of how the bike performs in various situations. At the outset, any worries about weight absolutely disappear the minute you get on the saddle. The low center of gravity masks the weights well and while moving through traffic, steering is easy and relaxed. The stance feels very natural to me and I’ve had no problems adjusting to the forward set foot pegs.
The engine itself feels super refined, similar to the 650 Twins, yet unique with the map. The low end feels nice and torquey as it should for a cruiser. Overall power output suits the look of the bike and at no point have I felt that there is a lack of power. Even at higher speeds, there are virtually no vibrations and “butter” is the word I’d use to describe it. Within the city I hardly found myself crossing the third gear and the lower gears offer more than enough power for the city. Those small bursts to quickly overtake are again confidence inspiring and easy to come by.
On the highway, the extra gear has been great in ensuring that if needed there is always more power on tap. There is obviously some heat involved seeing that you have a 650 parallel twin between your feet, but while riding, once your feet are on the footpegs, it all vanishes behind you and only really becomes somewhat of an issue in extended bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The gearbox is a bit weird in the sense that it is significantly better than previous REs, but it is still not fully there, with occasional slips (these are rare and all in all not really a major problem at all). The clutch itself while people have said it feels hard, I felt that it is fairly light and hasn’t been a problem for me. I’m also happy to say finding neutral is no longer a problem on this one!
The CEAT stock tyres are decent and provide enough grip. The rear tyre is satisfyingly “fat” and fares well even through damp patches and ever-present water spills and dusty roads. Overall they provide a confidence-inspiring ride and the weight of the vehicle adds to this providing great stability even on high-speed highways.
When it comes to dealing with wind, I am definitely adding the windscreen as on highways at high speeds with crosswinds I felt swayed a bit even though the bike itself was well planted. Over longer rides, I feel it will be a definite must-have.
The stock seat has felt adequate in the city for rides up to an hour or so, but past that I feel the comfort of the touring seat will be a welcome relief and this is something I’m planning on getting as well. Though I would prefer to have a single seat, I will definitely be adding some more padding to the stock one. That said, the stitching on the seat feels nice and premium and aesthetically looks pleasing.
The suspension is what has been the biggest worry from what I can tell online. Here I believe the right expectations are required. If you plan to take it offroading, this is not the bike for it. But for normal city and highway rides it’s absolutely fine. It is on the stiffer side to balance out the ground clearance which is similar to other REs, and it accordingly handles the backbreakers well. I haven’t scraped it once over even the most monstrous speed breakers so all in all it is well thought out. At high speeds, the suspension deals well with the occasional patches of our roads, with the weight and stability of the bike coming in nicely.
The handling is the only other let’s say “planned compromise”. Given the size, the turning radius is obviously larger than average but wholly manageable. The braking feels adequate especially the rear brake and stopping power hasn’t been an issue at all, though I’ll add the caveat that I haven’t had the need to brake very aggressively as I generally drive with fairly decent margins.
Fuel efficiency has been decent with my first tank for city use giving around 220 kms and the second one for mainly rides of ~ 80kms or so giving about 280kms. For reference, the tank size is 15.7 L
To sum it all up, it is pretty much exactly what I was looking for and I’m supremely happy with the purchase. Looking forward to long rides and many many adventures on it.
Keyword: Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650: Buying & initial ownership experience