LAUNCH TEST – 2023 ROYAL ENFIELD SUPER METEOR 650 - JUST BIKES

LAUNCH TEST – 2023 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650

Words: Phil Suriano

Photos: Matthew Hayman, Tom Fossati - courtesy of UMI

Five years ago, Royal Enfield launched their 650cc twins - the Interceptor and Continental GT – and it’s fair to say they were a game changer, not just for the brand, but also for the motorcycle market generally. The 650 twins marked Royal Enfield as a serious player in the midsize category and they’ve now enhanced that status with the addition of a cruiser variant – the Super Meteor 650.

LAUNCH TEST – 2023 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650

Royal Enfield have a history in the cruiser segment that goes back far beyond the Meteor 350 and its predecessor, the Rumbler. Prior to the brand making its first serious inroads into the Australian market almost a decade ago, Royal Enfield produced the 'Citybike,' 'Lightning 535' and 'Thunderbird 350' cruisers, so they have some heritage in this space.

Given the proliferation of new and updated models to come from Royal Enfield in the past few years, the only surprise is that a cruiser hasn’t been added to the 650 platform sooner, but I guess COVID had something to do with that. Either way, the Super Meteor 650 has now been revealed, making its official debut at EICMA last November, followed by a presentation at Royal Enfield’s own ‘Rider Mania’ event in India.

At time of writing, the Super Meteor 650 had been released in India and Europe, but wasn't expected to reach Australia and New Zealand until April. I've had a taste of what’s to come, though, as I was part of the international media launch for the new model, which took place in India this past January.

New Bike, Old Name

First thing to understand about the Super Meteor 650 is that it revives a name from Royal Enfield’s English past, just as the Interceptor, Continental GT and other models have done.

Back in 1952, Royal Enfield released a 692cc OHV twin, dubbed the ‘Meteor,’ that was the largest vertical twin produced by any British motorcycle manufacturer up to that time. Outputting around 36hp (27kW), the Meteor had some similarities to Royal Enfield’s earlier 500 Twin, but was larger, heavier and sturdier overall, reflecting its intended application as a sidecar rig.

Four years later, the ‘Super Meteor’ was released to meet demands for more power, mostly from the important American market. Designed to be a solo from the outset, the Super Meteor’s higher compression, revised cam profiles and other engine tweaks resulted in approximately 40bhp (30kW), making it a real road burner, with genuine ‘ton up’ (ie., 100mph) performance from the factory.

For all its positives, the Super Meteor’s life was short-lived, as by the early-1960s, it had been replaced by the larger and even more powerful Interceptor 750.

For the all-new Super Meteor, reviving the model name for a cruiser makes sense, as it’s a step up from the modern Meteor 350 cruiser that Royal Enfield released in 2021.

So, with the history out of the way, let’s look at what the Super Meteor 650 is and what it’s got.

Something Borrowed, Something New

In terms of its major components, the Super Meteor 650 is a mix of the familiar and the new. The engine is essentially identical to what’s in the Interceptor and Continental GT, with the same 648cc capacity, the same bore and stroke and the same compression ratio. Maximum power and torque figures are the same, too – 34.6kW and 52.3Nm – but adjusting the engine mapping sees both maximums reached a little later in the rev range; 7250rpm for power and 5650rpm for torque, compared to 7150rpm and 5150rpm for the Interceptor and 7150/5250 for the Conti GT.

These adjustments are designed to suit the type of torque-rich riding environments the new bike will most likely be ridden in, ie. long miles of easy cruising on straight, smooth roads with a few bends mixed in.

The airbox and exhaust are unique to the Super Meteor 650, as are some cosmetic touches on the engine itself, like new-look covers finished in matte black as part of the current trend of "dechroming" drivetrains seen on many cruisers these days, particularly the American v-twins.

While I like this styling direction, I know that it may not resonate with traditional cruiser buyers, who expect bling and lots of bright metal parts instead of “blackout” treatments of the running gear. That being said, I'm sure Royal Enfield will add bright metal parts to future accessories catalogues if there’s enough demand from traditionalists.

