2023 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650
Royal Enfield has secured a unique presence within the industry by offering simple, affordable motorcycles of inimitable stylings that cater to fans of the urban and scrambler categories. Now, the company looks set to enter the realm of mid-sized cruisers. It has unveiled a classy-looking machine that will be available in both a clean, straightforward boulevard variant as well as a grand tourer. The 2023 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 strikes an impressive, classic cruiser stance with the angle of the frame tubes tapering down and back to create a low cockpit. The big engine, emphasized by twin chrome exhaust pipes, sweeps back to support the aptly named Super Meteor.
Royal Enfield’s stalwart 650cc parallel-twin engine (presently in the INT650 and Continental GT) finds a new home in the Super Meteor, courtesy of a Harris Performance tubular steel chassis. The sloped design places the rider deep in the saddle for comfort and minimum leg reach to the ground, thanks to an extremely low seat height of 29 inches. This new configuration provides a low center of gravity, which contributes to the stability expected of a cruising machine. The parallel-twin appears to be relatively unchanged, with a claimed peak output of 46.4 hp at 7,250 rpm and a torque rating of 38.6 lb-ft which arrives at 5,650 rpm.
Complementing the new chassis, the Super Meteor incorporates an inverted 43mm fork, providing 4.7 inches of travel on the front end, with a traditional twin-shock setup at the rear, which offers four inches of travel. Wheel sizing is an interesting pairing of a 19-inch front and 16-inch rear, both laced up with CEAT tubeless tires.
Brakes are minimal. A single 320mm rotor handles front-end chores while a single 300mm rotor works at the back end. Both are mated to Bybre two-piston calipers in floating mount. The system is monitored by two-channel ABS, which comes standard. This braking package should be adequate to stop the bike’s claimed 531-pound curb weight.
The Super Meteor’s simplicity of design carries through to instrumentation, with an analog speedometer in a circular gauge augmented by a small inset LCD screen. The speedo sits alongside a smaller round screen that displays navigation in full color, powered by Google Maps.
In addition to the sharp, simple cruiser model, there will also be a grand touring version. This iteration has a windshield and a two-person seat with a backrest for the passenger, and has RE aftermarket hard saddlebags available.
The attractive teardrop gas tank has a capacity of 4.1 gallons. The basic Super Meteor will be available in Astral Black, Astral Blue, and Astral Green, as well as Interstellar Gray and Interstellar Green. The touring model will be available in either Celestial Red or Celestial Blue.
Look for the new Super Meteor to arrive stateside in the summer of 2023.