Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 - Test Ride By A Meteor 350 Owner - Should I Upgrade ?

I finally get to ride the exciting new Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650, a bike which I am considering buying for myself !
Timestamps :
00:37 - this is going to be a long video
00:48 - introducing the Super Meteor 650, walk around and tech specs
08:59 - me realising that doing reviews is hard ;)
10:53 - can I move this bike around without using the engine ?
11:50 - low speed handling test
12:52 - the actual test ride begins
34:01 - final thoughts first attempt when GoPro died
34:37 - my actual final thoughts recorded again when I got home
37:54 - Ruby gets a "sossidge"
38:35 - bonus content "ears in wind" ( adorable ! )
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Cheers 👍🏻
ER.
#royalenfield #supermeteor650 #supermeteor #royalenfieldsupermeteor650

[@waynedavis7245]

You may not be a reviewer , but you did a better job than most reviewers . I'm in the states and really like hearing from people from other countries. Her in the states the people who will buy this bike will already be use to the forward controls . Here the first change would be those pipes. Most people in the states would probably go with short shots or the 2 into 1 stinger pipes. The stinger pipes give a good power increase on the freeway. This bike will be a big winner here , if they advertise it right. Stay safe out there .

[@economicalrides]

Hi Wayne, thank you so much for taking the time to write such kind words. I did forget to go into detail on the foot ergonomics but other than that I think I covered everything worth mentioning. I will talk about the foot ergos in next week's follow up video because they may be an issue for some people, so people need to be aware of that. If I had one, I would definitely be looking to get a bit more sound out of it, it's a big part of the whole cruiser vibe, being able to enjoy the rumble as you sit back and relax ! As it is, it is a bit too civilised. I'd also like to see a blacked out one, something like my Meteor 350 Fireball Yellow, just in BIG. I think a blacked out one would look mean and could be more popular with hip younger riders like myself 😛😂 There is a big potential market globally for this bike. With the old H-D Sportster being phased out, this bike could become the goto entry level cruiser. OK, it's not an H-D but Royal Enfield is another brand with a lot of history, so with the right marketing RE could hoover up a few potential H-D customers with this bike. It's a great opportunity for them to really get a foothold in the cruiser market and become a credible lifestyle brand in that sector ! Cheers Wayne. Definitely check out the Super Meteor when it lands on your shores. I think it would be a lovely bike for novices or returning riders, just because it is so easy handling and so easy to ride ! Thanks again and have a great day ! ER.

[@waynedavis7245]

@@economicalrides thanks for your reply. As I'm in the states I like seeing opinions from other countries. I've seen some that don't like cruiser bikes and the forward controls. Here in the states they are common. Are roads here are different. Things are spread out and we ride more distance runs . I think our speed limits are higher than some other countries. So cruisers are very popular here . I agree with HD doing away with the 883 there will be a great interest in the 650 . Again, keep up the great work and stay safe out there. Looking forward to seeing another test run on this bike .I probably will be looking this bike over when they get here . I'm going to buy this one, if I like it.

[@economicalrides]

@@waynedavis7245 Thanks Wayne and yes, definitely have a go on a Super Meteor if you can someday. The beauty of it is, it is a cruiser which handles really well, it's actually great fun on small twisty roads too. A very versatile bike to have in the fleet I would imagine ! Cheers and if you do end up getting one, please let me know 🙂👍🏻 ER

[@artiecisneros4691]

Hey Wayne, Saturday the 4th of November, RE were here in San Diego and I had the opportunity to test the Super Meteor and after I put a deposit on one. It should arrive God willing late next month or early January. You're right about the pipes, they are ugly and quiet.😎

[@catalindm]

Finally, a more pertinent and honest opinion, coming from a biker and not a KZbinr or motorcycle journalist. I'm glad to hear that the transition from a 350 to this 650 is smooth, as I've owned a Virago 250 for 10 years already. Since I saw this model from Royal Enfield, I can't think of another motorcycle. It seems to me that the power of the engine is more than enough, I like the classic style of how they put the controls, the advanced controls are the norm for me. Thanks for the video, it convinced me to go to my local dealer and try one before making a final decision. What a wonderful review!

[@economicalrides]

Thank you so much. Generally I don't do reviews because dealers here rarely have bikes to demo. This was a rare exception and at the time I was personally seriously considering the upgrade from Meteor to Super Meteor. In the end I decided against it because I couldn't really justify the extra expense with my use case. My abiding memory of the Super Meteor was that it was so friendly and easy to ride. Also for a larger cruiser, it had excellent handling. It was so easy to get it onto the side of the tyre to get around mini-roundabouts. It handled pretty much as my Meteor 350 does. In part two I do mention the more forward controls and the fact that they are SO different to those of the Meteor 350. That may make the change more difficult for some Meteor 350 owners. But if you are used to that control position then I don't really see any other downside to the Super Meteor. Definitely try one if you can but my hunch is that you will love it ! Cheers catalindm and many thanks for your kind comment, I really appreciated it 👍🏻🙂 ER

[@TheBezaleel]

This bike deserves to sell in big numbers. That said, I think the 350 Meteor has a beautiful balance and the single has it's own charm. It comes down to what are you going to use the bike for. Either way you will enjoy the RE DNA of soulful biking.

[@economicalrides]

You are spot on Douglas. How much bike do I actually need ? And I love my Meteor 350 in every way, I've never been so emotionally invested in a motorcycle ! I just can't get away from my "economical" tendencies. This is an expensive bike and it doesn't actually bring me any benefits that I actually need in 99% of my riding. The heart says yes and no ( for various reasons ) but the head is saying "No, don't waste money on something you don't need !" 😂 Shut up head !!! 😂 Cheers Douglas, you are clearly enlightened ! ER

[@TheBezaleel]

@@economicalrides Buying a new bike is like overtaking, when you hesitate......you shouldn't. It's your gut feeling speaking to you. I am lucky to have several bikes, my Himalayan and Meteor 350 enhance my rides on busy roads while keeping it mostly legal. My CB500S and ZZR1100 are becoming garage queens. I sold my Versys 650 (Excellent bike) after 4 years as I seemed to race everywhere (not good at 62). Could the vibes on the Meteor be partly due to not being run in ?. Old skool RE riders state it takes 3,000 miles to bed everything in.

[@economicalrides]

@@TheBezaleel Hi Douglas, I completely agree and the decision has been made ( sensibly ) 🙂👍🏻 Apparently, judging from comments on here, the RE 650s are smooth from day one but do improve slightly over time. So on that basis there was definitely something wrong with this bike because it was as vibey as heck at 65 mph in top gear. You wouldn't call that ride remotely smooth, i can tell you. I think I understated how bad the vibes were but my hands were numb within 5 minutes of riding at that speed ! Cheers Douglas, have a great day and a great weekend ! ER

[@paulegan7376]

Thanks for the review. I've got a 350 Meteor & have already purchased the 650,picking up in April. I absolutely love my 350 but have always had a larger machine for two up touring with the wife. As soon as the 650 was announced I sold my BMW and now cant wait to pick up the 650.I've bought the Celestial Blue which comes with the touring screen, seat & I've added panniers and deluxe foot pegs.

[@economicalrides]

Excellent Paul, you are clearly a man of great taste ! I had already decided before I went to the dealership, that I would only be interested in the Celestial Blue one !!! I sat on a Celestial Red one which a customer was just in the process of collecting. The seating position is much more cruiser. You definitely sit more in the bike, more behind the base of the tank. It feels much cooler. Get some nice bags on there and it would be lovely for a spot of touring. I'm sure that you've made an excellent choice Paul, the Super Meteor is very easy to get on with. Don't worry about the vibes I experienced. They were so bad that there absolutely MUST have been an issue with this bike. My Bullet 500 vibrated less at the same speed !!! Cheers Paul and good luck with your own Super Meteor when it arrives next month ! ER

[@kenhoward3512]

I like the sound of the stock exhaust. It sounds good to the rider - a throaty rumble - without annoying everyone else in the neighborhood. Thanks for the very nicely done, real-world review.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks again Ken. I don't really do reviews, only long term reports on my own bikes, so this was something very different for me. I was also a bit terrified to be riding somebody else's bike and not my own ( it's been a while since I've done that ). But this bike was obviously of interest to a lot of Meteor owners on my channel, so I made an exception and I was also curious myself, of course. In the end I found it too expensive, considering that it added nothing to my garage that I was currently missing. The Meteor 350 is still totally adequate for the type of riding I have to do, so why spend more, use more fuel, heave more weight around the garage ? I'm sure it would be a great bike if you were the sort of person who actually NEEDED a middleweight cruiser though, not much wrong with it ! Cheers Ken, nice to see you browsing my other videos too 👍 Garry

[@mwb]

I picked up my 650 after trading in my 350 about a month ago now, and haven't looked back. I don't get any vibrations on the 650 so wouldn't let that put you off. Best decision I ever made, although the 350 is an excellent bike, that extra power in the UK is appreciated.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Mark, congratulations ! Yes, plenty of comments saying that the Interceptor and Continental motors don't vibrate, so this one was clearly a dud. I'm pretty sure that somewhere something was loose because they were buzzy high frequency vibrations, caused by but not coming from the engine, I would say. I totally understand that UK riders find the 350s a bit short of puff. I am very fortunate that I don't really EVER have to ride fast boring roads ( except sometimes in the winter when the mountains are inaccessible ), so the 350s are fine for well over 90% of all of my riding. I'm still struggling to justify the expense of a larger bike like this one, just because I really don't need the extra power. Although not having to worry what gear you are in when accelerating out of an uphill bend was a very nice feeling and one which I had not experienced in a very long time 😂 Cheers Mark and good luck with your bike ! ER.

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

@@economicalrides Mine buzzed at high speed but that stopped after 100 miles.

[@noneone2u]

Really great video! You are a mellow, enjoyable soul. Glad you are here. LOVED ears in the wind!!

[@economicalrides]

Thank you kindly None One, what a lovely thing to say ! 🤗 We're really glad that you are enjoying our nonsense on here. Ruby sends fluffy kisses and asks if you have any "sossidges" about your person ❤️🐕😀 Cheers None One, delighted to have you onboard ! ER & Ruby

[@kottomack]

So I went back and looked to see how many kilometers are on the bike...26. I'm quite certain that the vibrations will get considerably better (less) once the engine breaks in. I also should mention that this is a wonderful review thank you for taking the time. Love Ruby she is adorable.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks K Mack, glad you enjoyed my first ever proper review and Ruby says "Hi ! Got any sossidges ?" ❤️🐕 ( sorry, you'll have to excuse her poor manners but she does live for sossidges 😂 ) To be honest, at the time I did make the excuse that the bike is not run in and that the engine may improve with time. However, I quickly decided that NO BIKE, brand new or old, should vibrate like that. The vibration was so bad that my hands went numb after five minutes. I could ride my Bullet 500 at 60 mph and it would take two hours before my hands went numb ! The level of vibration was such that it is indicative of something loose somewhere. It was an extremely buzzy high frequency vibration, the worst kind of vibration and one which no rider would tolerate and no reviewer would ignore. Also bear in mind that all other reviews have been on similarly new bikes and none of them mention horrendous vibrations. Having spoken to Interceptor owners, they are all confirming that the 650s were smooth from day one and are smoother than most other twins at 70 mph. So although I was going to cut the bike some slack for being brand new, this didn't feel like the kind of mild vibration which might improve over time. I will be testing the bike again, if the dealer reckons that they have identified and fixed the problem. But I am as sure as I can be that for most people the Super Meteor will be a fine tourer ( as long as it doesn't have the same issue as this one did ). Cheers K Mack, thank you for your kind words and Ruby says 💋🐕 ER

[@shardlake]

Wonderful initial impressions, envious of that weather, shame about the vibes, as you say, not seen any other reviewer mention that, so likely bike specific. Glad you found the weight to be a non issue, my current bikes are very much lighter, so good to get an impression from someone riding a lighter bike. Look forward to your final decision. Ruby was wonderful, especially the slo-mo ear action.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Shardlake, glad you enjoyed the slo-mo, for me it's the best part of the entire video by far ! 😂 Honestly, you will only notice the weight of the Super Meteor when you drop it and have to pick it up ! When it's on its wheels you really never notice it, not even when paddling the bike about without the engine. I was really surprised that the weight was a non issue for me ! To jump on and ride, it gave me the same vibe as the Meteor did when I picked it up. You just feel at ease straight away. Normally with a new bike, the first rides would be filled with fear and anxiety about dropping your new bike. I never had that with the Meteor and I know that I wouldn't have it with the Super Meteor either. It's just a bike that feels like it's on your side, it's not fighting you or looking to catch you out at all. Of the RE 650s I think this would be the best novice bike by far. The weight feels a lot lower than on the Interceptor or Conti, so an inexperienced rider would have far less fear of dropping it, I suspect. Shame about the vibes, ruined the whole experience for me, but I hope to test a vibe free one in the future. Cheers Shardlake, Ruby says thanks and sends fluffy kisses 💋🐕 ER & Ruby

[@raykenna8489]

I too ride the Meteor & in Spain (Girona). For the past year I've been contemplating a Super Meteor & avidly following the reviews. Having watched yours my mind is made up. I going to get one. Thanks for a valuable ride through the pros & cons.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Ray, it's certainly another nice easy bike to live with, if you feel like you need a bit more power at times. I haven't managed to try one yet, I only sat on one, but maybe you should also consider the Shotgun 650. I think that you might find that it feels more like a bigger Meteor than the Super Meteor does ! But either of the 650 cruisers will be a nice bike. It just comes down to personal taste and which bike's ergonomics you prefer. Thanks for watching and leaving your kind comment Ray. Good luck with the new bike ! Garry

[@junderwoituk]

Great review for someone who does not do bike reviews. I've seen quite a lot of reviews of this bike and yours is up there in the best of the bunch.

[@economicalrides]

Awww thanks Jeff, very nice of you to say so ! 🤗 If I ever do another review I'll try extra hard not to mix up the indicator switch with the hazard warning switch 😂😂😂 See, there's always room for improvement ! Tomorrow my 12 month review of my Classic 350 will be out. I also made a "deliberate" mistake in that one which I had to correct with a caption ( I named the tank capacity of the Meteor instead of the Classic ! ) 😛 Still, practice makes perfect ( or maybe not in my case ! 😏). I'm glad you found this video useful Jeff and thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind comment, we really appreciate it 👍🏻 Cheers Jeff, have a great day ! ER.

