Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Review

Jan 15, 2024

Few motorcycles produced today are as shaped by their home market as those from India's Royal Enfield. The second largest motorcycle market in the world after China, India is a demanding place to ride and an unforgiving punisher of motorcycles. After being acquired by India's Eicher Group, Royal Enfield underwent a decade-long revamp, transforming from a maker of quaint, leaky 350cc and 500cc thumpers to churning out hip and modern machines like the INT and Continental GT 650cc twins, and the popular 411cc Himalayan adventure bike.

Words and Photography by Bill Roberson

In 2020, I reviewed the INT650 twin—or Interceptor 650 outside the U.S.—and as a former vintage Brit-bike owner, I felt it was a perfect fit for someone like me that loves vintage style and the relaxed pace of an old-school air-cooled middleweight parallel twin. But with modern ABS brakes, fuel injection, slipper clutch and a Harris-designed frame, it doesn't need vintage bike upkeep. I was so smitten I bought the review bike and ride it to this day.

Just before the holidays last year, I was contacted by Royal Enfield about riding their latest P-twin, the more cruiser-styled Super Meteor 650, but with a twist: The ride would take place in India in early January. I grabbed my passport and got the required shots, and after 23 hours on various airplanes and buses, arrived in the rural town of Jaisalmer, near the contentious Pakistan/India border.

I’ve never been to India, which is a large part of the reason I was excited to ride the new Super Meteor there. Like many Westerners, I’ve seen the memes and photos of the overcrowded trains, overloaded tuk tuks and chaotic traffic. I live a relatively comfortable and predictable existence in the U.S.; getting out of the country and seeing how others live—especially if I can do it on any kind of motorbike—is a needed context. India does not disappoint.

The new Super Meteor 650 is based around that perky air/oil-cooled 648cc twin that makes 47 horsepower and a tick over 38 nits of torque. Rather than being a variant of the more urban-focused INT650 or its cafe cousin, the Continental 650 GT, the Super Meteor is a truly new model with a new frame, new Showa USD fork, and a bead on the middleweight touring market.

The Super Meteor loses the INT's slipper clutch but retains the six-speed gearbox, which now has more modern cases than the shiny ovals on the INT and Conti GT. It also loses a tachometer but gains the small app-driven Tripper GPS display first found on the Meteor 350. Cast wheels replace the spokes and the Super Meteor will come in two flavors to start, a base bike and a Tourer version with a small windscreen, touring saddle and stubby bumstop backrest. The foot controls are placed forward on the Super Meteor but are much less of a reach as some dedicated western market cruisers. Call it "standardish forward."

U.S. pricing is pending, but some quick currency conversions seem to place it around $7000 to $7500, but that could also be way off base. We expect to know more closer to summer.

I was assigned a Super Meteor 650 Tourer and thumbed the starter. The P-twin sprang to life and EPA-muffled power pulses politely departed the twin low-slung chrome mufflers. The Super Meteor bars have just a bit of a buckhorn bend to them, and when I went to tap the shifter into first, my TCX boot met nothing but air and landed in the dirt. These forward controls were going to take a minute to get used to.

From the hotel parking lot, my group rolled onto a main road leading out of Jaisalmer. Temperatures hung in the low 40s; I thankfully had brought my winter gloves along. It was a Sunday morning and traffic was light, but still highly entertaining. Inner city traffic is made up of a menagerie of vehicles and roadway users, all in motion all at once. You ride on the left side of the road… usually.

Armadas of small 110 and 125cc motorbikes, oddly quiet, softly buzz by carrying from one to six people and cargo. Most women, always colorfully dressed in saree, ride side-saddle unless at the controls, which is rare. Roads can go from smooth pavement to muddied, rutted passages in a moment. Pedestrians, bicyclists, animals (usually cows but also sheep and goats), people pushing carts laden with food and the occasional chicken all share the small roadways in a flow of motion and horn honks. Small utility trucks, often loaded, are common. Cars were not.

After several miles, the adrenaline subsided and the code of the road in India began to reveal itself. First off: Don't be in a hurry. My American traffic instincts had me trying to thread through as quickly as possible. The Super Meteor is certainly up for it; we were astride pretty much the fastest thing on the road. But it's not about speed in India, it's about sharing the space, making room, filling in a gap. And everywhere: the sound of horns from every vehicle—except mine. Short beeps let everyone know where you are; longer ones indicate a need to move, merge or pass. Large trucks have two horns; a friendly one that plays a fun tune, and a blaring horn for getting your attention. It works. Slowly, I start to use my horn more. Here I am, here I come. Hello, India.

On open highways, passing is the name of the game. You pass the tuk-tuk at the same time it's passing the farm tractor. Pass on the left, right or right down the middle, just gas it and go as needed. The shoulder is just another lane, especially on two wheels.

As I came around one slow-moving truck, another truck was closing fast heading my way—in my lane. Instead of slowing (or panicking), the driver calmly eased over to the right while the truck I was passing eased slightly left, leaving me a small lane between them as they blew by. Terrifying but also exhilarating. Drivers in India seem to operate on an almost psychic level.

While a 650 may seem like a small bike today, they occupy the sweet spot on the speed and utility Venn diagram. In the real world of India, where motorcycles are utility vehicles and transportation, they are plenty fast—hot rods, even. But they still have a job to do.

Royal Enfield knows this well, and by making a twin instead of another single, they’ve stirred in a bit more power, smoothness and melody to go with an obvious toughness. I was surprised at the comfort of the Super Meteor as we continually pushed limits. The Super Meteor has fairly long suspension travel for a cruiser, with four inches out back and five up front. We made good use of it on our rides, and I was struck by how "in control" of the bike I felt on pretty much any surface, which included cobblestones, dirt, gravel, even crumbling asphalt. We all hammered throttle and brakes while riding typically out of necessity.

The biggest negative: I wanted those footpegs moved back a bit so I can better stand on the pegs over rough surfaces as I do on my dual sport. Otherwise, the Super Meteor 650 was all-day comfortable, surprisingly agile and tough as nails.

The Super Meteor is another international model for the now internationally ambitious Royal Enfield, but it is shaped by India. It's not going to win any races, but it's also not slow—mine topped 100 mph at one point, if only just. Roll deep into the throttle above second gear and it moves out with gusto, but without terrifying acceleration. At 530 pounds, it's not light, but it's not meant to be. It's clearly built tough, built to last, and simple to repair, even for a home mechanic.

Above all, it was good fun to ride, especially on its home turf, and shook off all the abuse we dished out. Is it enough motorcycle to tour with outside of India? Only one way to find out. Check back later this summer. CN