The Super Meteor 650 makes the same 47hp and 52 Nm as its other 650cc siblings.
Royal Enfield’s hotly anticipated Super Meteor 650 has finally broken cover at EICMA 2022 and is offered in two distinct guises – the standard and the tourer. While most of the details had been trickling down nearing its launch, we now have all the specs for this flagship Royal Enfield cruiser.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650: design and underpinnings
First of all, this appears to be a very nice looking motorcycle with a great sense of proportions thanks to the choice of a 19-inch front wheel and 16-inch rear. Like the Meteor 350, the Super Meteor also runs on alloy wheels shod with CEAT Zoom Cruz tyres so you don’t need to worry about dealing with tubed tyres. And of course, there’s no missing that chunky 43mm USD fork which marks the very first time Royal Enfield has used this suspension set up. Braking duties are handled by a 320mm disc at the front and a 300mm at the rear, mated to dual-channel ABS. Note the large rear brake here given the weight distribution of a cruiser style motorcycle that enables stronger braking performance from the rear brake.
The large teardrop shaped 15.7-litre fuel tank flows downwards to a split seat set up with what appears to be a spacious and comfy rider seat. The rear section also looks clean thanks to the simple brake lamp mounted on the fender while the indicators are placed near the number plate. The instrument console is a familiar round unit with the Tripper navigation display seen at the side, although it remains to be seen whether it is offered as standard or an optional extra.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650: engine
The centre piece of the Super Meteor 650 is undoubtedly the much loved 650cc parallel twin that debuted in the Interceptor and Continental GT 650. The visual aspect of this engine that most people will appreciate is that unlike the current 650s, these exhaust pipes don’t stick out wide and that should make the bike easier to squeeze through tight gaps in traffic. Royal Enfield has also done a good job of hiding away the catalytic converters underneath the motorcycle. The 648cc air-and-oil cooled parallel twin engine makes 47hp at 7,250rpm and 52 Nm at 5,650rpm. While the output figures are the same, the torque arrives 500rpm later in the rev range when compared to the 650 twins.
Where the engine is mostly the same, the Super Meteor gets a new chassis. What you’ll immediately notice is that the rake angle on the front end is much more relaxed than the current 650s which goes with the planted feel you’d expect from a 650cc cruiser motorcycle. The Super Meteor 650 has a very low seat height of 740mm, as well as forward set footpegs that are mounted near the front of the engine. While the low seat will make this bike easy for shorter riders, it is still a heavy machine and at 241 kg (wet), it’s the heaviest of all the Enfields currently on sale.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650: variants, pricing and India launch
The Super Meteor 650 will be available in two variants. The Astral and Interstellar are positioned with a stripped-down look while the range-topping touring-oriented Celestial variant is offered with a pillion backrest and a large windscreen. The Astral variant is offered in three colours, while the Interstellar and Celestial are each available in two colours.
The bike will be unveiled in India at Royal Enfield’s Rider Mania event later this month and at the moment, there is no word on what the prices will be. We expect it to be priced above the current 650s, somewhere between Rs 3.5- Rs 4 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). As things stand, the Super Meteor 650 will have very little competition and its closest rival will be in the form of the Benelli 502C which is a more modern looking motorcycle and quite a bit more expensive.
What do you think of the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650? Let us know in the comments section below.