[@keithwheeler3049]

Really nice review in a lovely country. Ruby is a delight and adds a certain something that other KZbinrs cannot match 😊

[@economicalrides]

Aaaaaaw thanks Keith, we really appreciate that ! Yes, I’m pretty sure that most viewers are now only tuning in to see how Ruby is doing 😂 Still, that’s fine by me, they all count 😛 Thanks for taking the time to leave such a kind comment and Ruby says “Stay tuned to my channel for more of me Keith ! You can just fast forward through the boring motorcycle bits !“❤️🐕 🤨 Cheers Keith, ER & Ruby ( or perhaps that should be Ruby & ER ? 🐕 )

[@melfzs]

Great down to earth review ER , enjoyed the mountain roads footage in particular 🙌 , it's a really nice bike , hope the vibration problem is just that particular bike, as I've not heard the problem on other reviews, I have an Interceptor and the more miles I put on it the smoother it became, not that it was bad anyway! Ruby looked pleased with her treat! 🐕 , I'll be Interested to see what the issue was with the vibes in your next video, 👍

[@economicalrides]

Thanks melfzs, I appreciate the appreciation 🤗 I'm not a huge fan of bike reviews based on an hour or two with the bike but in this case it was a genuine test ride, with a view to possibly buying one, so I thought that it might have some merit to share my genuine live first impressions and in part two the whole decision making process. Unfortunately the dealer hasn't told me anything about the bike, I've no idea if they found something or whether they think there is no issue. For me it definitely felt like something was loose ( engine mounting bolt maybe not torqued down at the factory ? ) because I was getting very high frequency vibes beyond a certain engine speed, most unpleasant ! As you say, plenty of people report that the Interceptor is pretty smooth from day one, so no reason why the Super Meteor shouldn't be ! And these vibrations really didn't feel like they were due to a tight engine. More likely a loose engine ( loose in the frame that is ) ! Ruby says thank you for watching her eat a sossidge, she knows it's what the public demands, so she promises to keep eating sossidges for that reason alone ( allegedly ! ) 😂 Cheers melfzs, in the next video I will mention something I forgot to mention in this one and also give my final decision ( no spoilers here 🤐 ). Take care and thanks again, ER & Ruby

[@freddy9210]

Superb review with good details. Well done! You helped to provide clarity in decision making for your circumstances. And it resonates with me... Yes, I am considering one.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Freddy, I don't do reviews normally, well only of my own bikes. This was a rare exception ! The Super Meteor is another lovely Royal Enfield and if you need something for fast roads, it is a good alternative to the much more common Continental and Interceptor. It is just a bit too much bike for my needs, so I was happy to happy to stick with my good old Meteor 350 and save myself a few quid, which I subsequently spent on a Himalayan for trail riding 🙂 Cheers Freddy, ER / Garry

[@freddy9210]

@economicalrides Your circumstances are similar to mine, mostly city, with 90km/h limitation on highway. The posture (legs a bit too stretched, plus body vertical) may not be favourable for riding speed beyond 100km/h. I am a come-back-to-be rider (that means no bike now). What's holding me back is I have osteoporosis. I am not sure if I should ride again.

[@economicalrides]

@@freddy9210 Thanks for the information Freddy. Well, if I were you, I would probably look at the Hunter 350, or the Meteor 350 if you prefer cruisers. The main reason being that the Super Meteor 650 is significantly more expensive and a fair bit heavier. If you are returning to biking and don't yet know how your body is going to cope with it, it would be a shame to spend a lot more money on the Super Meteor, only to find out that you can't ride anymore. Since we all have different arm and leg lengths, ailments etc. I would certainly also recommend that you try to sit on each of the bikes you are considering. Your current favourite might end up being the most painful for you ! I would definitely start with the smallest and cheapest bike that I think I can get away with. You can always upgrade later, when you are more confident that you definitely want to and are able to remain a biker 👍🏻 Good luck deciding and I hope you find something you are able to enjoy riding ! Cheers Freddy, Garry

[@CarlosRRT]

Nice review! Thanks.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Carlos 👍 I have been reassured by other RE 650 owners that the vibrations I experienced on this ride are not normal ( as I expected ). So I wouldn’t expect the Super Meteor to be uncomfortable on the motorway normally, it should be fine at 120 kph but this demo bike did have a vibration issue at that speed, for some reason 🤷‍♂️ Thanks for watching and commenting 👍 Cheers Carlos, ER

[@Swedenbonnie]

Love the color of the bike that’s for sure! Looking forward to the follow up as the vibes are worries me a bit tbh. Haven’t heard it before, but very curious how the next ride will be! Hugs for Ruby! Cheers ER🍻

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Lilian ! The vibes were so bad and so unpleasant that there must have been something wrong with the bike. Hopefully the dealer can identify the problem and let me have another high speed run on it. If it can cruise comfortably at 120 kph then it would be a great all round motorcycle IMO because in the city or in the twisties it is so easy to deal with. So it would be a perfect Sunday afternoon bike but also capable of longer tours ( if the vibes are not present ! ) should you want to do some. Cheers Lilian, Ruby will be duly hugged ! ER & Ruby ❤🐕

[@Swedenbonnie]

@@economicalrides I truly hope you have a much more pleasant ride next time ER! The super meteor suits you! I have found my dreambike already🖤 Robert needs to search for an another bike as the Bonneville is MINE🤣

[@economicalrides]

@@Swedenbonnie 😂😂😂 Way to go Lilian ! You tell him ! 👍🏻 Cheers ER & Ruby ❤🐕

[@leonjoseph84]

Nice review. Liked the slow pace as they are normally too quick. I also own a Meteor and am thinking to upgrade as I can go to work on motorway but my 350 struggles to get above 70mph which is just a bit underpowered. The vibration issue was a worry so look forward to your follow up. Currently in UK there are no test rides available but a bike to see. Like red. But the blue looked good so may be my choice. Would also miss the dual gear foot lever which I hated at first but now love. No more scuffed toes on boots. Nice job. Thanks

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Leon, my videos tend to be slow paced, bordering on soporific 🤗 I have been accused of being the Bob Ross of moto vloggers, which I don’t mind but he clearly had way more hair than I have ever had 😂 I have spoken to the dealer and they claim that the bike is fine. I will try to get a second go on it, maybe when one of my bikes is there for servicing. I really only need to thrash it up to 70mph on the motorway for five minutes, then we’ll know. It’s POSSIBLE that I was holding onto the bars too tightly because of the horrific wind, although that wouldn’t explain the vibes in my feet. I am curious to see how the bike is at speed now, so I will try to ride it again and report back. In general though, the 650 twins are renowned for being quite smooth, so I wouldn’t expect other Super Meteors to be particularly vibey, so don’t be put off. In my follow up video to this one, I mention the slightly odd foot ergonomics of the Super Meteor. Completely different to those of the Meteor and as you say, a heel/toe shifter ( as fitted as standard on Indian market SMs ) would have made a lot of sense here. Since one is standard on Indian bikes, you should be able to get one off ebay eventually ( much like with the Classic 350 shifter ). Thanks Leon. I can well imagine that the Super Meteor would make sense for you, making the rides to work more relaxed. Just make sure that you get on with the foot and foot control positions. Oh, and at 70 mph on a windy day, the wind resistance was lifting my feet off the foot pegs, so some sort of wind deflectors or footboards may be required for sustained high speed cruising 🙂 Good luck deciding and I will certainly do a video of my second test ride, whenever that happens ! Cheers Leon 👍 ER

[@ludobear68]

A fantastic and captivating review - thanks so much. All my questions answered. Order placed for a Celestial which I'll receive in Portugal during April.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Barry, glad you found it useful. I was going to go for the Celestial Blue if I’d ordered one but in the end I decided to stick with my current bikes. I’m sure you’ll be very happy with it. If I needed to ride faster roads, then the Super Meteor would have been my first choice. Would suit me better than the Interceptor or Continental I think ! Good luck with yours Barry. Quality and reliability seem to be really good with the three REs that I’ve owned recently 👍

[@ludobear68]

@economicalrides that's the one I bought - Celestial Blue! Btw did you get to the bottom of the vibrations at 120km? I also saw part two this evening- so good to hear your reasons for not purchasing the SM - very wise words :). Thanks again.

[@economicalrides]

@@ludobear68 Not yet but when I was at the dealership the other week they had a new Super Meteor as a demo bike, this time a Celestial Red one. As soon as I am healthy I will try to book a test ride on that one and do a follow up. My friend Clive has a Celestial Blue one and ran it in carefully. He recently took it up to 70 mph for the first time and reported back that there were no vibes, so they probably smooth out a lot over time. Clive had a Meteor 350 before too, so I would trust his opinion. Doesn’t seem to be a general problem but I would be interested to try a different one myself. They probably need 3000 km on them before they are run in, so probably best to judge them after that. Stay tuned to the channel because with a bit of luck I will do another ride with the dealer’s new demo Super Meteor soon🤞 I’m sure yours will be fine if you give it 3000 km before really opening it up 😳 Cheers Barry 🍺🍺

[@ludobear68]

@economicalrides will definitely stay tuned and thanks for taking the time to reply. Hope your health improves soon and I look forward to your next videos. Keep up the brilliant work! 🍻

[@economicalrides]

@@ludobear68 Thanks Barry. I really appreciate that and please let me know how you find the Super Meteor yourself 🙂 I think I’m slowly getting better and am optimistic that I should have recovered for the second time sometime next week 🤞 Welcome to the channel and please stay in touch 👍 Garry

[@simongilbert2704]

hope this is going to be good , as i have already clicked the like button before watching , zen and ruby are on hand as witnesses ;;

[@economicalrides]

No refunds Simon ! 😂 Cheers and thanks 👍🏻 ER

[@nigelcopestake3618]

Excellent road test, could do with some of your weather back in UK 👍👍👍

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Nigel 🤗 I felt a bit like Exeter Rider in this one 😂 I was a fish out of water, having to talk about somebody else's bike but despite the time pressure, I did enjoy the test ride and I did think that I might need to do a few more of them in the future. I will just need to actively find out who has which bike on demo and where. Not quite sure how to go about that, maybe just phone a bunch of dealers and ask them which bikes they currently have on demo. I'd only ride the ones I am at least remotely interested in though, because here in Spain the distances are large and one test ride will take an entire day to complete. We'll see. But this was a bike that I needed to ride because I was interested in getting one and needed to know whether I should park my trail bike plans and get this first or whether I should get this later or not at all. Judging by the views this video has already had, the Super Meteor would be a great bike for the channel but the priority has to be having the bikes I want and need so.... 🤔 Yes, the weather is definitely improving here now, often over 20C but we always have these terrible winds at the moment. But the signs are positive, I'm already looking forward to early summer and lots of riding ! Oh, and the mountains are now free of snow and ice, so I no longer have to limit my riding to the valley, which is fantastic. I missed my mountain roads during the winter ! Cheers Nigel, ER & Ruby

[@archievthapa3593]

Loved the review !!!

[@economicalrides]

Thank you ARCHIEV THAPA, I don't really do reviews but since I was considering buying a Super Meteor and I got a chance to try one, I thought I might as well film it. I'm glad that you found this video entertaining/useful/not terrible 😂 Thanks buddy, ER.

[@BelgianDoomer]

cheers for the superb video ER and my love to Ruby! I'm going for a testdrive tomorrow! This definitely looks like the bike i wanted last year when i bought my lovely 350, just went for a first spring ride today with the misses, dont know what my feelings will be after riding the 650. surely i'm going to have heartache over the little meteor if i decide to go for the 650...

[@economicalrides]

Hi BD, that's exciting news, have fun !!! You will feel at home on the SM. The only thing is, the foot ergos are completely different. On the SM you only have your heel on the footrest and you have your toes pointing skywards towards the high mounted brake pedal and gear lever. It's a bit odd, will take some getting used to. I also think a heel/toe shifter would be much better suited to these foot ergos than a regular one, so it's odd that they've removed the heel/toe shifter on this bike over here ! I much prefer the feet flat, parallel to the ground, on top of the controls arrangement on the Meteor. Also on the SM, because the soles of your feet are almost square into the wind, at 70 mph the wind is trying to push your feet off the controls, which would be annoying on a long day on the motorway. Some sort of footboards would be needed to make this bike a comfortable long distance motorway cruiser IMO. Let me know how the test ride goes BD and let me know how you feel about the SM overall 👍🏻 For me the biggest positive was that the bike was so easy to handle, didn't ever feel big and heavy in my time on the bike ! Cheers mate, ER

[@BelgianDoomer]

@@economicalrides wow thanks for the extra details, good to know! i eventually didnt go because i wasnt feeling too well (hair of the dog lol) but i'm going for a ride next week definitely!

[@BelgianDoomer]

@@economicalrides Imho the 350 on the highway felt scary because its such a light bike at 110kph, does the SM feel more stable and confident at highway speeds? btw its motorway in uk english isnt it? it is. me and my americanisms 😅

[@economicalrides]

@@BelgianDoomer Yes, motorway is English for highway, autoroute, autobahn etc. 👍 The SM was moving in the wind on this day, bike and rider > 300kg and the wind was still pushing the bike into the opposite lane. However it was EXTREMELY windy on that road up to that village. Some of the worst wind I’ve ever experienced and it’s often windy here ! I think that it should be more stable than the 350, just because of the added weight and bigger tyres. But it will definitely move about if the wind is strong enough, as I demonstrated here. And of course, fitting the touring screen is likely to make that worse ! So maybe buy without a screen, see how it feels in the wind and if it still feels fine to you, then add the screen. I hope you’re feeling better 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳😛 and I hope enjoy your test ride BD ! Cheers, ER & Ruby

[@andrewmanahan2469]

Very nice review. Thanks. I am in the same boat - I have a 350 which I love but as much as I love it it does run out of puff at 60MPH and can be a problem when big trucks, vans and cars are behind you on a major road wanting more progress than you can offer. Yes there are people who say it goes faster and yes it does but you are absolutely 'wringing it' anything more. I am due to test a Super in the coming weeks and I will be absolutely attuned to that vibration issue you warned of. I do 'want' to like enough to buy it. I may keep my 350 though as well. Its a joy to commute on.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Andrew, thank you for your comment, much appreciated. There is a follow up to this video, where I mention the very different foot ergonomics of the Super Meteor. They will take some getting used to for a Meteor 350 owner because the foot controls are properly forward on the Super Meteor. In the end, personally, I couldn't justify the expense and higher running costs of the Super Meteor because in reality the 350s are always fast enough for the roads I have to ride. But if you need to ride above 60 mph quite often, then yes, the 350s can be a bit short of puff. Definitely easier to manoeuvre in traffic though, so the 3509 would definitely be a great option for commuting. Apart from the foot position, the Super Meteor is very easy to get along with, you shouldn't have any other issues. You don't notice the extra weight too much, certainly not once moving and I found it extremely easy to get onto the side of the tyre on roundabouts etc. ( unlike some cruisers ). It's an accomplished motorcycle and very easy to ride and you quickly feel at ease with it. If you need something a bit bigger, I think this would be a great option for you. In the end I decided that a 350 is enough for me and a 650 would genuinely be overkill. Good luck with the test ride and please let me know how you got on ! Take it up to 70 mph if you can and just make sure that yours doesn't make your hands tingle like this one did to mine. If there is anything else I can help you with, just let me know down here in the comments ! Cheers Andrew, thank you for watching and commenting 👍🏻 ER

[@ccooper8785]

Excellent roadtest of an excellent bike 👍 It is a strange model choice for fitting their first USD forks though 🤔 Not too sure about the design of the silencer though 🫣 It looks to be another winner from RE 👍 I especially like the cast wheels. My RE of choice would still be the Classic Signals but with cast wheels (which do not come as stock in the UK).

[@economicalrides]

Hi CC, darn it, I wrote you a long answer and it seems to have disappeared !!! Yes, it would be nice to be able to combine colours and wheel types at will, I think in India they have that possibility. Plenty of people want a certain colour but with different wheels and are currently out of luck. Tubeless tyres are definitely an advantage if you do longer rides where you are likely to get a puncture far from home. A tubeless repair kit should get you home unless you are very unlucky. I am a big fan of tubeless tyres myself ! I thought the SM would look better in the metal but really it didn't. I wasn't blown away by the looks of it. I still think the Yellow Meteor 350 looks cooler. I need RE to bring out a Fireball spec Super Meteor with black pipes and no chrome. If they did one in Fireball yellow, they could probably sign me up 😂 I think a blacked out version would look great. Cheers CC, glad the video didn't put you to sleep, it was a long one ! ER

[@alanstockley391]

Nice video and review. 👍🇬🇧

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Alan, as I said, this isn't a review channel, I normally just talk about how my own bikes are doing. But since I was considering getting a Super Meteor at some point and I had the rare chance to test one, I decided to film it and make it a bit "reviewy" at the same time ( the first part with the specs etc. ). Other than that it is just an honest first impression of somebody who went out to ride this bike with an open mind and who was coming from RE 350s. So for a 350 owner considering an upgrade this video is hopefully particularly useful 👍🏻 Cheers Alan, I appreciate you taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed the video ! There will be a follow-up on Tuesday night where I talk more about the foot ergos on this bike, which are a bit odd and completely different to those of the Meteor. I have also now decided what I am going to do, so I will tell the world in Tuesday's video 🤗 ER.

