ROYAL ENFIELD 350 METEOR
GIVEN THAT EVERY MANUFACTURER IN THE WORLD IS HAVING TO DEAL WITH STRICTER EMISSIONS AND NOISE LIMITATION REGULATIONS, IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE ROYAL ENFIELD’S 500CC BULLET WOULD BE CONSIGNED TO THE HISTORY BOOKS, IT REALLY WAS. THANKFULLY, ROYAL ENFIELD’D HAD A PLAN FOR THAT FOR A WHILE…
Back in the 1950s, they (well, the British lot anyway) created a 700c twin called the Super Meteor, which was, effectively, two 350cc singles joined together. Drawing on that heritage, the current folk at Royal Enfield in India’d been planning a new 350cc single to replace the older 350cc and 500cc Bullets, and that new bike was to be called the Meteor.
It’s been designed as an accessible and, importantly, very affordable step into both the cruiser and the Royal Enfield markets, perfect for novices who’ve just made the step up from a 125, commuters looking for a cheap brand new machine for going to work, and anyone who wants an easygoing bike for pottering about of an evening or at weekends. Looking at the spec’ of the new bike, the sum of its components might not sound as though it’s going to set the world on fire, but don’t be deceived by the numbers – this is actually a real giggle to ride.
RE launched the Meteor in June at an event deep in the Warwickshire countryside and’d, probably quite wisely, picked a route for us freeloading journo’ scum that took in smaller A-roads, little B-roads, and picturesque village after picturesque
village after picturesque village – probably the Meteor’s home-fromhome. It’s based around the new J-series 349cc air/oil-cooled singlecylinder engine, a lovely relaxed long-stroke motor that produces 20.2bhp at 6,100rpm, and 27Nm (19.91ft-lb) of torque at 4,000rpm, and gives a top whack of a smidge over 70mph. Yeah, you may want to avoid dual-carriageways and motorways, but anyone with any sense would anyway – you don’t buy a 350 single to try and go ear’oling down motorways, do you?
The power delivery’s probably best described as ‘calm’, the engine has a nice thump to it, and it has enough grunt to make back roads, and blatting through the traffic, fun. It’s light, and narrow, and the seat’s quite low at 30 inches (it is wide though, so shorter riders may struggle a little to get both feet down), and you feel really confident aboard it – something that’s helped by the fact that both the brakes (excellent Brembo-made ByBres) and suspension felt as though they’ve been lifted from a bigger bike, and give the
PRICES FOR THE NEW ROYAL ENFIELD METEOR 350 START AT A BARGAIN £3,749, AND YOU CAN GET MORE INFO’ FROM YOUR LOCAL ROYAL ENFIELD DEALER OR WWW.ROYALENFIELD.COM
Meteor that reassuring ‘big bike’ feel. Some little bikes feel just that, little, and skittish, but the Meteor never feels like that at all. If you’re stepping up from a 125 or similar, or returning to biking after an absence, it’s a good feeling – the bike feels solid and ‘there’ below you. On the roads we were riding, the big little bike just felt good, even on the corners with gravel and/or poo on them – as I said, it gives you a real feeling of confidence. I don’t know if the chassis’ been developed with the help of RE’s subsidiary company, Harris Performance, but it certainly does feel as planted as one of their legendary Magnums. The seat’s firm, but comfy (and as I said, quite wide – it’d be worth seeing if there’s a lower/narrower one in the accessories list if you’ve got little legs), and the forward
controls, with heel-n’-toe gear lever, are exactly where you’d expect them to be.
It’s well-equipped too; the tank’s a full 15 litres, giving a decent range, and the neat little speedo/tacho unit looks retro and stylish, and has all the info’ you’ll need at hand. The little
(that word again) dial beside it is a really good idea – it’s Royal Enfield’s Tripper and is, basically, their (uprated) version of the Beeline Moto handlebarmounted sat-nav (working off an app linked to Google Maps on your phone) to give easy-to-see, turn-by-turn route guidance. There’s also a USB charger point on the ‘bars, so keeping your ‘phone charged’s easy.
RE’s marketing lingo says this’s the perfect bike for smaller riders, female riders and novice riders due to its small size (although actually it feels significantly bigger than my 1100 Rebel), but I was quite comfortable on it, and I didn’t hear anyone complaining of the size one way or another. In fact, it’s difficult to get off the Meteor with anything but a smile on your face – after all, it’s not always about getting to your destination as quickly as possible; sometimes it’s about the journey too.