Royal Enfield unveils the Super Meteor 650 at the 2022 EICMA

EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori), or the Milan Motorcycle Shows is an annual convention held in Milan, Italy featuring brands from around the world debuting their next model year motorcycles. The six-day event heralds the end of one riding season while showcasing what’s coming in the next. From what we gather there weren’t a great many head-turning reveals, but a few notable exceptions caught our eyes, like the new Suzuki powerplant and bikes we discussed last week. We’ll share a few more interesting unveilings in the days and weeks ahead. We continue with this notable new bike coming from Royal Enfield in 2023.

Convention enthusiasm over the new RE Super Meteor 650 in Milan.

Royal Enfield unveiled the new Super Meteor 650 in Milan, injecting a new level of character, style and accessibility into the cruiser market. The brand holds worldwide prominence in the mid-size motorcycle segment (250-750cc), and their 650cc Continental GT and INT650 have been wildly popular motorbikes for their reliability, affordability, enjoyable performance, and sheer old school-cool. We loved the time we spent with an INT650, and suspected that twin mill would show up in other bikes eventually. Admittedly, a cruiser wasn’t on our radar. We were thinking an ADV possibly. We must say, we like what we see here.

A 2023 model in “Celestial Red” and adorned with nice bits from the OEM parts bin.

The Super Meteor 650 continues Royal Enfield’s heritage of blending 1960s-70s Brit bike nostalgia with modern tech and design, with an all-new chassis developed for comfort and long, effortless rolling down long highways. Created with the help of Harris Performance, the chassis comes in with a lower center of gravity than the other two 650s, for highway speed stability and easy maneuverability for a wider range of riders, tall to shorter, new to veteran.

Early clay mock-up at Royal Enfield HQ.

Royal Enfield debuted three of the bikes at EICMA, their “Astral Black”, “Celestial Red”, and “Interstellar Green” models, the black and red decked out with accessories from their already full OEM catalogue for the machines, and green in stock format. These are strikingly good-looking motorcycles. RE will market the Super Meteor 650 in a solo format with five color options, and a touring version in two color options. The whole line will feature USD forks, LED headlights, a TBT navigation system, and lots of stock pretty parts in the fit and finish.

Testing at the Royal Enfield R & D facilities in the UK.

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of Eicher Motors Ltd., commented at the show, “We have always had a differentiated approach to building motorcycles and our new cruiser, the Super Meteor 650, is the next evolution of this approach. Inspired by our own long-distance riding experiences and those of our customers, we have built the Super Meteor to be absolutely enjoyable to all senses. The engine is super refined and responsive and offers relaxed part-throttle experience at highway-plus speeds, the riding ergonomics are fine-tuned to offer a leisurely, yet in-control riding experience, and the overall premium fit and finish of parts and materials evoke visual and sensory delight. The gorgeous silhouette and contours of the Super Meteor have been inspired by generations of cruisers from Royal Enfield, and are at the same time familiar yet absolutely distinct.”

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of Eicher Motors Ltd., and Krishnan Ramaswami, Director, Royal Enfield Western Hemisphere, offer comments during the Super Meteor 650 unveiling in Milan. 

The target availability here in the States looks like early next summer, but if we can get our hands on one earlier for a ride review, we’ll serve up some insights into what it’ll be like to live with. We loved both the INT650 and the Meteor 350 we got to sample from the world’s oldest continually-in-production motorcycle company, and this modern classic cruiser offering takes the best of both “parent” bikes and creates a new level of style and road-worthiness. We like what we see so far.

Road Dirt Crew

*Photos and info from Royal Enfield.

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