[@HABERASAFI]

Apart from the disturbing and not needed special effect when cutting from scene to scene I loved your video and I hope you do a follow-up video if and when they found the problem with the demo bike. As a Meteor owner myself the Super meteor is also a natural upgrade option ror me. Thank you again.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Asaf, without the vibrations, you should definitely consider getting one, a Meteor rider will quickly feel at home on this bike. Bear in mind ( I didn't really mention it in this video but I will in the next one ) that the foot ergonomics are COMPLETELY different on this bike. It may take some Meteor owners by surprise just how different the foot ergonomics are on this bike. On the Meteor you have your feet parallel to the ground and flat on the foot controls. On the Super Meteor you have just your heel on the footrest, your toes pointing up into the air, struggling to reach the brake pedal and shift lever ( if you don't have large feet at least ). Some Meteor owners might not enjoy that. It also has the downside of causing the sole of your boot to act as an airbrake on the motorway. The sole of your boot is almost square into the wind. At around 70 mph the wind starts trying to lift your feet off the controls and you have to consciously fight to keep them where they are. That could become very tiresome during a long motorway ride. I think footboards would be needed if you were thinking of doing a lot of high speed riding and big mileage days on this bike ! Cheers Asaf, my video with my final thoughts and decision will be coming out on Tuesday. ER.

[@Disposalist]

Nice vid. I was fine with the long format - you weren't repeating yourself or waffling needlessly, so all good. Great extras hehe! Give Ruby a scratch from me!

[@economicalrides]

Thanks The Disposalist, I very nearly split the video into two 20 minute videos but it would have been an awkward break. I think those that know the specs can skip the first 12 minutes or so and enjoy the rest. And those that want to know everything will just have to invest nearly 40 minutes of their lives to find out 😂 Thanks for your approval, I did edit the bejesus out of it, I had over an hour's worth of video ! I could barely make it any shorter if I wanted to cover anything, so it did end up being my longest video ever 🥳 Ruby is such a diva these days. She goes mental when I get the GoPro out. Mind you, that's probably because she associates it with sossidges 😛 I'll give her tummy a good rub before we go to bed, just for you. Thanks again, glad this video wasn't the cure for insomnia that I thought it was going to be 😂 Cheers 🥃 ER & Ruby

[@LeveyAngeles]

I think you should start doing more reviews because this was super informative…. Also, you incorrectly added ‘UN’ in the intro, because ’fortunately’ this was a long one… 😉🤣 thanks for posting this 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Stephen, that means a lot. I imagined that this video was going to be a cure for insomnia but so far nobody seems to have minded ! Keep healing buddy, enjoying your gofundme updates ! Nice to see some positives starting to come out of your horrific negative. Fully deserved. Now please just heal quickly ! Cheers buddy 🥃🥃 ER

[@davericketts9101]

Hi Steve. Totally agree about the length of the video. I could quite happily settle in for the evening, with some popcorn and a suitable drink (or two) and do a marathon of ER videos and `Sossidge Action`. 😀. Hope things are looking up a bit mate 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@CornishMotorcycleDiaries]

Jolly good review ER. I didn't have the vibrations you described on my test ride (which is flying at the moment on YT with over 5K views, next one all about my local area will probably get 50...) so I think there must have been a problem with it. Ride it again when they've checked it over before you make a final decision. Of course, I thought MY review was better - but then I would, wouldn't I?? Seriously tho' you did pick up on points that I and probably others missed, plus your locations are stunning.

[@economicalrides]

😂 Thanks CMD / CC, yes, it's inconceivable to me that this bike didn't have an issue ! I could ride my Bullet 500 ( "jackhammer" ) for two hours flat out before my hands went numb. On this bike it started after five minutes at 70 mph. No way that is normal. It was a really nasty high frequency vibration that did for your hands in a matter of minutes. Given longer, probably the feet would have started to go numb too. This bike needs to cruise at 70 mph in total comfort and I am sure that normally it does. I shall definitely try the bike at motorway speeds once again, as soon as the dealer says it is back to normal. If it does the fast road thing well, then it starts to make sense, although maybe not for me because that is not really something that I need. But the big takeaway was that the Super Meteor is so easy to jump on and feel at home on. I thought I'd be slightly intimidated by its weight but I really wasn't. I think it is probably easier for smaller, lighter folks to deal with than the Interceptor or Continental where the weight definitely feels slightly higher up in the bike, so you are in more fear of dropping it. We'll see what happens, but apart from the vibes, the Super Meteor made a great case for itself ! Cheers mate and yes, your review was better by far, just not as sunny 😎 ER

[@LifetimeBiker]

Great Job 👍 I look forward to your follow up test ride. Interested to hear what the dealer discovers. 🤔

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Andrew, unfortunately I don't know when the follow up test ride will be, it depends upon whether the dealer finds a problem or not. They have invited me back to try it again when it is fully run in, which I will probably do. But when that will be, I have no idea. Apart from the vibes and the slightly odd foot ergonomics, I really enjoyed it. If it does the high speed thing well, then it would be a lovely all-rounder. There is a dealer in another city who might have one on demo, so I might even consider going over there just to have a completely different Super Meteor to compare it to. If I still find it "vibey" then it's probably me, but I doubt it. I used to have a Bullet 500. I know all about vibes !!! It took two hours on the Bullet at 65 mph before my hands started to tingle. With this demo bike it took five minutes ! That would suggest that there was a problem with this particular bike ! Cheers Andrew, if the dealer says anything about the issue I will of course mention it in a future video ! ER.

[@LifetimeBiker]

@@economicalrides Thank you for the reply. I think you have a lot of viewers waiting to see the the outcome.😀 I have an Interceptor and a Conti` but am being tempted by these also.

[@economicalrides]

@@LifetimeBiker Haha, you might as well go for the full set of 650s Andrew, you know it makes sense 😛 I think I'd be less likely to drop the Super Meteor than your two. When I have sat on an Interceptor and a Continental before, the weight was relatively high up and because I didn't have as much foot on the ground, I did think that if I had one I would most likely drop it at some point. In comparison I felt very secure on the Super Meteor, flat foot on the ground and the weight nice and low. So for people scared of dropping their new 650, the Super Meteor is probably a great choice. Or for new riders, returning riders or older folks who may worry about their balance. Apart from the vibes the Super Meteor was extremely comfortable ( far better than the Meteor even ). It SHOULD be a great bike for longer journeys, as long as the vibes are not present ! Cheers Andrew ! ER

[@ironcast]

I like the color and the non gaudy look of this bike.

[@economicalrides]

Yes, it's certainly something a bit different, don't see many bikes in that shade of blue ! Cheers ironcast 🥃 ER

[@Lectric_Blue]

For a 'non-reviewer' you did an excellent job, well done! What a nice playground you have to ride around in! 🙂

[@economicalrides]

Hi Lectric_Blue, thank you very much for saying so ! It's a shame that demo bikes are so hard to come by over here because these days I have a nice little route around Almería to test them on ( if they are in Almería, which inevitably they would be, no dealer outside of the city would ever have a demo bike ). The route here was a nice mix. A bit of city riding, followed by a bit of cruising along the seafront, followed by a bit of motorway, followed by a few mountain bends. If it hadn't been so windy, it would have been quite enjoyable 😛 I still haven't been back for a second ride to see if the vibration at high speeds is still there, maybe I will get around to it before the summer holidays 🤞 Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave such a kind comment, I really appreciate it 🙂 Cheers Lectric, ER

[@jonathanmellish4439]

Hi. I am viewing your video because I went to an RE test ride event a week ago. I really wanted to test the Hunter and over the 45 minute test route it was a light very manageable fun bike. I rode it no higher than 65 mph but it was more flickable than the Classic. I never intended riding the Super Meteor but I am glad I did. I loved the sound and extra power over the 350 but found the pot holes on the back roads really uncomfortable at the rear. It was also quite cold and the foot forward position meant I had a cold draft up my trousers.😂

[@economicalrides]

Thanks for watching. Considering the price difference, if you are happy riding at 60 mph and below, the Hunter is a great bike. I think that the 350s are way better value. The Super Meteor doesn’t add enough to justify the big difference in price in my opinion. The Super Meteor does put the wind up your trousers and if you ride fast into a headwind, the wind actually lifts your feet off the foot pegs ! Good luck deciding but I think that the Hunter is a fantastic bike for the money 👍 Cheers Jonathan, ER

[@jonathanmellish4439]

@@economicalrides thanks ER. I totally agree with you about the Hunter’s value for money and also the reasons for you staying with your two bikes. The 350’s have captured a great many hearts.👍

[@HippoDrones]

It looks nice. Lovely location along the coast road for riding bikes 🙂 Great review mate 🙂

[@economicalrides]

Hi H-D, thanks buddy 🤗It was long but I did chop out about 30 minutes to get it down to this length ! 😱 Yeah, not a bad test environment is it, once you get out of the city ? The sea was a lovely shade of blue in this one and that big yellow ball in the sky was heating the air up to 20C, so very nice, APART FROM THAT SODDING WIND !!! Unfortunately the wind continues to be a problem. Temperatures are rising, we are getting to see the sun more often, not much rain, but always with these strong winds all of the time. Very unpleasant but as long as the temperatures are rising, things are moving in the right direction, I suppose. Thanks H-D, cheers and sweet dreams 🥃 ER & Ruby

[@HippoDrones]

@@economicalrides 20' sounds ace... I'd happily suffer from wind if I was warm and out in the funshine! 😀 It'll be another 6hrs before I get to go to sleep... night shifts at the mo.

[@economicalrides]

@@HippoDrones Oh yes, I forgot that you do night shifts 😱Well, sleep tight now then 🙂 Cheers H-D ER & Ruby

[@salvadorjimenez8816]

I love it in blue!

[@economicalrides]

I would prefer a Fireball Yellow one with blacked out exhausts etc. but of the plain colours the blue is very nice, something a bit different ! Cheers Salvador 👍🏻 ER.

[@simongilbert2704]

congrates on your new road testing job ,, i hope it pays more sossidges ;;;;

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Simon, Ruby hopes so too 😂 👍🏻 ER & Ruby ❤

[@petejones1957]

Another super relaxing, (and informative) video Gary, having watched it out of sequence, I already know your decision, haha. Are the foot pegs further forward than the 350 Meteor? making it more of a "laid back" cruiser, don't know if that's the case, but it looks that way. I expect there will be a lot of people hoping that RE do the same "upsizing" for the Classic 350, which would be real competition for Triumph. It's certainly a lot of bike for the money, having just bought a new eBike, I realised just what amazing value my 350 was! Keep up the good work Gary, and I look forward to the "run home" Stay safe🦄

[@economicalrides]

Hi Peter, thank you very much for saying so 🤗 Yes, the foot pegs are further forward on the Super Meteor and worse still they are basically for your heels. You have your toes pointing into the sky so you can reach the foot controls. I was hoping that they would keep the Meteor 350 foot position and controls for the Super Meteor, but the foot ergonomics are COMPLETELY different, making the step from Meteor to Super Meteor a bit jarring for some people, I suspect. A Classic 650 twin sounds as if it is coming. If they can stay very close to the styling of the current Classic 350 AND get a nice retro sound out of that parallel twin motor, then the Classic 650 will sell REALLY well, particularly stateside where the 350 is deemed to be too slow to be safe. For me, a twin is a bit too much. It will be a lot heavier than the singles, use more fuel and be quite expensive to buy. I'd love one but I don't think I would be able to justify the expense. I really love a single, for the simplicity, for the lack of weight, for the fuel economy. A Classic 500 single would be the sweet spot for me. It would be just like the 350 to look at and ride, but would be able to hold its speed up a hill or into a headwind. That would be all I would ever need from a motorcycle really. 🤔 Unfortunately it doesn't sound as if a new Classic 500 single is coming, which is a real shame IMO. Yes, I can imagine, compared to en eBike a lower end reBike would seem like amazing value ! The Hunter and the Meteor are even cheaper to buy and a lot more fun I suspect 😝 Cheers Peter, the Himalayan collection video is out tonight 👍🏻 Take care, Garry & Ruby ❤🐕

[@WonhoTraveler]

Came for the bike had to subscribe for ruby she's adorable!

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Derp, she really is and she knows it 😂 To be honest, she’s the reason why most people watch my videos 🤷‍♂️ It’s just the way she goes about devouring those sossidges 😝 Ruby says “Thanks derp, welcome to my channel !” 👅🐕

[@mistermusik]

Impressive bike. Looking at your mirrors at 120kph, there’s virtually no vibration. I hope to test ride this bike as soon as it hits US dealers. Thanks for the review.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Mistermusik, yes, it's an odd one. There were definitely high frequency vibes going through the bars because my hands quickly started going numb, although I may also have been gripping the bars more tightly than normal because the wind was trying to tear me off the bike ! Vibration doesn't seem to be an issue with the RE 650 twins in general, so it might have been a result of my "death grip" or maybe something on this bike was not quite right. Definitely check one out if you get the opportunity. It would be a great bike for anyone who needs the extra power for faster roads. Fortunately I can avoid fast roads all the time, so the 350s just about get the job done for me ! Cheers 👍🏻 ER.

[@TheKing-xp7lq]

Whenever you can try another meteor 650 , my friend's int 650 had the same vibration issue and was resolved after ecu and throttle body replacement under warranty , tyre pressure , bad fuel can also contribute such problems. Thank you for the review cheers 👍🏼

[@economicalrides]

Thanks The King, that's really interesting to hear ! I'm 100% convinced that the vibrations that I experienced will not be present on most people's Super Meteors. They were really bad and there is no way a manufacturer would try to sell a bike like that in this day and age. Interceptor and Continental owners are also confirming that their bikes were pretty smooth from day one, so something is definitely not right with the bike I rode. Hopefully the dealer can identify and fix the problem, then I will take it down the motorway again and see how it feels ! Cheers and thanks again for your input 🙂 ER

[@krlsriding]

Thanks for your report ER! I wanted to test drive the bike 2 weeks ago at an RE event, but I was interrupted by a hailstorm that would not end even after 30 minutes. Next appointment is in 4 weeks. I'm curious whether the Super Meteor comes into question for me, or whether I stay with my Classic 350. We will see. For now, I'll wait for spring. Still lousy weather in Germany. Maybe this will be my first Moto Vlog. The Gopro is waiting for its first real use. :-) Greetings from Germany KRLS

[@economicalrides]

Hi KRLS ! This test ride should have been cancelled due to the wind, at least at the end there when I went inland. The wind was pushing over 300 kg of bike and rider from one side of the road to the other. That was pretty sketchy on a loaner bike, I can tell you ! I think the Super Meteor is a lovely friendly bike, if somewhat heavy on paper ( but in reality you'll only notice that should you ever drop it ! ). The upgrade is worthwhile if you need to ride a fair bit on faster roads. Much nicer to be at half revs on the 650 than buzzing nearly flat out on the 350. The 350s will do fast roads but clearly they are not exactly in their element at anything over 100 kph. But it is a lot of money, when you consider that the Celestial will be 8k on the road and I only paid 4k for Buddy, my Meteor 350. I'm not convinced that the Super Meteor is worth two Meteors 🤔 Good luck with your test ride, let me know what you decide 👍🏻 Cheers, ER

[@RobLittleuk]

Looks like a great bike - had I not bought the T100 I'd probably have gone for it!

