It’s a cruiser and it’s meant to be enjoyed on the open road.” That’s a thought that always played in my mind as I spent the first few hundred kilometres on our long-term Super Meteor 650 trundling through Mumbai’s infamous traffic. The opportunity to hit the highway on this bike simply never arose. But when a work trip to Lonavala came up, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
I think cruisers have a sense of occasion to them when it comes to highway trips and the Super Meteor 650 is no exception. From the low-slung seat, the armchair-like riding position and Royal Enfield’s superb parallel-twin spinning smoothly underneath me, it was motorcycling bliss of a different kind.
I wasn’t in any sort of rush so I kept the speedo needle between 80-100kph. At those speeds, the engine feels calm, the windblast isn’t much of a bother and the bars on the fuel gauge weren’t disappearing rapidly. In fact, I managed to squeeze out 32kpl and I think that’s a pretty decent number for a 240-plus kg machine.
On the whole, the bike ran flawlessly throughout the little highway sojourn that we went on. It cemented my belief that cruisers are indeed a form of motorcycles that grow on you with time. That statement holds true for me considering I’ve always loved sporty motorcycles. Or, it might just be my age catching up!
Nevertheless, the Super Meteor has managed to prove itself as a good highway bike. Both in terms of the way it rode and the fuel economy it delivered. Even the seat wasn’t much of a bother after a while. Speaking of seats, I’ve ferried a pillion on the bike on a few occasions and she surprisingly didn’t find the small seat to be an issue. Although, we covered only about 50-odd kilometres and I think she wouldn’t be too happy about the pillion seat over long periods of time.
Over and above that, I’m quite impressed with what Royal Enfield has achieved with the Super Meteor 650. It makes me feel proud about the fact that an Indian company has made a truly world-class bike.
As for problems with the bike, I’m happy to report that nothing has cropped up, so far. Except the issue with the fuel gauge being erratic after falling to the ¼ level.
The next agenda for the Super Meteor 650 is going to be an interstate trip to someplace in the north of India. But before that, I’m planning to replace the stock seats with the touring seats that RE sells as part of its official aftermarket catalogue. I’m also planning to fit LED turn-signals and some other bits like touring pegs. It’s going to be an action packed time with our long-termer.
Ved Janve
Soham Thakur