The gearbox is a six-speed with a cable clutch and chain final drive. No mention is made of revised gearing to suit the remapped 648cc engine, so I’m assuming it’s unchanged from the existing 650 twins. There is a heel-and-toe shifter fitted as standard, though.

While the drivetrain is mostly unchanged, a key difference between the Super Meteor 650 and the Interceptor/Conti GT is the frame. It’s entirely new and was developed specifically for the cruiser by Royal Enfield subsidiary, Harris Performance.

The twin duplex cradle steel frame incorporates a new cylinder head mount for improved rigidity and delivers the low seat height and forward controls you’d expect from a cruiser, while still ensuring rider control – the ergonomics are laid back, but not TOO laid back.

In terms of brought-in components, the Super Meteor 650 is a trailblazer as the first Royal Enfield to be fitted with Showa suspension, made up 43mm upside down forks and a twin coilover shock rear. The USD front end (another Royal Enfield first) has no adjustability, but there is six-step preload adjustment on the rear shocks. Travel is 120mm at the front and 101mm at the rear.

In terms of braking, it’s largely the same as the existing 650 twins, but a larger (300mm) rear disc is fitted. The 320mm front disc and Brembo offshoot ByBre calipers front and rear carry over unchanged.

There’s an LED headlight, which is another Royal Enfield first, matched to an LED tail light, while fuel capacity trumps both the existing 650 twins at 15.7 litres.

The cruiser runs a 19-inch front, 16-inch rear wheel package (18-inch front/rear on the other 650 twins) that’s only available in cast alloy – no wire spoke rims are offered, at least for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this comes along in a “retro package” to mark some sort of Royal Enfield milestone in the future.

Tripper, Royal Enfield’s app-based turn-by-turn navigation system, has only been available as an extra-cost option on Royal Enfield models up to this point, but it’s standard on the Super Meteor 650.

Aside from that, the only other “tech” is a USB charging port and dual-channel ABS, which are both standard, too.

Riding modes, traction control and other electronic aids aren’t part of the Super Meteor 650 package, but Royal Enfield has perhaps missed the mark in not offering cruise control, as it would be a welcome feature on a cruiser like this. I can understand why it’s not available, though – it’d add to the bike’s cost and not fit with the Royal Enfield ethos of pure motorcycling.

On the media launch, I didn’t find myself needing cruise control, but owning this bike long term in Australia would be a different story, given our multiple speed limit zones and abundance of speed cameras.

Instrumentation is kept simple, consisting of an analogue speedo around a small LCD display for the odometer, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, clock, temp and tripmeters.

Finally, it should be noted that the Super Meteor 650 will be offered in two variants when it arrives in Australia and NZ; the standard roadster and a tourer. Both are identical mechanically, but the tourer comes with a windscreen, deluxe touring seat with pillion backrest and LED indicators as standard.

Of the five colours the Super Meteor 650 will be offered in locally, two will be exclusive to the Tourer version.

In the Air, On the Road

For the Super Meteor 650’s international media launch, the Aussie contingent (later joined by a Kiwi) travelled en masse to India, arriving in New Delhi to air pollution I’ve never experienced before. The smog was so thick you could taste it, so we were all glad to be in the air again less than 12 hours later, this time flying to Jaisalmer, an ancient city in the state of Rajasthan in India’s west.

Thankfully, the air here was much cleaner and when we arrived at the Marriott Hotel in what is known locally as ‘The Golden City,’ we were greeted by a stage set-up befitting an international rock band. In front of this was a row of shiny new Super Meteor 650s – my first chance to see the new model in the metal.

Overall finish on the bike was first class, the chassis welds were clean and the black frame, black fork legs, blackout engine parts and gunmetal grey wheels (common to all colour options) all accentuated the coloured sections of the tinware. Paint quality was faultless, as were details on the badging and decals.