[@economicalrides]

Hi Rob, long time no hear ! Yes, I think it would be a very nice all-rounder. Fun in the twisties at the weekend, due to its easy handling, but also a capable tourer ( as long as it doesn't vibrate like this one did ! ). Get some bags on it and it would be ideal for a little shopping trip now and then also. Kind of like a big scooter 😛 It's very easy to handle and is powerful enough for all normal riding. If I could only have one bike, this one would certainly be a prime candidate ! Cheers Rob, ER

[@mikestage1446]

Great review! Really enjoyed it. As an old guy, well past sell-by date, I shouldn't even be thinking, much less out loud. Having said that, l had a thought I can't get rid of. It's far fetched, I know, but is it possible you have a cylinder cutting out at mid high rpm ? A dead cylinder of course would be apparent up front. But an intermittent current breakdown at specific rpm? Just enough to disrupt firing balance? Lots of gremlins in bikes today we didn't have to deal with back when. I 'm probably full of it, wouldn't be a first for me! Anyway, great review, really enjoyed it. Thanks.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Mike, glad you enjoyed my first attempt at a "review of somebody else's bike" 🤗 Who knows Mike ? I think a loose bolt somewhere is most likely. You can imagine somebody assembling the bike, putting all bolts in place and then doing them up pinch tight and then going around with a windy gun and torquing them all down. Maybe that guy forgot to torque down one of the bolts on this bike ? I suppose these things can still happen as long as human beings are involved in the assembly process.It definitely felt like a vibration caused by the engine though because it seemed directly related to engine speed rather than road speed. On tick-over the engine sounded sweet enough but a loose bolt somewhere would really only manifest itself at higher revs when the engine starts bouncing about in the frame. I am certainly keen to test any other RE 650 on the motorway now, as a comparison. But there was definitely something wrong with this bike because the vibes were very bad high frequency vibes which turned your hands numb within minutes. That is inconceivable with a modern twin cylinder engine normally. Something really must have been amiss ! Cheers Mike and thanks again ! ER.

[@lipglosshelmetsandhim]

Maybe different bar ends to stop the vibrations should you ever buy one. Great scenery, jealous!

[@economicalrides]

No. There was something wrong there. I could ride my Bullet 500 flat out for two hours before my hands got numb. On this bike it took less than five minutes at 70 mph. Most likely one of the engine mounting bolts wasn't properly tight. I'm very interested to experience it once it has been sorted. On a modern parallel twin 650 you wouldn't expect high frequency vibes at those speeds normally. Yes, the sea was looking a particularly lovely shade of blue in this one ! Shame about the wind, pushing over 300kg of bike and rider from one side of the road to the other ! It was UNBELIEVABLY strong that wind. Hard to comprehend how wind can effortlessly shift over 300kg like that ! Cheers you two, ER & Ruby

[@scottboettcher]

Nice review, Garry! Frankly, this bike visually does nothing for me. I'm still stuck on the looks of the Royal Enfield Classic 350. It may have more power, etc. but if I want that, I'll just get a big bike like an Indian, Kawasaki, etc. 1/2 of the love I get from a bike is aesthetics. While I'm sure this is a fine rider, I just can't muster up any excitement by looking at her. OTOH... Wolfie is in a huff over Ruby's latest slo-mo vid! What a tease that one is :) Sorry I was late to the party, the family and friends threw a bday party for me and I've just now recovered enough to come here! Love and sossidges from Pasadena! 🐾🐾♥ Scott & Wolfie Ride Safe 🙏🏼

[@economicalrides]

Happy birthday Scott 🥳🥳🥳 This morning I finally brought your sticker to the post office ! As of today it is underway to the US of A !!! Yes, I am a poet and a wordsmith 😛 Yes, Buddy in yellow with his little panniers is more appealing to me too. A Fireball Super Meteor with everything blacked out might be more attractive to me but not a huge fan of it in its chrome guise. Cheers you two and Ruby says „Thanks for the sossidges !“ and 💋 to Wolfie ! Love from Spain, Garry & Ruby ❤️

[@bobkidd802]

Interesting review 🤔 Guess you have to ask yourself do I ready need a 650 for the kind of riding I do/enjoy😙 you previously indicated an interest in some true off-roading and there is only so much room to store the 🏍🏍😎

[@economicalrides]

Hey Bob, stop reading my mind !!! 😂 You are spot on with all of that, that is exactly what I am asking myself 😛 I fear that I am far too sensible for my own good ! Thanks Bob, you can get out of my head now ! 😂 Have a great day ! ER.

[@johnbellamy6449]

hi Gary . a very nice bike with some quality parts such as the showa upside down forks. I think it will be very successful for the company . i would definitely buy one if i was younger and had good legs. best wishes to you and Ruby .

[@economicalrides]

Hi John, yes, it should be a lovely bike without the vibes this one had ! The foot ergonomics are a bit odd, I will mention that in next week's video. It's just something folks need to be aware of, the foot position is quite extreme and surprisingly completely different to the Meteor ! I hope you two are keeping well. Hopefully you'll soon be able to get out riding again. Take care, love from Spain, Garry & Ruby ❤🐕

[@johnbellamy6449]

@@economicalrides look forward to your future videos ,thanks for that Gary and Linda sends her love also.

[@jlrutube1312]

The vibes might be a problem with a tire that's a lemon from factory.

[@economicalrides]

Hi jlrutube, thanks for that, it is possible. My feeling is that it was related to engine speed rather than road speed but I really didn't have the time with the bike to confirm that, so it could really be anything ! I would have liked more time to get to the bottom of it but the vibrations I experienced certainly weren't normal and I wouldn't expect a normal Super Meteor to have them, so nobody should be too concerned about it. It was just a shame for me, because if I were to get a Super Meteor it would be for exactly those sorts of speeds. That was the area where I really expected the Super Meteor to shine and unfortunately, for me, it didn't ! So a bit inconclusive in the end, which is a shame when you are trying to decide whether you want to get one or not ! Cheers jlrutube 👍🏻 ER

[@TXLorenzo]

I just bought one, so yes, go for it.

[@economicalrides]

In the end I didn’t but it’s a nice bike if it meets your needs 🙂 Good luck with yours ! ER

[@TAYM]

Marvellous video and very interesting 😊 Excellent ear action which milo found very becoming 😊 🐕❤️ Cant wait to see what you decide 😊 One question, how do you think it would handle on those less manicured roads you venture on with the 350’s? 😊

[@economicalrides]

Hi TAYM, yes, Ruby's ear action was absolutely adorable and by far the best thing in the video 🥰 Well, it has better suspension than the 350s, so I actually think it would be quite plush off-road but it would be a sod to pick up should you drop it 🤬 I'd take one down the trails I've ridden already and know well without any worries. It's a chugger, it'll chug along in first or second gear over rough terrain without too much clutch usage I reckon. Maybe something for my next test ride 🤔 Cheers TAYM and love to Milo, ER & Ruby

[@Saddlebags73]

Nicely done El Otro. Very thorough giving plenty of food for thought for any potential buyers. Vibes are a surprise. Could be a tyre out of shape or even wheel balance. Well, could be dozens of things 🤷🏻‍♂️ Congratulations on beating Uncle Stu to it 😉 Much love to You and Rubita bonita 🙂

[@economicalrides]

@@Saddlebags73 Wow ! I beat Uncle Stu to the punch ? Must have been very close though, I see he has one out now. Still, a nice claim to fame for me, I will hang it on the wall 😂 Thanks Jeff, pretty sure that it will have been a loose engine bolt somewhere. I imagine that they pinch the bolts down and then torque them with the windy gun. It's not inconceivable that the guy assembling the bike missed one of the bolts with the windy gun so it is now only half tight and not torqued down. That would probably cause the vibes I was experiencing. It certainly felt like vibrations caused by play in the system somewhere and since it was a brand new bike, there could easily have been something loose on there. I will ride that one again or another one, whenever I get the opportunity, just to confirm that the SM is a capable motorway cruiser. Cheers matey, love from Spain, say hi to Twinks for us ! Garry & Rubita bonita ❤🐕

[@genegoodwin8925]

Thanks for the video. I love the exhaust note. The parallel twin is my favorite power plant. I've owned singles, parallel twins, V-twinsa and in line fours, but I love the parallel twin. I am currently considering either a Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 with the windsrceen and passenger backrest, or a Triumph T 100 or T120 Bonneviile. I love the Bonnevilles, but the T120 cost $11,500 here in the states and the T120 is $13,500. SInce I am pretty tight with my money the Royal Enfield is looking pretty good. My wife and I have rode over 300,000 miles on motorcycles and camped out along the way. A lot of fun and good memories. But she has battled cancer eight times, had twelve surgeries, maxed out on Chemo, radiation and Cyler Knife treatments. She is currently on Immunotherapy and will be every 28 days for the rest of her life. The cancer went to six places inj her brain and was causing seizures so we went to a trike (We've had two HD TriGlide Unltra Classic) and they ride like an old dump truck. The ride was so harsh I fiannly sold the last one. I am without a motorcycle for the first time in decades. MY wife had a total hip replacement three years ago and hasn't waslked without a walker since. But we still rode the trikes, but the ride was way too harsh to be enjoyable. So now We are working very hard with several different exercises to build her muscles up so she will be able to climb on and off a two wheeled motorcycle once again. I hope by Spring. If so, I'm going motorycycle shopping for either the Royal Ebfield Super Metoer 650 or a Bonneville. The rear suspention is our highest concern since she will be riding right above the rear wheel. Most reviews will mention the suspension and ride quality, but we have found that most never mention the ride quality for the passenger. The driver's ride ia usaully pretty good on any motorcycle, but quite different for the passenger. One again, thank you for this video. Ride safe and enjoy every journey.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Gene, I think the Celestial spec Super Meteor will probably be perfect for you both. I can't really judge rear passenger comfort because I never have a rear passenger, but I would imagine that it's on a par with any other twin shock cruiser. They always ride a bit firm because of the reduced shock length, caused by the smaller rear wheel and general "ass down, head up" stance. The SHOWA shocks fitted to these bikes should be decent enough, I would have thought. Failing that, you might have to do some research about getting some softer replacements. But that would still be a fairly cheap fix. A Super Meteor plus suspension upgrade will still be way cheaper than the Bonnevilles ! Try to at least sit on a Super Meteor and pay particular attention to where the foot controls are. Ideally try to get a test ride on one. If the ergonomics work for you, I'm pretty sure that you'd enjoy the Super Meteor. Good luck deciding and all the best to the pair of you. I hope you can get back out on two wheels very soon ! 🤞 Cheers Gene, Garry

[@genegoodwin8925]

@@economicalrides Thank You Garry,

[@GrampsD63]

Looks like we gotta wait another three months or so here in the States to see one. Not sure if I'd trade in the C350 or not if it won't hold cruise at 65+ mph. Plus it's almost double the price of the Classic. Great review and glad to see ya have the same city traffic I have over here. Cheers

[@economicalrides]

Hi Gramps, this is definitely no longer a cheap bike. You can just about buy TWO Meteor 350s for the price of the Celestial version of the Super Meteor. That indicates to me that RE has a BIG profit margin on the Super Meteor. They are now going to have to compete directly with credible alternative products from the big four Japanese brands. I think they should have come in at a slightly lower price but I don't blame them for trying to be a bit more premium. It was certainly nice to see an RE with quality suspension units right from the factory. Their brake master cylinders still need work though, initial bite continues to be unimpressive. Don't worry too much about the vibes. This bike can cruise at 70 mph quite comfortably, I'm sure. It was just unfortunate that this demo bike seemed to have a bit of an issue. 70 mph will be smooth and unstressed on a normal Super Meteor, I am certain of that. Just bear in mind that you may need footboards if you are going to be riding a lot at those sort of speeds. Currently, with the soles of your boots stuck square into the wind, at 70 mph the wind is lifting your feet off the controls. So for a long day at 70 mph that would be extremely tiresome. You'll probably find that you will need something to keep your feet out of the wind ! Cheers Gramps, reading between the lines, I think you'd be happy with a Super Meteor if you can get a decent deal on one 😏 ER.

[@GrampsD63]

@@economicalrides Ya know I truly love the direction RE is going right now and I think they deserve to have a premium product in their line up. I feel this and the Hunter will do well here in the States. Me though I am just in love with the singles. I have my old race bike, a Honda Ascot 500, and it reallly did it for me. I am still holding out for a J-Series 500. Or still my original choice a used Conti 535. It just seems more fun to discover the lower priced units and how well they are put together. I was talking to a guy yesterday that owns a new Continental and a Triumph and he says he goes for the RE almost every ride now a days because it is just more fun. The "Smiles Per Mile" are unmatched with the RE's. Now if I could just get on the freeways... Keep the rubber side down Brother and keep that content comin' ✌

[@economicalrides]

@@GrampsD63 Totally agree Gramps ! A J Series 500 would be absolutely perfect for me too. I’m a singles guy when it comes to hobby motorcycles. More cylinders are ok if you do big miles frequently but for my weekend rides in the mountains I just love chugging about on a single. Even RE‘s twins are more expensive and heavier than I‘d really need but a larger single, cheaper but nearly as capable as the twins, would be amazing. I‘m gutted that I missed out on the 500 Classic but at the time I was having a terrible time with my Bullet 500 and I just didn’t want to risk buying another RE. Seems they were very well made though, with no real QA issues with those bikes as far as I am aware. I very nearly bought a Conti 535 when they were new, went to look at a British Racing Green one, was hoping to keep the Bullet running long enough to get it there, trade it in and let it become somebody else’s problem 😂 Ultimately I was put off by the finish on the engine, it wasn’t good at all ! I‘d love to try one though or buy a second hand one if it was cheap enough ! Cheers Gramps 👍 Rest assured, if a J series 500 is ever announced it will be top of my shopping list and if at all possible you will see one on here ! ER

[@marianam8643]

Re test rides, we in Canada don’t even have them. You can’t try a bike at all. You did a great job with this review. I have a meteor 350 and I was wondering if the upgrade was worth it.

