The Next Generation

THE ALL-NEW ROYAL ENFIELD METEOR HAS COME TO THE BIKE INDIA garage and, in a totally unseen move, was handed over to me – the owner of a 2005 Thunderbird A350 with its Green Tax being sorted as you read this. I’d began saving up for a Lightning 535 at the turn of the millennium. However, by the time I’d managed half that, the cast-iron cruiser was confined to history and the T’Bird arrived. I didn’t hesitate. Although, I confess, I was waiting for an “Eliminator DTS-i” which took far too long for my patience. I liked the riding position, but found it a bit too far-reaching.

The new Meteor 350, then, puts the best of both together. I get a Royal Enfield cruiser with a feet-forward – well, slightly more than my T’Bird – position and easy-reach bars. I like the riding position and the refinement. It’s just as good as I’d like a cruiser to be with strong bottom-end performance and a lot of muscle through the rev-range as well. The engine is all-new and feels very different to the 70x90-mm 346-cc AVL aluminium unit I’ve become accustomed to. Yet, the beat remains. The distinct engine note at idle is reminiscent of what Royal Enfield are famous for.

The only gripe I have isn’t with the bike, to be fair, it’s the infrastructure. With the several dozen speed-breakers on my usual commute, the stiff-ish set-up makes it a great handler, but that, along with the riding position, also makes it quite taxing with some heavy landing over some particularly ghastly speed-breakers. However, I’m partly to blame for that – I don’t like slowing down that much and getting on the gas again. More momentum means more fuel efficiency.

That apart, the Meteor 350 has me very excited and I look forward to spending more time in the saddle ahead of the next report.