Sitting astride the Super Meteor 650, I was instantly aware of the low 740mm seat height (Interceptor/Conti GT is 804mm/820mm) and could plant both feet on the ground easily. I’m 5’10”, so shorties won’t be challenged by it. The cross-section is also very narrow for a parallel twin, which again will be appreciated by shorter riders and shows the considerable thought Royal Enfield put into the Super Meteor 650 during its design phase.

Even with the forward controls, the riding position was closer to neutral than I was expecting from a cruiser. Pullback handlebars on risers help here and both the clutch and front brake levers are span adjustable – a nice touch.

Other detail touches that caught my eye included the brushed metal finish of the switchblocks, the chrome & black badging on the tank and Royal Enfield branding embossed into the grips.

That evening, Royal Enfield royalty took to the stage to discuss the new bike in detail. The fact that so many of the brand’s senior executives were on hand for the launch, including Eicher Motors Ltd CEO, Siddhartha Lal, shows how serious they are about this model.

The Indian Experience

Our first taste of the Super Meteor 650 on the road was the following day, when a fleet of 73 bikes, made up of motorcycling journos, support staff, film crews and PR personnel headed off in separate groups to ride around and beyond The Golden City.

I was mounted on a Tourer variant finished in Celestial Red and I must say I took to the bike and its two-tone colour scheme immediately. Even after checking out the Astral Blue, Astral Black and other colour options, it remained my favourite.

I loved the Tourer’s plusher seat, too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many Super Meteor 650 roadster buyers pick this item from the catalogue of available accessories, along with the wider footpegs which were also on my test bike.

Jaisalmer was nowhere near as crowded as New Delhi, but it was still a busy place, so the 100km round trip to familiarise us journos with the bike took longer than expected.

On start-up (electric, no kicker), there’s a nice, subdued note from the heavily chromed, low-slung pipes that didn’t really rise in tone with the revs, but the noise and chaos of Indian roads masked a lot of the induction and exhaust noise anyway.

Clutch operation was smooth and light, as was the gear shifting. Although the heel-and-toe shifter took a little getting used to (I was one of many unfamiliar with it), it became second nature after a while, which was a good thing, as the stop-start nature of the traffic in Jaisalmer meant we were working the gears a lot.

We were also working the horn a lot. The Rafferty’s Rules nature of Indian traffic meant I was hitting the horn constantly to make cars, pedestrians, cyclists, trucks, other riders, dogs, cows and goats aware of my presence. I don’t think I’ve used the horn so much on any motorcycle at any other time in my life!

Even with India driving on the same side of the road as us, there were times when the traffic approached us on both sides, bikes went on the footpath, cars went through roundabouts the wrong way and cows just seemed to block the traffic with no one trying to move them.

With such tight traffic, we were in the lower gears a lot, which gave ample time to experience the torquey nature of the Super Meteor 650’s engine. In these conditions, it didn’t overheat and was very hard to stall, too.

In addition to working the horn a lot, our media contingent also became well-versed in using our hazard lights to let those in the rider convoy behind know of obstacles up ahead.

Before exiting Jaisalmer, we headed to the town’s old fort, a massive 12th Century structure around which the city was built. Featuring ornate temples with sandstone carvings, the fort is perched on a hill and can be seen from all sides of the city. I led a group of Aussies on a ride into the fort, which after passing through a number of gates, was like riding through the aisles of South Melbourne Market on a packed Saturday morning. It was a unique experience - and another opportunity to give the horn a work over!

Once out of town, the roads really opened up, with little to no traffic, so we could let the Super Meteor 650 really stretch its legs. Winding on the throttle enabled speeds of 100km/h and beyond to be achieved with ease, with practically no vibration felt through the seat or ‘bars at this velocity.

The highways in India are surprisingly good, so corners on these smooth, well-maintained roads could be taken at speed and showed the handling of the cruiser to be beyond expectations. When the accompanying film crew asked myself and others to repeat those corners to capture some footage, I was happy to oblige, as taking bends on the Super Meteor 650 was a lot of fun.