[@economicalrides]

Oh dear, sorry to hear that. It is extremely rare to find a dealer with a demo bike anywhere near to me, so when the dealer said that they were getting a Super Meteor of all things, I simply HAD to try it, not least because I couldn’t rule out buying one. If you need more headroom for riding on fast roads, the Super Meteor will give you that whilst retaining a lot of the “feel” of the Meteor. It’s a lot of money though, so for a Meteor owner only worthwhile if you really need that extra capability IMO. 90+% of the time my 350s are all I need so I’m finding it hard to justify the expense of a 650 in my case really. Cheers Mariana, Tuesday’s video will be about the Super Meteor once again 👍 ER

[@davericketts9101]

Hi Garry. Great first impressions review and interesting about the higher speed vibes. It will be good to find out if the dealer can throw any light on them and also good, if you get a second ride, to see if there is any difference. I am sure that the slow motion `ear action` from Ruby, will only enlarge her male, doggy fan club. She is a real cutie 🐶❤and Willow sends her love. Cheers 🥃 Dave & Willow

[@economicalrides]

Hi Dave and Willow, thanks you two, glad you enjoyed it ! I will definitely have another go on that bike, if the dealer says that they think they have sorted the issue. If they don't, I might be able to find another dealer who has one on demo and just try a different one. By all accounts these engines are very smooth at 70 mph, so I don't think it is going to be a general problem but it does show that you could get unlucky when buying one ! Imagine if I'd spent nearly 8k on this very bike, took it on the motorway and found it made my hands numb after five minutes. I'd then have the hassle of complaining to the dealer about it and then would have to hope that they identify and fix the problem at the first attempt otherwise it could become a long, drawn out saga ! Let's just hope that the bikes being sold to customers are properly put together and that this one was the exception ! Ruby was channeling her inner "shampoo advert hair model" for that clip, wasn't she ? ❤😂 So cute and definitely the best part of the entire video ! Have you managed to try the Double Black yet by the way ? Cheers you two, love from the two of us, Garry & Ruby ❤🐕

[@davericketts9101]

@@economicalrides Hi Garry and Ruby. Yes, it would be good to have another ride, either on that one or another one. I would be very surprised if it is a general problem because Royal Enfield know how much, any new bike will be scrutinised by KZbin testers and real-world customers. They have an excellent name at the moment and wouldn`t want that to change. Interesting stuff. I`m glad you didn`t buy that particular bike and find the problem afterwards. Yes, Ruby was certainly savouring her glamour photo shoot. What a diva 🐶😂 No, I haven`t tried the Double Black yet. I am still working my way through a few bottles that I had over Christmas but it is on my list of `chores` to complete 😏 Cheers Garry Love to Ruby Dave & Willow 🐶❤

[@exeterrider]

Good work ER, I have found the intercepter not the smoothest parallel twin although the vibes have always been OK from my experience. It would be interesting to know what those vibes were all about. Jolly good thrashing may solve it. El outro ✌️

[@economicalrides]

Hi Exmouth, so you are an exponent of the "Italian tune-up" eh ? 😂 There was definitely something loose on that bike somewhere. High frequency vibes in the bars and pegs at 110-120kph which turned my hands numb within five minutes and probably within half an hour my feet would have been numb too. This bike should be able to cruise in comfort all day at 120 kph and the bike I rode would have had you crying for mercy after 15-30 minutes at those speeds. I look forward to trying it again when it's sorted, or possibly a different one from a different dealer, at some point in the future. If it does the high speed thing well, it really would be a lovely all-rounder because it would be great on weekend blasts ( handles brilliantly for a cruiser ! ) but also able to do the touring thing ! Cheers Exmouth, thanks for watching and thanks for your well-qualified input ! El Otro & Ruby ❤

[@exeterrider]

@@economicalrides it would be good to have a part 2. You left me wondering, "is he going to buy one" 🤔🤔🤔😉👍

[@economicalrides]

@@exeterrider Part two is coming next Tuesday Exmoutth, don't worry. I don't mind keeping you in suspenders for a week though, it's a good look for you 🤗😱 I must say that doing bike reviews is hard because with limited time you have to get the off bike stuff done but really ( well, if you're anything like me ) all you want to be doing is riding the darn thing. So I found myself constantly checking my watch to make sure I was going to get the bike back in time. So inevitably you end up feeling slightly "rushed" during the whole process. You must really appreciate having certain bikes for a number of days, must make things bit more relaxed for you. You were right about the three hours by the way. It's a shame that because of Ruby I couldn't take any longer with this video. I returned the bike to the shop EXACTLY two hours after picking it up. But I didn't waste a second of that time ( well, apart from being stood at bloody red lights ), so it was dang tight to get everything done ! So somewhat stressful, yes ! Take care mate. Love to Mrs Exmouth 👍🏻 Lovely weather here in France today ! ER & Ruby 🐕

[@DennisMerwood-xk8wp]

Its a vertical twin - Vibrations are baked into the cake exeter rider. Just like the old Norton Dominator 650, and Triumph and BSA 650's

[@exeterrider]

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp agreed, but there is a level of vibrations where it gets so bad, it's not right. By the sounds of it that's what's happening here I think. ER is experienced enough to know when the vibration is excessive.👍

[@daviddraper6240]

Excellent Review..The Royal Enfield bikes are very appealing. Do you do the valve adjustments on your 350s yourself? Beautiful riding area you have…

[@economicalrides]

Thanks David, glad you enjoyed it. It was something a bit different for me because we don't often get demo bikes here in Spain. Usually you are expected to buy a car or bike without ever having tried one first ! I've bought five bikes and two cars that way since I've been living here ! Buddy, my Meteor, will be three years old in June. After that he is out of warranty and I will be doing MOST of the servicing myself. I will PROBABLY take him back to the dealer for the valve adjustment, mainly because so far they've set the valves very nicely and also because I would need to buy a fair few specialised tools to be able to do the job myself. Unfortunately I am still working, so I really don't have an awful lot of time for spannering bikes. I'd rather use the spare time that I do have for riding them. I would imagine that if I were retired, I'd probably buy the tools I lack and enjoy doing the valves myself. There are plenty of KZbin videos out there which show you how to do it, so It would be something for me to do. But as things stand and since my dealer has done a good job setting the valves on all of my bikes so far, I will most likely be bringing the bikes back to the dealer for the valve adjustment. I probably won't be doing it every 12 months though because my annual mileage is likely to be fairly low. I imagine I'll just take the bikes in when I notice them starting to get "noisy". Oil and filter changes etc. I will do myself and according to the RE schedule 🙂 I hope this helps. Cheers David. Thanks for watching and commenting ! Garry

[@Plough78]

Nice vid.. Meteor 350 owner also.. I actually just had a test drive here in Chiang Mai myself... Damn it's sweet...! I would upgrade if I could but the cash ain't there. Not bothered though the 350 really is ideal for this location... Upgrading really an unnecessary extravagance... I'll keep my powder dry and save... Maybe take a look at the new Himmy or rumoured upcoming classic 650... 🍻 cheers *Formerly Crap Game* 😂

[@economicalrides]

Aha ! So that's who you are/were 😂 I was just honest with myself and realised that I didn't need a larger motorcycle and certainly not at the price of the top spec one I would have wanted. Just too much money to spend for so little practical benefit. I also thought it drank fuel at an alarming rate, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed that ! I don't think I'd ever buy one really. A nice enough bike but I try not to spend more than I need to on my hobbies. The Meteor 350 still puts a smile on my face and it won't depreciate anything like as badly as a Super Meteor would ! Cheers Videotest, ER / Garry

[@dinomalta712]

Nice review, from a non reviewer,! Shame about the vibes, as you say no one else has complained, so maybe a "Monday morning" build, or maybe just needs some Kilos on the clock, as with my Enfields they smooth out with use. Hope you can ride it again, after the dealer's investigations, and a few more Kilos on the clock Cheers, DINO.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Dino, yes, I will definitely revisit it once the dealer reckons that it's ok. It's a shame that I've never ridden one of the other 650s for comparison but if they made your hands go numb after 5 minutes at 70 mph, my guess is that they wouldn't have sold so many of them. So this bike almost certainly had something loose somewhere, causing the motor to leap about in the frame. That would be my guess anyway. Cheers Dino 👍🏻 ER

[@markymarknj]

Thanks for the review! I look forward to your follow-up. No other reviewer has mentioned the vibe issue, and they took the SM for a longer ride; for example, Yammie Noob went to India, and he spent a couple of days with the bike riding around India in different environments, yet he didn't mention anything about vibes. I'm curious, because like you, I'm a fellow Meteor 350 owner who's thinking about trading up too.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Mark, the vibes were bad. High frequency vibes to numb your hands within five minutes ! There is no way that is normal. So now I hope the dealer sorts it out and I get to experience what this bike SHOULD feel like at a steady 70 mph ( which is all I would ever need ! ). If it does the motorway thing well then it will be an absolutely brilliant all round bike, because would be great fun in the twisties for your weekend rides but could also do the touring thing. Put some knobblies on it and you could have one bike for everything ! 😂😛 I will do a follow up video next week with my final decision and the reasons for it. I must stress however, apart from the vibes, I really enjoyed it ! Cheers Mark 🥃 ER

[@markymarknj]

@@economicalrides I am SO TEMPTED to get this bike! The only thing is that the valves will be a PITA, because there are eight of them, not two as is the case with my Meteor. Another part of me was hoping that Royal Enfield would make a bigger version of the J series engine, say 500cc? A 500 single would be PERFECT for me! I had an old Honda FT500 Ascot, and I miss it-except for the vibes, that is. If RE made a 500cc version of the 350, that would be great; it would be all I ever need.

[@economicalrides]

@@markymarknj Totally agree. I think a new Classic 500 based around a larger J series engine would be a keeper bike for me. I think it would look ace, sound ace, ride brilliantly and hold its speed up hills and into the wind. It would be quite something and should one ever appear I would have a very hard time trying not to buy one ! Cheers Mark, ER.

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

Nice review. Sexy bike. I can't wait to ride one for fun. Don't want my Baker Express to think I'm disenchanted with her. Sure wish they would switch to belt drive with this new bike. I would never switch back now that I've had over 10,000 miles on mine.

[@economicalrides]

Hi MAMRE ! I must admit to liking the idea of belt drive. I'm not a fan of oil and grease flying about, so the whole chain thing does upset me, particularly when I've just washed and polished the bike ! I suppose chains are cheap and by and large reliable, so that's presumably why most manufacturers persevere with them, even though there are cleaner options available. Maybe the whole electric bike thing ( where they seem to generally use a belt instead of a chain ) will see belts become a bit more widespread in the ICE realm ? The Super Meteor is a nice bike, but it is pretty expensive for what it is and the foot ergonomics will take some getting used to. If I only had one bike, I might consider getting one but I prefer to have multiple bikes, at which point I can't justify the expense of this one. Definitely have a go on one if you get the chance though. For the true cruiser feel you need to ride a Celestial version, it has a touring seat which seats you down lower in the bike. The other versions, like the one tested here, have you perched on the bike, rather than in it. So more urban cruiser that highway cruiser 🙂 Cheers MAMRE, enjoy your travels 👍🏻 ER

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

@@economicalrides I had a VN900 with belt drive and going back to a chain was a real bummer. For RE having to stop every 1,000km just to service the chain is such a pain. When touring that could be twice a week. Only thing I've done to the belt is tightened it once after the initial stretch.

[@economicalrides]

@@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield Yes, I mate of mine has a Sportster and I must admit to coveting his belt drive ! I just hate cleaning the grease off the rear wheel and spokes all of the time. Also cleaning the chain is another horrible dirty job which I hate. I had a VT500 once, with shaft drive. I enjoyed the lack of chain but shaft drive can be a little bit harsh, particularly on downshifts, certainly on those older bikes. To me belt drive seems like a perfect solution. As I mentioned, maybe the growth in electric motorcycles, usually running belts, will start to cross over into ICE motorcycles a little bit more 👍🏻 Drive belts for the win MAMRE ! Enjoy yours ! Cheers buddy, ER.

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

@@economicalrides Check out Bandidos Pitstop. They may have a conversation for you. I know they have some 350s. I have some of their videos in my Maintenance Playlist.

[@lancerbiker5263]

Loved the "review". Seemed more personal than the others somehow. I think Buddy and "Buddette" would be all I would need on your roads. I would have a Himalayan myself to explore all those dirt roads in your area. You may like to check out Fortnine Royal Enfield Scram 411 - Review in the Dunes . Cheers, Lance & Leo ❤ to Ruby girl. (We are getting 15-20 cms of snow tonight) 😩

[@economicalrides]

You are a wise man Lance ! We think alike. Funnily enough I just watched that FortNine video this evening and now I am seriously considering the Scram over the Himalayan. Quite a bit cheaper too, which fits in with the "economical" part of my channel 😂 The Scram has evolved from being perceived as being a bit pointless to a serious alternative to the Himalayan for light off-road shenanigans. The Scram is very much back on my list of potential trail bikes following that video, Lance. FortNine knows his stuff and the images don't lie. That bike is more than capable enough for what I need ! Sorry to hear about the snow, would have thought that you'd have the worst of it behind you by now ! Well, if it's any consolation, it is definitely starting to get warmer here now 😛 Cheers you two and much love from the two of us ( Ruby sends 💋s to Leo ) Garry & Ruby

[@lancerbiker5263]

@@economicalrides Thanks ER I think wisdom results from "learning" from experience, some don't. I have a Teachers degree but I will die a student. ☺ Yes fortnine is a Canadian gem. He has a degree physics. Coincidentally, a good friend of mine is also interested in the Scram, as am I. We may be ordering two from the nearest dealer 1000 miles away!

[@economicalrides]

@@lancerbiker5263 Yes, I am tempted, but the Himalayan has "legacy appeal" for me, because it was the bike I was saving up for when I decided to blow it all on the Meteor 🤗 But either bike would be absolutely dandy for my trail riding exploits so which bike I go for will depend on my circumstances at the time, I suspect. Cheers Lance and Leo ! Garry & Ruby 🐕❤

[@davidhawkins120]

Hi Garry, thanks for your passionate revue of the Super Meteor! When you return for your second ride may I suggest you check out something that concerns me about a feature that may present a problem during ownership. To me the rear wheel should be near the start of the chain adjustment range, whereas all the bikes I have seen reviewed there is not much adjustment left from new! Just saying🙂

[@economicalrides]

Hi David, thanks for watching and commenting ! If you pause the video at 06:07 you can see exactly where the spindle is on the adjustment scale. It does look as though it does not have much further to go, I agree. But I'm not sure how these chain adjusters are supposed to work anyway. I did the chain adjustment on my Meteor once and I could turn the adjuster either way and there was no discernible movement on the spindle. It did my head in ! I ended up heaving the wheel about by hand and getting it more or less even on each side. But the adjustment scale plates kept moving about in the swing arm as I was tightening things, so it was a total nightmare to set right. It was so bad that although I've always done the chain adjustment on previous bikes, I have decided to let the dealer adjust the chains on my REs 😂 I might occasionally do an eighth of a turn on each adjuster, just to tweak the tension back into spec from time to time but in general I try not to go near to the adjusters !!! Overall I do not have a scooby doo how RE expect their chain adjuster to work ! For me they don't help at all, they just confuse matters and frustrate me at every turn. But yes, as you say, you can see on this bike that the spindle already appears to be close the the far end of the movement slot, which would imply that you won't get too many chances of adjusting it before you are looking at a new chain or at least taking a link out. Very odd ! I think on my own bikes the spindle was towards the rear end of the scale from new but still fairly close to the centre of it. An interesting observation David 😬🤔 I suppose if you take the spindle centre as your reference point, you do still have about 2-3cm rearwards movement ? I'm not sure whether that would be enough for the life of the chain or not, to be honest. Thanks for your thought provoking comment David 🙂👍🏻 Garry

[@davidhawkins120]

@@economicalrides Something to take a closer look at, it may not be an issue🙂 On my Hunter the spindle is further forward to start with, good luck with the second ride! David

[@economicalrides]

@@davidhawkins120 Thanks David ! I've no idea when that will be though. I either have to hear that this dealer has found and rectified the problem OR that another dealer not too far away also has one on demo. I think it might be a while before I can confirm the motorway performance unfortunately 🤨 Cheers David, ER

[@BlueRidgeRider]

Excellent review! Hi Ruby! Valentino says “Hi”. He’s just back from the dentist and not feeling up to par. I wonder if the vibration is a wheel out of balance? I would think if it were engine related it would happen at the same rpm in every gear. I look forward to future reports and if you decide to buy it or not.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Dan, glad it wasn't too bad for a first attempt ! Yes, unfortunately I was tight for time with the bike, otherwise I was going to try to diagnose the problem to help the dealer out. I am pretty sure that it was engine speed related rather than road speed related. It was a very buzzy vibration that went right through your hands and into your elbows. Most unpleasant ! My best guess is that something was loose somewhere. Maybe the guy who assembled it had only pinched down one of the engine mounting bolts and subsequently missed it with the windy gun and that one bolt didn't get torqued down. If one of the engine bolts was only pinch tight, that would probably do it. When I spoke to the mechanic afterwards he did say that he'd go over all of the mounting bolts and check that they were all torqued down. Valentino goes to the dentist ? He must be a pampered pooch. Ruby gets poked about by the vet four times a year but that's her lot. Teeth cleaning is my job and Ruby doesn't like me doing it either ! Ruby says "Hope you recover soon Valentino and thanks for the sossidges !" ❤ Cheers you two, ER & Ruby

[@DennisMerwood-xk8wp]

@@economicalrides The bike is a vibrater. Period. End of story.

