Meteor has landed
TESTED New Enfield blows us away
‘The engine is ridiculously easy and willing’
All-new Enfields don’t come around very often so when they do they’re usually big news. The Indian firm’s unit construction 500 single debuted in 2008 and was at the heart of its European offerings for over a decade. The Continental GT 535 in 2014 marked the beginning of an ambitious new era. The Himalayan debuted in 2016 as Enfield’s first adventure bike before arriving in Europe two years later. While 2018 saw the British-designed, 650 twins in the form of the Continental
GT café racer and Interceptor roadster, both proving big hits.
Which is why you’d be forgiven for being a little underwhelmed (on face value at least) by Enfield’s latest ‘newbie’ – their first UK 350 since 2006, this cruiser-styled Meteor, which produces just 20bhp and struggles to best 70mph.
Don’t be put off. I was sceptical, too. In truth it’s rather good and a real addition to RE’s line-up – as we found out in our first ride in the Cotswolds.
Fancy an upgrade?
Although aimed primarily at India’s vast 350 market, the Meteor is also targeted at European first-timers, students, women, commuters and ‘upgraders’ (as they call them) – inexperienced types wanting a bike that’s easy to ride and practical yet also stylish and characterful. The Meteor scores on all counts.
Its all-new, air/oil-cooled, balance shaft-equipped single may only put out 20bhp but is ridiculously easy and willing. It’s decently refined with no glitches or quirks, completely unintimidating, thrummingly characterful and, because of all that, entertaining to thrash around country lanes (although with a top whack of 65-70 it’s not recommended for motorways/dual carriageways). It comes with a three year warranty, too. The all-new chassis impresses, as well. Only very mildly ‘laid back’, the riding position is again completely unintimidating with an upright gait and almost toy-like proportions. With only slightly forward pegs (complete with cruiser-style ‘heel-toe’ ‘change) it’s neutral; its slim lightness makes it a doddle to move around and the wide, well-padded saddle is comfy. While the handling from the new steel spine chassis, as you might expect coming from a combination of ex-Triumph types and Harris Performance (product leads Simon Warburton and Mark Wells are both ex-Triumph, Enfield bought UK chassis legends Harris in 2016), is light, easy and trouble-free with the twin shock suspension and Bybre brakes only slightly stretched, boing-ey and requiring the rear when pushed hard by a tester of over 30 years – me – who should know better.
Quality street
So far so, well… adequate. Better still, though is how the Meteor is put together. One of the few criticisms of Enfield’s 650s was their sometimes basic, tacky ancillaries – clocks, switchgear, fuel filler etc. Not so with the Meteor. Design chief Wells made a concerted effort to raise quality and individuality and the results are striking, whether it’s in the bar grips area, tank badges and filler cap, seat construction and finish, new LED ‘ring’ head and taillights and so on.
Then there’s the debut of Enfield’s ‘Tripper’ – a neat directional display which simply (but ultra-cleverly) takes the Google Maps directions from your phone and, through Enfield’s app, crunches it into a more basic, clear and friendly read- out. And yes, it’ll be available as an accessory on Enfield’s 650s soon.
The end result is the Meteor might ‘only’ be a cruiser 350, with retro-styling and 20bhp, but for the first time, its quality and credibility is truly nudging that of, say, Triumph. Enfield’s Wells and Warburton also say this is just the start which suggests exciting implications. How about a slightly larger ‘scrambler’ 650 next, please Enfield, with more of the quality touches started on the Meteor yet still around the £6-7K tag?
More, more, more…
In the meantime, there’s even more. First, the new Meteor is offered in three guises. The most basic Fireball (£3749, in dramatic red or yellow), the slightly upspecced Stellar (£3829, with pillion backrest in blue, red or black) or the top spec Supernova as tested here (£3909 with backrest, screen and two-tone metallic brown or blue paint).
Those prices are tempting whichever way you look at it. But it’s also a price which allows room for another Enfield ‘first’ – a range of model-specific accessories, as developed by another ex-Triumph specialist, Richard Rawlins. So if you want to customise your Meteor with engine bars, seat, screen etc from the moment it appears in dealers – which is now, incidentally – you can. Told you Enfield had come a long way…