The Tourer’s standard windscreen proved its worth outside the city, effectively reducing wind buffeting, while the power of the new LED headlight came into play when our return to Jaisalmer finished in the dark. I was impressed with the low beam’s light spread and found the high beam to be excellent, too. I gave the new lighting 10 out of 10 and other riders with me agreed.

I should mention our riding group included multiple gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm and her partner Ryan Gallagher. Emily is a newcomer to motorcycles, so only went pillion for this launch, but told me she enjoyed the bike and the whole Indian experience, while Ryan said the Super Meteor 650 handled and performed really well with a passenger aboard.

On the Road to Jodhpur

For our fourth and final day in India, Royal Enfield had planned a ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur (which gave its name to the riding breeches any equestrian will be familiar with), consisting of around 350km, with some scheduled stops along the way.

After the inner-city chaos of the previous day, this was a much more relaxed ride, designed for us to experience India as much as the bike.

I was on a Super Meteor 650 roadster this time, so didn’t have the windscreen or touring seat. On the long highway sections, I did notice their absence and I think the aforementioned cruise control would be a boon in this situation, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t pining for any of these features.

With the route being laid out in advance and everyone riding in groups, there was no real need to employ the Tripper navigation, but I would be interested to explore that system’s capabilities on a local test.

Cruising on a long, straight section of open road in sixth gear is really what the Super Meteor 650 is made for. And in this environment, everything on the bike seemed so easy. The steering was light, the weight – 241kg wet – was negligible and the engine performance seemed effortless.

The amount of torque on tap, even in higher gears, meant overtaking was a breeze. Cruising all day at speeds between 100-110km/h was comfortable, without vibration or shimmying, while the ergonomics and balance of the chassis meant the Super Meteor 650 never felt skittish or wallowy in corners.

That being said, some on the launch found the suspension to be a little soft, the braking understrength and the standard-fit CEAT tyres lacking grip, but they were also pushing the bike outside of the parameters of performance it was designed for.

Speaking of performance, while this cruiser certainly isn’t about top-end power, the speeds it could achieve were impressive. Without giving too much away, I can say that many of us on the highway to Jodhpur would have been contributing to India’s speed camera revenue, were such devices in operation!

A Welcome Sibling

While I don’t regularly ride cruisers, the Super Meteor 650 had me thinking I probably should.

Having experienced both the Continental GT and Interceptor, I came to the Super Meteor launch with some preconceptions on how the 650 twin would translate as a cruiser, but the new model dispelled all the misgivings I had.

I found the peg position to be far more enjoyable than what I would normally find on a cruiser and the heel-and-toe shifter a fun feature. I was pleasantly surprised at the bike’s cornering capability and the speed that it could comfortably sit on, too.

For the most part, cruisers are meant to be easy to ride and the Super Meteor 650 certainly was, but where cruisers get a bad rap for sloppy handling, weak brakes and being too heavy, the Royal Enfield turns those perceptions on their head, based on my experience.

After a couple of all-too-brief days riding the Super Meteor 650, I came away impressed with the bike and confident it’ll be as much of a success as its 650 twin siblings, both here in Australia and overseas.

At $11,990 ride away in roadster form and an extra $550 for the Tourer, the Super Meteor 650 is the most expensive Royal Enfield yet offered, but it also offers a lot of bike for the money.

For anyone retuning to riding, the Super Meteor 650 may be ideal. The same goes for someone starting out, as it’s LAMS legal. If you’re in either category, book a test ride through your nearest Royal Enfield dealer when the Super Meteor 650 arrives. I think it’ll tick the boxes for a lot of riders’ requirements, while the range of accessories that will be available from launch make it a platform that can be fine-tuned to suit your needs, too.

Really, that’s what motorcycling’s about – finding a bike that suits you. I think the Super Meteor 650 will suit a lot of you.

2023 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 - Specifications

ENGINE

Type: SOHC four-stroke, eight-valve parallel twin

Displacement: 648cc

Bore x Stroke: 78mm x 67.8mm

Compression Ratio: 9.5:1

Engine Start: Electric

Ignition: Digital electronic

Induction: EFi

Lubrication: N/A

Cooling: Air/Oil