[@economicalrides]

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp Actually it’s a motorcycle Dennis and the 650 twins from Royal Enfield are generally very smooth. This brand new Super Meteor must have had something not quite right about it. Are you getting confused ? Not all REs are pushrod singles you know. The RE 650 twin is as smooth as the modern Triumph twins really.

[@colinhailey830]

Nice review, especially as it is by someone who is totally familar with the Meteor 350. The weight diference between the 350 and 650 is my big query at the moment. Not so much when riding but when lifting and moving it around my garage. Not getting any younger physically. The other question for me is would I actually need the increase in power - and decrease in Km/L. The longer wheelbase is probably also a factor in the better performance over speed bumps. Be interested to know what is the cause of the vibes.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Colin, thank you ! These are exactly the same concerns I have. I was pleasantly surprised that I barely noticed the increase in weight. I suppose the Meteor 350 isn't exactly light for its capacity, so possibly good training ! As of the here and now, I could definitely handle the weight of the 650, even on my dodgy gravel, but as you say, we are all getting older. I'm more likely to drop the 650 far earlier than I will ever drop the 350, simply because there is a lot more weight dragging you down when it does go. Like you, I question whether I need the extra power, lower mpg and extra weight and complexity. It would very rarely be an advantage to have the bigger bike. For the odd time that I would appreciate having the extra power, 8000 EUR ( for the Celestial which I would want ) is A LOT of money. You can practically buy TWO Meteor 350s for that, which puts it into some perspective. RE must have a very decent margin on this bike ! Thanks Colin, check out my personal conclusions video next Tuesday because I think we are both coming at this bike from the same place and it might help you to decide ! Cheers, ER.

[@SkysaxonDragonslayer]

Great review! Seems that the SuperMeteor could be a replacement for the now discontinued HD Sportster, especially the 883 What kind of vibration did you get - these annoying high frequency bibs like on a 4cly. - or these sweet rumbeling bibs you get from a ridget mounted engine HD? Even my rubbermount Sportster has some places where it massages your body depending on speed, revs and load they can shift in range…

[@economicalrides]

Hi Sexy 😛 the worst kind of vibrations. High frequency ones which turn your hands numb within about five minutes. I think if I'd carried on a bit longer at 120 kph eventually my feet would have gone numb too. It really did feel as though something somewhere must be loose ! My Bullet 500 single was better at 110 kph than this modern twin was ! I have nothing against soulful vibes to remind you that you are on an iron horse but when your hands and feet start going numb after a few minutes, those are not the vibes you want or expect from a modern motorcycle ! Hopefully the dealer finds and fixes the problem and I can try it again, because it really should be super comfy at 120 kph for all day riding but currently it is only ok for about five minutes at a time ! Cheers SSDS 🥃 ER

[@gheraselaurentiu7689]

Hello, great review! Do you think a 6.3 foot person will fit on this bike? Thank you in advance!

[@panayiotisgiannikos6337]

Give another sossidge to Ruby fro all of us!

[@economicalrides]

Haha ! Well, I should be out on the bike later today, so she will certainly be getting one when Daddy gets home 👍🏻 Ruby says thank you for thinking of her ! ❤🐕 Cheers Panayiotis🙂 ER

[@chrisgraham5186]

I can't help but think the vibe issue is specific to that particular machine, as I've had my Interceptor since spring 2019 and it's as smooth as a naughty angel's bum cheeks. May be bike isn't fully run in, or as a demo bike, it's been caned a bit hard before it was full bedded down, Demonstrators don't get the easiest early lives. I reckon RE are missing an opportunity with this new 650 platform. With mid mount pegs and the panniers the factory are offering it'd make an excellent base for an urban and suburban police bike variant, which would be a useful marketing strategy. Buyers notice if bikes are chosen by police fleets, as it shows them to be trustworthy purchases. It certainly hasn't done BMW, HD, or Honda any harm. I predict a 'classic' 650 appearing soon, based on this platform in the same way as the 350 has been. It'd almost be a parts bin special using the 350 classic's front end and tinware, and the Interceptor's spoked wheels. Now that might tempt me away from my Inty… or maybe not. I don't know.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Chris, definitely just this bike. My Bullet 500 vibrated less at the same speed. It took two hours for the Bullet to numb my hands, here it was more like five minutes. Hopefully just a loose mounting bolt somewhere. Possible the assembly guy forgot to torque down one of the engine bolts or something daft like that. Yes, one of these in white with panniers and screen would get me feeling like Ponch from CHIPS. I could see me fancying one of those. Then I'd just need the cool shades and the gleaming white teeth 😛 The Super Meteor could be a good option for the Indian police, it will be interesting to see if they do make such a variant and as you say, they could probably sell it to a fair few countries if they did ! It sounds as though a 650 Classic is coming. I think it will end up looking like a 60s Bonneville type thing, which would be cool and would also appeal to me. Just do what Triumph did with their first "new Bonneville" but on the 650 platform and at a sensible price. I can definitely see that bike doing well, particularly if there is never going to be a Classic 500 ( which I doubt there will be ). The Classic 350 appeals to a lot of people but they are not buying them because they feel as though the 350 just lacks the power to be truly practical in the west. I can understand that. Thanks for confirming that the Interceptor doesn't have a major vibration issue at motorway speeds. I've never ridden one but imagined that they wouldn't have sold as many they have if there had been vibration issues at motorway speeds and I've never heard any complaints about this motor being vibey either. Hopefully I will get a go on a normal Super Meteor at some point in the future, just to confirm that it was merely this bike that had the vibration issue. Cheers Chris ! ER

[@chrisgraham5186]

@@economicalrides My 650 has been perfectly smooth at both UK motorway speeds of 70-80 mph. and on French autoroutes at (and above) the local 130kph (85ish mph) limit. In fact, it's smooth at the ton (100mph) too. I've ridden my brother's 2006 Triumph Thruxton at the same speeds, and it certainly vibrates more than the RE, though not like the BSA 650 I had back in the day.

[@economicalrides]

@@chrisgraham5186 Awesome, thanks Chris ! In that case the Super Meteor SHOULD be a wonderful long distance cruiser once the vibe issue has been sorted. My only caveat would be that at 70 mph the wind is constantly pushing your feet off the foot controls because you have the soles of your feet more or less square into the wind, acting as air brakes. I forgot to mention that. Fighting the wind to keep your feet on the pegs on a day with a lot of 70 mph riding could get tiresome. I noticed that an Indian review has also mentioned this inconvenience ! The foot ergonomics in general are a bit suboptimal on the Super Meteor. No such issues with the Meteor where your feet are more or less flat when on the pegs. The Super Meteor puts your heels on the foot pegs and your toes point straight up to reach the lever/pedal. Definitely a bit weird ! Cheers Chris, ER.

[@chrisgraham5186]

@@economicalrides It won't be long before someone offers foot boards for them. My old hot rodded S&S Harley has them, and there's no tendency for wind pressure to move the feet on that, even at three figure speeds. I don't remember it being an issue on the Intruder I had in the late eighties, which had forward foot pegs.

[@economicalrides]

@@chrisgraham5186 Hi Chris, yes I was thinking that footboards would be the answer. I know that a lot of the Harley folks ride with their toes in the air and if you are going to be doing higher speeds the wind pushing your feet off all the time would become annoying. But footboards would definitely keep the wind off, so probably a must have accessory for Super Meteor riders looking to do a lot of miles on fast roads. 👍🏻 I will mention that in a future video 🙂 Cheers ! ER.

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

My Interceptor Buzzed after 70 for the first 100 miles .After that it is just smooth .No matter the rpm.

[@economicalrides]

Good to know. Well this one was buzzing at 65 mph and it was enough to turn my hands numb after five minutes, so I would say that is beyond normal. These were high frequency vibes, indicative of something loose somewhere. It didn't feel as if the engine was vibrating within itself, more like everything attached to it was vibrating. So could well have been one engine mounting bolt not torqued down in the factory or something like that. Hopefully I will get to ride it again without the vibes but I don't expect it to be a general problem, the other 650s are considered to be pretty smooth at these sorts of speeds. Cheers David 👍🏻 ER

[@Lanes-Explorer5733]

Excellent review, ER.. "Will he or won't he??" We just don't know... 😂

[@economicalrides]

🤔🤔🤔 Overall it's a lovely bike, so easy to get on with, reminds me a lot of Buddy, where I also felt at home within the first 200m. But double the price !!! That's going to be hard for my wallet to justify 😬 Even my best man maths is struggling to make this one work 😂 Cheers LE, ER & Ruby ❤

[@Lanes-Explorer5733]

@@economicalrides hello Garry and Ruby. Yes RE always seem to get their designs just right for their intended market. And what would become of Buddy 😔

[@economicalrides]

@@Lanes-Explorer5733 Buddy is going absolutely nowhere until I can no longer ride him. I suppose he would go into semi-retirement, he would have an easier life. I would use him mainly like a scooter, local shopping trips and errands. But do I want that ? Not sure that I do. Buddy still has a lot to give, not sure he's ready to be made redundant. One of many considerations that is ! Cheers Peter and love from Spain, Garry & Ruby ❤

[@Lanes-Explorer5733]

@@economicalrides It's just not going to work, Garry. You know you wouldn't want to see Buddy put out to grass, even if you had any 😂.

[@economicalrides]

@@Lanes-Explorer5733 😂😂😂 You’re not wrong ! Love, Garry and Ruby „ears in the wind“ ❤️

[@nigelyoung1616]

Hi, very interested in this bike, this was a very good review compared to a lot I have seen. Couldn’t catch the location of the dealer, which would have been useful as there don’t seem to be any RE dealers near me in Spain (South of Alicante).

[@economicalrides]

Hi Nigel, check out Intruder in Murcia ( two hours from me ) or Motos Matilla in Almeria if you are further south ( 1.25 hours from me and HIGHLY recommended ! ) Ignore the vibes, the RE 650s are usually smoother than the Triumph parallel twins at 70 mph. This brand new bike clearly had a loose bolt somewhere ! Let me know if I can help you further or if you want to meet up sometime 👍 Cheers 🥃🥃 ER

[@lshort8842]

Great review! I'm wondering how much higher and further forward the food controls are as compared to the 350 Meteor? How much of a dance at traffic lights to reach up and kick into gear? I'm pretty sure I would soon get a heel/toe shifter if I got the 650 Meteor. Looks like I'll be waiting a good while longer to see one here in North America. THANKS!

[@economicalrides]

Hi L Short, thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed the review and appreciate you saying so. I am new to all this reviewing bikes that I don't own 😛 Slightly further forward and significantly higher would be my answer. Trying hard to remember how it felt, but I would say that is about right. It was a bit odd after the Meteor because you ride with your heel on the footrest with your toes up in the air and with my little feet, I wasn't getting a whole ball of foot on the shifter or rear brake. The end of the lever and pedal seemed a bit high up for my feet but after a while I got used to where everything was and it never felt unsafe, just not ideal. Another consequence of this "heel down, toes up" riding position is, as mentioned in an Indian review I watched, that at 70 mph the wind is trying to push your feet off of the controls !!! The soles of your feet are practically square into the wind, so the faster you ride, the more your feet start to lift off the controls and you have to push back. I experienced this myself ! So again, that's not really ideal. Overall for me, I much prefer the foot ergonomics of the Meteor. In fact I would say that the foot ergonomics of the Super Meteor represent one of the biggest areas with room for improvement. I think a lot of people might struggle to get used to them. The Super Meteor is not a cheap bike by any means, so you absolutely must take a test ride before deciding. The foot ergonomics were definitely odd and if you intend to do a lot of high speed riding, having the wind trying to lift your feet off the controls would quickly become annoying ! So please try before you buy ! 🤞 Cheers L Short 👍🏻 ER

[@lshort8842]

@@economicalrides Thanks! I recently sold off 3 Triumphs because the foot position no longer work with my arthritic feet and legs. The standard Bonnevilles were too far back after only about 30 miles, and the Bonneville America was the opposite problem. The America always felt very top heavy and it handled poorly regardless of tire selection. The controls were quite a reach, too. (30 inch inseam) I find my 350 Meteor (Fireball Red) to be just about in the sweet spot ergonomics wise. I would certainly like the additional power of the 650 here in the American midwest, but not at the expense of comfort and weight. When they finally arrive here, I'll run down to the dealer like everyone else, and scope it out. Thanks for the response, and happy riding! Subscribed!

[@economicalrides]

@@lshort8842 Thanks L Short, particularly for the sub 👍🏻 Having heard about your situation, I would say that you will enjoy the foot peg position on the SM because it will enable you to stretch your legs out more towards the front. The face of the brake pedal and the end of the gear lever are then high up in the air, so you will have the soles of your feet facing the front of the bike and angled slightly forwards. As I get older I am finding the extremely short distance between the seat and the foot pegs on the Meteor to be a bit of a challenge. I can get pain around my hips and in my buttocks and I suspect that this will only get worse over time. I wouldn't envisage any such issues with the Super Meteor however, there is much more space to get the legs into a nice comfortable position 👍🏻 Then maybe get some footboards to stop the wind pushing your feet off the controls at high speeds ( if you do a lot of fast road miles, fighting the wind all of the time could become annoying ! ) Good luck optimising your fleet to better suit your requirements. As we get older we do have to pander to our decrepit bodies somewhat, unfortunately 🤨 I think the Super Meteor could really suit you. Cheers, ER.

[@ccooper8785]

32:12 evil super villains hideout coming up on the left...

[@economicalrides]

😂 Yes, it did look like a great location for an international HQ of evil, well spotted CC ! Cheers buddy, ER.

[@KlingonCaptain]

I hope this comes to North America.

[@economicalrides]

Oh it will ! And if the vibrations are not normally there ( as I suspect ) then it is a lovely all round bike. If I could only have one bike, this bike would probably be at the very top of my list. It feels as easy to live with as my Meteor but obviously being a 650 it is a fair bit more capable. I am tempted to get one but I'm not convinced that I NEED one. The bikes that I have cover everything I need a bike to do and the Super Meteor is no longer a cheap bike. But definitely a lovely bike ( as long as the vibrations were an exception in my case ! ) and I can't rule out getting one at some point. Cheers KC, ER

[@amitchodankar1989]

In September

[@economicalrides]

@@amitchodankar1989 Thanks for that 👍🏻

[@amitchodankar1989]

@@economicalrides 🙏

[@DennisMerwood-xk8wp]

There is zero market for this bike in America. RE dealerships will have to sell lawnmowers to keep the lights on!

