Royal Enfield unveils Super Meteor 650 at Eicma 2022

A quintessential cruiser, the Super Meteor 650 combines uncluttered controls and instrumentation with relaxed rider ergonomics and rock-steady stability on the highway. The Super Meteor 650 has the silhouette of a purebred cruiser with a low stance and sumptuous seat with a narrow waist which combine to make munching miles a breeze. A large tank gives extended range and wide tubeless tyres on alloy rims provide dependability at highway speeds.

Commencing in the mid-1950s, the company was decades ahead of the cruiser genre being defined when it produced US export variants of the original Redditch Super Meteor with what is today considered as a cruiser profile.

In the late 1990s, Royal Enfield was the first motorcycle company to introduce cruising culture to the Indian market with the release of Citybike, a single cylinder cruiser based on the legendary Bullet. This evolved into the Lightning 535, which during its time became the biggest and baddest motorcycle in India.

Royal Enfield’s cruiser lineage continued with the 2002 release of the first Thunderbird 350. Initially with an AVL Lean Burn engine, from 2008 onwards the Thunderbird was built around Royal Enfield’s seminal UCE platform. This was the motorcycle that encouraged tens of thousands of young Indian riders to go motorcycle cruising. The Thunderbird 500, the king of India’s highways, followed in 2012 and the Thunderbird X, a more youthful cruiser aimed at the urban rider, arrived in 2018. 

Global success followed in 2020 with the launch of the Meteor 350 on the brand new J-series  platform. The Meteor 350 upped the tempo with new standards of finesse, quality and, most importantly, rideability. Equally at home in the city as on the open road, it has enjoyed a spectacular reception in European markets as well as winning the hearts and minds of riders across the world.

The Super Meteor 650 not only extends this proud ancestry of outstanding cruisers but takes it to the next level.  As well as outstanding engineering and ergonomics, there is one aspect of the Super Meteor that will dazzle riders and, indeed, anyone who loves design: the consummate elegance of its unmistakable cruiser lines, epitomised by the shapely hourglass form of the motorcycle. Even when stationary it’s easy to imagine the summer evening air flowing freely over the streamlined form of the Super Meteor, and the miles ticking smoothly away beneath its wheels.

Riding position is one of the key differentiators of any cruiser and the Super Meteor nails this with fully feet-forward foot controls, a low scalloped seat and wide pulled-back handlebars, all of which meld to make the rider feel they are part of their motorcycle.

Created in conjunction with Harris Performance, the all-new chassis provides a low centre of gravity for high-speed stability and easy manoeuvrability that is confidence inspiring for all levels of rider. USD forks, LED headlamps, a state-of-the-art TBT navigation system, redesigned engine covers and a premium fit and finish are just some of the many attention-grabbing features.

The Super Meteor 650 is the solo tourer variant and will be available in five colourways - Astral Black, Astral Blue, Astral Green, Interstellar Grey and Interstellar Green. The Super Meteor 650 Tourer is the grand tourer variant and will be available in two colourways - Celestial Red and Celestial Blue

The motorcycle is supported by an extensive ecosystem of Genuine Motorcycle Accessories that compliment its touring capabilities. Of the three motorcycles unveiled at EICMA, the Astral Black Super Meteor 650 is equipped with Solo Tourer Genuine Motorcycle Accessories kit, including bar end mirrors, deluxe footpeg, solo finisher, LED indicators and machined wheels. The Celestial Red Super Meteor 650 Tourer is equipped with the Grand Tourer accessories kit including deluxe touring dual-seat, touring windscreen, passenger backrest, deluxe footpegs, long haul panniers, touring handlebar and LED indicators. The Interstellar Green Super Meteor 650 is displayed in the standard format.