[@aussiebikerdude6563]

G’day Gary, bloody good first review mate, the Super Meteor definitely resembles a bigger version of Buddy. I’m sure they will sort out the vibes… hopefully it was just that particular bike. Mabo it is getting thrashed by test riders before it’s been Run In? What’s the recommended top speed when running in? Our meteor 350’s were only 70 and 80km All in all I still like it 😉 Buddy loved Ruby’s ears blowing in the wind 😁 Cheers ABD and BUDDY

[@economicalrides]

Thanks mate ! It really did feel as easy to ride as Buddy, that was a pleasant surprise. I think you'd only notice the extra weight once you'd dropped it. On its wheels, you really don't notice it 👍🏻 The vibes are definitely not normal, they were horrible high frequency vibes. On my old Bullet 500 it took two hours at 65 mph before my hands went numb. On this bike it took five minutes. There is no way a 1950s 500 single should be doing better on the motorway than a 2023 650 parallel twin 😛 Hopefully the dealer finds a loose bolt or something and lets me know what the issue was. Then I'd go and ride it again, just to confirm that all is peachy. This bike had 26 km on it ( I think ) when I picked it up, so the only tester who has thrashed it was probably me 🤗 But I've seen how the dealer rides the demo bikes, so I didn't worry about taking it up to 130 kph. On a group ride last summer they took out their brand new Meteor 350 demo bike. The route had about 15 minutes of motorway at the start of it. They just absolutely pinned that 0 km Meteor 350, were doing the full 120 kph all the time, with me reluctantly hanging on, thrashing the a*se off poor Buddy ! So no, I don't think that the Super Meteor demo bike is going to experience much of a running-in period 😂 Ruby is such a star, when I saw her ears blowing in the wind, I felt that I just had to do a shampoo advert inspired clip in slow-mo 😛 ❤️ Ruby sends Buddy fluffy kisses and says that her dad is finally off to the post office today, to find out what it's going to cost to send a sticker to Australia for some bloke he knows 😛👍🏻 Cheers matey, ER

[@economicalrides]

Hi Aussie, I finally got your sticker to the post office !!! 🥳 I had to queue up of course because I had no idea what posting a letter to Australia costs. Fortunately it was cheaper than I expected. The woman at the counter apologised that it was so expensive (?) but said that the envelope was quite heavy ( reinforced to stop bending obvs. ), hence the price. I told her not to worry about it and that I certainly couldn't get it to Australia for that price !!! 😂 So all good, let me know when it arrives because I am curious. Spanish post tends not to be the fastest, I'm expecting it to take a while ! Cheers mate, ER ( love to Buddy from the two of us ! ❤🐕)

[@aussiebikerdude6563]

@@economicalrides hopefully something minor like you said mate, Ruby should get sponsored by a dog shampoo brand for sure 😁

[@aussiebikerdude6563]

@@economicalrides yes definitely much cheaper to post than to deliver yourself mate😂😂😂 although we could always do a duo KZbin ride while you’re here😂 thanks ER, hopefully one of mine will turn up there soon.. probably the one that has a stamp on it 😂

[@economicalrides]

@@aussiebikerdude6563 She's told me to get on it ! 😂

[@alain7338]

Bonsoir belle machine belle présentation j'aime beaucoup ce bleu....il y a même l'ombre de la moto!!! Mais où avez vous trouvé le soleil?????✌️🇨🇵

[@economicalrides]

Bonsoir Alain, oui il faisait beau en ville et sur la côte mais dès que je suis rentré dans les terres le vent a été dingue. Mais j'ai aimé revoir le soleil et sentir 20C Santé à toi ER

[@The9meister]

Astral is all you need, same bike, the use money you have saved, to add your own personal touches.

[@economicalrides]

Thanks The9meister, yes, certainly if you don't need all of the touring parts it makes sense to buy the base model ( as long as there is a colour you like, that might be the sticking point ) and buy the accessory or two that you actually need rather than paying for all of the stuff you don't actually need by buying the Celestial. Cheers and thanks for your comment 👍🏻 ER

[@artiecisneros4691]

Thank you for taking us along for the test ride. I'm considering trading my Meteor 350 for the Super when it makes it to California, I'm already on the waiting list. Are the controls more forward than on the 350 or the same.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Artie, that's a difficult question to answer because the lack of a heel/toe shifter on this bike means that the pedals are completely different. The gear lever is up high and quite far forward, the brake lever too. With my small feet it was almost a stretch to keep my heel on the foot peg and have my toe on the brake / gear lever at the same time. I would say, despite the completely different levers on this bike, that both controls ARE further forward than on the Meteor. As I mentioned in this video, I think with the controls where they are, I would have preferred a heel/toe shifter as they fit in India, just because the current lever was a bit of a stretch for my toes. My gut says that the controls are slightly further forward than on the Meteor but certainly not "full forward". You still have a fair kink in your leg, your legs are not stretched out straight to reach the controls. So "mid forward" but possibly a little further forward than on the 350. Cheers Artie, the 650 would be perfect for California I would imagine. I know that you guys need to ride faster than I do. I can cope pretty well with the 350s over here, don't feel the need for much more normally ! ER

[@artiecisneros4691]

@@economicalrides That is wonderful, I prefer forward controls and actually I don't care for the heel shifter. Relatively speaking, are you about the same height on the bike while you're riding, or are you more in the bike? Or the same on both. I tried the 650 twins and I felt like a jockey on them.

[@economicalrides]

@@artiecisneros4691 You'll feel quite similar on the Super Meteor to the Meteor Artie. I actually sat on a Celestial with the touring seat. With the touring seat you sit lower still, really inside the bike, behind the tank. But the standard seat leaves you in a similar position to the Meteor 350, not in the bike but also not perched on top of it. I think I'd go for the Celestial with the touring seat though, felt more cruiser like and if the touring screen works reasonably well it should be super comfortable on long motorway slogs. I think the Super Meteor could be great for you, judging by your comments ! Cheers Artie, ER

[@artiecisneros4691]

@@economicalrides Thank you so very much, very much appreciated your advice. Take care and be safe.

[@economicalrides]

@@artiecisneros4691 You're welcome Artie, thanks for dropping by, watching and commenting 👍🏻 Cheers, ER

[@splodge5714]

A nice bike (apart from the vibes!) but my Honda Forza 350 scooter has similar performance, less weight, great underseat storage, no oily chain, more comfort, wind protection and twist 'n go ease of use. Much cheaper too so difficult to justify the change. Thanks for a good review.

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

You are full of it eh?

[@economicalrides]

Hi splurge 57, I'm a big fan of scooters, you can't beat them for practicality. This bike will never do what your scooter can do, but then it's not supposed to. If you had one in addition to your scooter, it would give you something completely different which you would also enjoy, but you shouldn't consider one as a replacement. RE have priced this bike on the high side IMO, so at this price there are plenty of other options out there. It will be interesting to see how well this bike sells. Thanks for your input. I will always have a scooter in my garage for the reasons you mentioned 🙂 ER

[@economicalrides]

@@deltabluesdavidraye Not sure RE ever suggested that the Super Meteor was going to be a direct scooter replacement 🤐 but maybe he was hoping it would be 🤷‍♂ His scooter PLUS a Super Meteor would be a great combo though, I'd be happy with that ! Cheers David 🙂 ER

[@splodge5714]

@@deltabluesdavidraye ooh, it's just too much to take😂

[@splodge5714]

@@economicalrides yes I enjoy the scooter. Thought about replacing it with a RE 350 but on reflection, for me, not worth it. And I have two other bikes already but won't go into that as I wouldn't want to upset the ❄️.

[@morrisminor56]

Never had vibe problems on my Interceptor, so this could be a one off thing. I shall not be buying this bike as I am waiting for the Classic 650.

[@economicalrides]

Hi Christopher, there is no way that those vibes were normal. You'd be in agony after 10 minutes at 70 mph, something which these bikes should do with all day comfort. The 650 Classic does sound good. If they can style it to look like an early Bonnie, I could indeed be tempted. A Classic 500 single would be my preferred option but I suspect that the J series engine won't pass emissions at 500cc without an expensive redesign, which may not happen. It would be another great option though, if RE decided to make one ! A classically styled larger capacity RE would be appealing to a lot of people. Here in the west, the 350s are not quite fast enough for some roads, so I'm sure there is still a decent market for a similar bike with a bit more performance. Cheers Christopher, ER

[@Ainsworth-Rider]

Very good review ER but she doesn’t do it for me 😢 I think the 350 is much better looking

[@economicalrides]

Thanks AR, what I really want is a Fireball version. If they did this bike without the chrome, with blacked out exhausts and in a bright yellow or something, I think it would look badass. In this colour it didn't convince me but they did have an Interstellar in that green, gold and black and I must admit, that did look smart. Still, if it vibrates more than my Bullet 500 did, it's pointless. Hopefully this bike was just a dud ( and I firmly believe that it was because the vibes were BAD ! ). Cheers AR, ER

[@Ainsworth-Rider]

@@economicalrides If they are run in proper they shouldn’t vibrate and like you say it’s just something not quite right about the one you rode 😳 when I went to look at them, well one of them, it was parked next to the Meteor and I just thought that the 350 looks so much nicer 🤔 I put it down to the engine well just the barrel really 😳 just me really 👍

[@economicalrides]

@@Ainsworth-Rider To my eyes Buddy is more gorgeouser than the Super Meteor too James 🥰 He just looks so cute in his yellow with his little panniers. He's going nowhere ! Cheers AR, ER

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

Something else a real parallel twin vibrates like crazy.These are a 90 degree inline twin. Most likely you never noticed any vibration past 100 kph on your meteor because you didn't push it that far till it had a few hundred on it As 90 degree twins go these bikes are exceptionally smooth but there will be a small highspeed buzz for a few hundred KM until break in .

[@economicalrides]

Other testers have tested similarly brand new bikes at these speeds and not mentioned vibrations. I think I might have understated how bad the vibes were. My hands were completely numb after less than five minutes at 65 mph. So as I mentioned elsewhere, I do think something was loose on this bike, somewhere 🙂 Thanks for your input David but I do think that these vibes were way beyond something which you would expect to improve after 100 miles 🙂 If the dealer doesn't find a problem, I am allowed to try the bike again when it has more miles on it, let's say 1000 km. So in a month or so, if I don't hear anything else from them, I will just ride it again and see if 70 mph is now a comfortable cruising speed ( which it should be ! ). Cheers David, liking your input, appreciate you taking the time 👍🏻 ER

[@DennisMerwood-xk8wp]

@@economicalrides This bike is less sophisticated than a 1975 Yamaha XS650! The 45-year-old XS650 would in fact be a better bike - by any criteria. The old Yamahammer would eat this thing for breakfast, and last twice as long! Tell me one thing that is better on this bike than on the old XS650? Why are you limeys so excited about it? Just because it has British name? Its an anachronism. A thing belonging to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned:

[@economicalrides]

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp Clearly you’ve taken the time to actually try one since you know so much about it already. Odd since they are not available in the US yet 🤔 Thanks for your valuable contributions, I’m sure people will find your opinions extremely unbiased and useful. Cheers Dennis 👍 ER

[@MauriceTarantulas]

But what does Ruby think? I saw a meteor the other and am still deciding myself between scram, Himalayan and the Motomorini xcape. (I loved the red 650, I'll try and test ride this summer). Venga, cuidate! Un quinto para mi senor😂

[@economicalrides]

Gracias amigo ! Ruby is a big fan of all bikes. She knows that when I get a bike down from the garage, it's only a matter of time before I come home and she gets a sossidge. I'm pretty sure that she loves ALL bikes 😛 Scram or Himalayan ? I am familiar with this dilemma ! The Moto Morini really interests me but I could never buy one because I'm unsure about dealer and spares support. I'm not brave enough to risk that amount of money on blind faith. A lovely bike though and something a bit exotic 👍🏻 Cheers Arachnophilia 🥃 ER

[@economicalrides]

Oh and P.S. FortNine just brought out a video about riding a Scram in sand dunes and the bottom line was, it did very well ! This was the second video in a couple of days where the presenter recommended buying the Scram over the Himalayan, so it has got me thinking !!!

[@MauriceTarantulas]

@@economicalrides Haha I saw that vid earlier.

[@aaronhahn]

hi! curious as to where this was located. was this in the US or abroad? wondering when we'll see these in the states. thanks!

[@economicalrides]

Hi Aaron, even if it does look a bit like California ( I get that a lot ! ) this is actually southern Spain 😀 The European release was in February/March and the US release will be in Summer 2023, so you are going to have to wait a few more months before you see the Super Meteor over there. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the market for a middleweight cruiser. There are of course various Japanese alternatives but RE bikes are very good these days, particularly for what they cost. Certainly a viable alternative if you are looking for a bike from a brand with a long tradition and something a bit different. RE bikes also ALWAYS seem to have soul and character built into them. I really don't know how they manage it, but they do ! Every model has its own character and this continues with the Super Meteor ! Cheers Aaron 👍🏻 I hope you get to try one in the summer ! 🤞 ER

[@ChadWinters]

I love my Meteor 350, but tempted to get that extra top speed, but was worried about the extra weight. Interesting that you don't feel its comfortable to ride above the Meteor's top speed, may make me less likely to "upgrade"

[@economicalrides]

Hi Chad, well as I said at the end, it's inconceivable to me that they are all like that. These bikes should never have the type of high frequency vibrations which I experienced because they quickly turn your hands numb. No modern motorcycle would be released to the public like that and I have never heard anybody complain of high frequency vibes on any of the other 650s. Of course there will be vibes at highway speeds but they should be pleasant vibes, vibes to remind you that you are on your "iron horse". But high frequency vibes like the ones I experienced are a sign that there is something not right with that bike. You literally would not want to ride it above 110 kph for more than five minutes because you would notice your hands and feet starting to tingle in an unpleasant way. It's a shame they didn't have another one there for comparison but I will ride it again when they believe that all is well with the bike ! Oh, and when you consider that you can buy two Meteors for the price of one Celestial ( more or less ), you can imagine that RE has a nice margin on this bike ! I do think it is a lot of money for an upgrade personally. Particularly, if like me, you rarely need to do more than 100 kph / 60 mph anyway. The 350s will do that all day whilst remaining comfortable and are so cheap to buy and run. I'm probably far too sensible to buy a Super Meteor, I just can't ignore the facts and for me the price is hard to justify. We'll see but knowing me I will prefer to remain "economical" with my rides 😂 Still talking with the dealer and weighing up options at the moment. Of course I also want a trail bike asap so that complicates the decision further ! It's going to be all about priorities and practicalities. Cheers Chad, ER

[@joejaneiro716]

Lol. Alomost lost a finger. I love Ruby

[@economicalrides]

Thanks Joe, yes, she’s the only reason I am anywhere near 3K subs after two years ! Most people just fast forward to the “sossidges” but I’ve decided to pad my videos out with motorcycle stuff anyway 😂 Thank you so much for watching and commenting 👍 ER & Ruby ❤️🐕

[@kell7195]

I've bought one sight unseen, they first arrive in Australia in April. I wonder how the mirrors are? At 6 foot with solid build will I see my shoulders in the mirrors like many other bikes ie need bar ends? How did you find the mirrors?

[@economicalrides]

Hi Kell, the mirrors were pretty decent, I could set them for a clear rear view on both sides. Unlike on the Classic where it's almost impossible to get a clear rear view in the offside mirror because the stem is too short. You should be ok with the standard mirrors but if not I thoroughly recommend the RE bar end mirrors. They look great and give a much bigger view on both sides. I have them on my Meteor and they are absolutely the best mirrors I've ever had on any bike ! Congratulations on your new Super Meteor Kell, I'm sure you'll love it. I forgot to talk about the foot ergonomics in this video, they are certainly "different" and I will explain what I mean in next week's video 🙂 Cheers Kell, ER

[@kell7195]

@@economicalrides Cheers, sounds like the stock mirrors might do the job, they certainly look good also, might be a shame to replace them with bar ends.

[@economicalrides]

@@kell7195 Yep, I think they will be ok but I can't really know how freakishly large your shoulders actually are 🤷‍♂😂 But as mirrors go, these were pretty decent, they weren't borderline ok, they were absolutely fine. Cheers Kell and good luck with those large shoulders of yours 😏 ER

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

A interceptor will go about 116 mph.Stock.Add freeflow pipes and air cleaner and it will do better yet,but I just use the gain in other ways instead of Killin' myself chasing speed. With the extra 60-70 lbs. I can see loosing a bit .

[@economicalrides]

Well on this bike you also have the soles of your feet up in the wind acting as airbrakes 😂 At 70 mph I was struggling to keep my feet on the controls because the wind was pushing them off. I think a GPS measured 100 mph would be about right for this bike, in a full tuck and on a calm day ! Cheers David, ER

[@DennisMerwood-xk8wp]

@@economicalrides That this bike would do 116mph is bovine excrement!

[@economicalrides]

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp He’s talking about his Interceptor Dennis. Maybe read before writing ?

[@mihaimihai9254]

I'd like a new RE Classic with this engine.

[@economicalrides]

It looks like that will be happening Mihai ! Next year we should be seeing a Classic 650 twin, according to reports from India ! I’d prefer a 500 single personally but I think that a Classic 650 would be a great cheaper alternative to the Triumph Bonnevilles, which are now pretty much all crazy expensive. Be patient and you should be able to buy a Classic 650 soon 👍 Cheers Mihai, ER

[@mihaimihai9254]

@@economicalrides Thank you very much for your answer, Sir! I really think about a classic bike as a second notorcycle and Royal Enfield does a real good job in terms of building quality. Waiting a little bit doesn't bother me at all! Sadly, saving money will always request some time for common people. God bless all your rides, Sir!

[@economicalrides]

@@mihaimihai9254 Thank you Mihai ! Take care and stay safe. I hope you are able to get a Classic 650 when they become available 🙂 Cheers 👍 ER

[@aruncv1373]

It might be the engine mounts.

[@economicalrides]

Yep, I'm sure that something was loose somewhere ! The vibrations were quite extreme, there is no way a twin should buzz like that. Thanks Arun CV, ER.

[@fastestonearth1]

Must admit I had the meteor 350 too just lacking power …I am leaning towards a Vulcan S 650 .not sure about this one

[@economicalrides]

Well I think the Super Meteor would really suit your needs. It's a lovely bike and a classically good looking cruiser ( unlike the Vulcan IMO ). If I needed to ride on faster roads, I would love a Super Meteor but since I don't, it would just be extra expense, extra weight to handle and extra fuel to buy. I concluded that for the riding I do, the Meteor 350 was just perfect. Not too much. Not too little. Certainly the Super Meteor is a great option for anybody who loves the Meteor but needs a bike with a bit more performance. Just be aware that the ergonomics of the Super Meteor are very different to those of the Meteor. I would really strongly recommend that you try to at least sit on a Super Meteor or better still, get to demo ride one. Freddie Dobbs has just had a Super Meteor to try for a while and he was very positive about it. So you can check out his recent videos on his channel for a bit more information 👍🏻 I hope this helps and good luck deciding ! Oh, and Happy New Year Terry Turbo ! 🥂 ER.

[@fastestonearth1]

@@economicalrides you too I did check him out too 🙏🥂 have super one 🥂🥂

[@MentatOfDune]

€7.5k in Spain? At that price I'd be upgrading my 350 immediately. Our tax (Vehicle Registration Tax) here in Ireland is a joke as they're €2.5k more expensive here :(

[@economicalrides]

Blimey, I had no idea. Sorry to hear that Wayne. But presumably the Super Meteor is still cheaper than the available alternatives, even if more expensive than here ? But 2.5k more is CRAZY, scandalous really, I would never have imagined that vehicle registration could be a third of the value of the vehicle !!! Over here, for a bike, it's about 150 EUR for a first registration and about 100 EUR for a change of ownership. Cheers Wayne, ER.

[@MentatOfDune]

@@economicalrides Yeah, the base 650 is €9.7 and the top version is €10.3. And yeah, it's all brands (cars too) so I guess it's all relative. The Royal Enfield's are still some of the best value for money out there. Great vid, by the way. Super jealous of your 18 degrees when I was heading into work on my 350 this morning in the 1 degree wind and sleet :)

[@economicalrides]

@@MentatOfDune Hi Wayne, sorry to hear that but I believe other taxes are lower in Ireland ( possibly ? ). Definitely makes every vehicle a luxury item though, I feel your pain ! Actually it was 18C here but in the video, when I am in the city, I pass an advertising hoarding with a digital clock and thermometer which was displaying 20C in Almeria ( so it was supposed to be 18C where I live at 900m altitude that day - in Almeria though it was 20C+ ). Sorry, not sure what the point of that remark was, not trying to rub your nose in it but it was warmer than I guesstimated 😂😂😂 Riding to work in 1C and sleet ? Reminds me of my younger days that does ! Fortunately I've grown out of that now 😇 Proper hardcore you are ! Stay warm and stay safe buddy ! Cheers, ER.

[@kanderson4417]

I think the exhaust is too long. Prefer if it stopped in line with the rear shocks.

[@economicalrides]

Hi, over time presumably there will be aftermarket silencers, so it’s possible that something better looking might become available. But for me it is just more bike than I need and the Celestial, which I would have wanted, was no longer a cheap bike, there are probably better options at that price point ! Cheers KA 👍 ER

[@thimbur3543]

Ruby looked like she was about to take flight like Dumbo at the end there. 🐘😀 Pity about the vibes. My non-expert brain is speculating about wheel balance. I'm telling it to shut up and wait. 😀

[@economicalrides]

Ruby says thanks, she was mimicking a shampoo advert for a moment there ! 😛 Don't think it is wheel balance for the simple reason that it was a high frequency vibration, one of those that goes right up your arms and into your elbow and "funny bone". Most unpleasant and not the sort of thing any manufacturer would allow to pass through product testing. Interceptor owners are confirming, as suspected, that 70 mph is comfortable on an Interceptor. The Super Meteor should be lovely at those sort of speeds too, really in its element. I hope that the dealer finds the problem and I can then ride it again to confirm that it can do the motorway cruising thing too. Other than the vibes, I really enjoyed the Super Meteor and it does have a lot of the charm of the Meteor. It feels like a friendly bike, very easy to live with I would imagine 🙂 Cheers Thimbur, ER & Ruby ❤️

[@oknevals]

Seems like a nice looking bike but, after experience with Classic 350, I'm underwhelmed with RE as brand. I mean, I still enjoy that bike but, had I done more research beforehand (as I usually do), I wouldn't buy it. If I compare this with say Honda Aero/Shadow, it seems that both will be within thousand USD. Honda, shaft drive, bigger engine, similar weight and ergonomics. Why would anybody consider this over Honda is beyond me. It maybe looks a little better but, even that is in the eye of beholder.

[@economicalrides]

Hi oknevals, Honda don't really make bad bikes but they are often accused of being a bit soulless. I think that is why RE are really dedicated to ensuring that every new bike they produce has soul and its own unique character. BUT with this bike, particularly in the Celestial version, they are no longer competing with just other budget brands, the price of this bike puts them firmly into the mainstream of motorcycle manufacturers. So if as a consumer you put your thinking head on and you are not totally convinced by RE as a brand, you probably would buy something else over this, you are quite right. We'll see. I think RE are being a bit greedy with the pricing of this bike and that might come back to bite them. For the price of the Celestial version you can almost buy two brand new Meteor 350s. That should be an indication of the margin they are allowing themselves on the Super Meteor ! Unless you are a total RE fanboy/fangirl, for this sort of money, there are plenty of possibly more appealing options. Shaft drive ? Now wouldn't that be lovely ? Particularly since I hate RE's sodding chain adjusters which never seem to work 😂 Cheers oknevals 👍🏻 ER

[@oknevals]

@@economicalrides RE has incredible marketing and they seem to be able to distribute a lot more bikes than others. They went from non existance in Texas to loaded floors of popular bike dealers. But, I see a lot of used bike on the lots as well in very short time. People buy them for looks and appearance of low price. But, it isn't cheap considering what it is unless you price steel by weight. I bought mine on a whim just based on looks. Liked that old military look. It is a looker for sure and conversation piece. But, so is my cb500x that I have people rolling down windows on traffic lights to ask about. Other bikes too. My biggest issue is cheap and clumsy engineering and few issues in very short time that RE doesn't seem to care about and their customer service is very rude and lying. That attitude won't fly for long in the US.

[@economicalrides]

@@oknevals Hi oknevals, sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with RE customer service. Over here in Europe the service seems to be very good. People were getting their sticky Classic 350 speedos replaced multiple times without RE giving them any grief over it. So far my dealer has been able to sort every issue for me without any problem, on both bikes. It is definitely important to have a good dealer who actually fights your case with their Royal Enfield importer whenever there is an issue or warranty claim. Cheers oknevals, ER

[@oknevals]

@@economicalrides They really don't have a fix for speedo. Dealer told me that RE was supposedly working on new harness but, no news almost year later. Now, within 800 miles, I starting noticing jerkiness in engine at around 50-60mph. Happened couple of times but, it is not reproducable at this time. Time will tell. Overall quality and engineering is poor, from oil plug to adjusting rear shocks or any controls. Still trying to figure out where to put phone mount and put some Sun glare reduction that literally blind me on sunny days.

[@economicalrides]

@@oknevals Have you tried my fix for the speedo ? Since I cleaned the contacts in the connector the problem has never reappeared. The jerkiness you are describing. Does it happen just after you have changed from fourth into fifth, such that the engine is labouring a little when it hits fifth gear ? I get that sometimes on the Classic. It's nothing to worry about, just the clutch being snatchy under a load it's not happy with. Either quickly pull in and release the clutch or change down and back up again to solve the problem. These little quirks are the things which give bikes character IMO 🙂 Cheers, ER.

[@karlcritchley7373]

Hmmmmm. I love the inter.... but it's a bit..... stately..... as standard... the meteor weighs a metric shit ton more... I'm guessing it's glacial

[@economicalrides]

Hi Karl, the SM will have a different tune on it, it is probably torquier than the other 650s but I haven't ridden them, so can't say for sure. The SM has a 16" rear wheel as opposed to the 18" of the Interceptor, so effective gearing could be lower, it might feel nippier, but that of course also depends upon the height of the tyre sidewall. The effective gearing may end up being exactly the same. I think in any case, it's safe to say that with all that weight and relatively low power, the SM is not going to be a flying machine. I would describe its power as just about adequate for this sort of a bike. Although more is of course always preferable. I also thought that the SM got through the fuel pretty quickly. It didn't seem particularly economical given the low power output IMO. A lot of people are waiting for RE to bring something out with a more exciting engine. So far their bikes have tended to have heavy and relatively low powered engines. A lot of people love the look and the heritage but would also like a bit more of a grin factor when they open the throttle and keep it pinned. I get that. So far there are no rumours of a new, more exciting RE engine platform, but plenty of people are holding back from buying an RE, just because they deem the performance of the current engines to be inadequate. For me the SM is fast enough to enjoy cruising but I would never describe its performance as exciting ! I suspect that it isn't going to be for you, but certainly get a test ride if you can ! I find the character of the 650 twin, even in this guise, to be a bit bland. For me the little singles have much more character ! Cheers Karl, ER

[@buzzlightyear1484]

Mph or kph

[@economicalrides]

kph Buzz. This bike won't do 110 mph 🙂 On this particular bike, 70 mph cruising was very uncomfortable and turned my hands numb within five minutes. Ten minutes later and I think my feet would have started tingling too because the vibes were in the pegs too. However, that was definitely an issue with this particular bike. The 650 motor is normally totally happy at 70 mph and is probably one of the smoother parallel twins available. So the vibrations I experienced are unlikely to be a problem on any other bike, this one definitely has some sort of issue. I hope to ride one without the issue in the future, just to confirm that the Super Meteor can cruise comfortably at 70 mph 👍🏻 Cheers Buzz, ER.

[@WilliamAndrewPhilipBodie]

Am i the First here ??? CooL & Cheers 🍻

[@WilliamAndrewPhilipBodie]

Ps: does it have to have so many red light on the go ???

[@economicalrides]

Yep, you were the first ! Congrats William !

[@economicalrides]

I know, right ? I think in Almeria they have the lights set so that if you stick to the speed limit you get one red after the next. That would explain why nobody else sticks to the speed limit I guess 😀 Cheers William, ER

[@WilliamAndrewPhilipBodie]

@@economicalrides Don't know. but i know in Denmark if you drive faster then the limit speed. the lights will turn red 😛

[@economicalrides]

@@WilliamAndrewPhilipBodie Yes, that's how it should be ! Here you get rewarded for ignoring speed limits apparently ! Cheers matey 🥃 ER

[@neilanderson2374]

vibes aside, better than the Classic ?

[@economicalrides]

Hi Neil, ufff.....that's a tough one ! As ever, it depends what you are going to use it for. If you need something for fast roads and motorways, then yes. If you spend most of your time on B roads, doing about 50-60 mph, then I'd recommend the Classic 350 ( you'd also have a ton of money left over for biking gear and Classic 350 bells and whistles ( although it does come with a horn as standard, so you might not need them ;))). If you are going to spend most of your time at 50-60 mph then there really is no need to have the extra expense, weight and fuel consumption of the Super Meteor. The Classic 350 does that with ease and will always put a smile on your face. Sips fuel too. I am a firm believer in not buying more bike than you need, although of course if money is no object to somebody, they are entitled to buy whatever they fancy. If you can avoid fast roads most of the time, I'd recommend the Classic. Great looks, tons of character, a fun ride and much cheaper to buy and own. If you are going to be doing 70 mph a lot of the time, that would be thrashing the 350 and it wouldn't be a nice experience. In that case you'd be better off with the extra legs of the twin, definitely. I hope this helps. If you have a specific question that is holding you back from deciding one way or the other, fire away and I will give you my honest opinion. Cheers Neil, Garry

[@neilanderson2374]

@@economicalrides hi Garry, most of my Riding will be a and b roads in north Wales. Maybe some short tours with no pillion. However I do want to do an advanced riding course (IAM, Rospa, etc) to build up my skills. The official line is if it can do 70 it’s fine for the course, but many say there is a lot of emphasis on making progress so decent acceleration required

[@economicalrides]

@@neilanderson2374 Well the 350 will do it, you might just have to rag it a bit more than you would on a normal ride. I'd say that the Classic 350 is just about adequate for a course like that. The instructors will just have to accept that your acceleration is likely to be less than theirs, that's all. No reason why you couldn't do those courses on a 350 and then after that, stick to your usual scenic roads at 55 mph, where it would be more than adequate. I'll shut up now. I'm probably not helping 😂 OK. One more thing. IF and it's a big IF, you think that you may want something larger at some point, then maybe consider going straight to the Super Meteor and save yourself the expense of buying a Classic for a year or two and then trading it in for a rubbish price for a Super Meteor. If you think that you might tire of a 350 in a year or two, maybe consider that it might be more economical to just go and get the 650 from day one. OK, now I am definitely shutting up ! Cheers Neil, Garry

[@kennypool]

Get a Honda shadow 750 water cooled for the same price. Much better than this oven

[@economicalrides]

But it's a Honda !?!?!?! 🥱💤 😏 Never tried one but I'm sure it is a decent bike. Probably just a bit lacking in character like most Hondas. Cheers, ER