First Ride: 2021 Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Review

Royal Enfield; mention the name to a mixed field of motorcyclists and you’ll get even more diverse responses. The older crowd will remember the glory days of British-built bikes, while others will allude to the questionable quality of the early noughties’ revivals.

But a third camp will bypass both, and champion the latest machines for their charming nature and above all, remarkable price. After all, in most cases, you’re paying less than you would for a similar-spec Chinese machine, and for a bike designed in the UK at that.

While progress has been coming over the past decade, the tides really turned for the British-Indian manufacturer back in 2017, when it opened the doors to a new £3.5 million UK technology centre in Leicester. Spread across 3,000sq metres, the comprehensive facility would allow Enfield to design, develop, engineer and test the next generation of models before they are built in equally state-of-the-art sites over in India.

The proof is in the production. Today, Royal Enfield builds in excess of one million motorcycles a year (more than one every two seconds), selling them to great acclaim around the world. There’s the rugged Himalayan, the celebrated Twins, the iconic Bullet and the Classic 500. And now, there’s a new kid on the block – the adorable little Meteor, an entry level, A2-compliant cruiser and exactly the kind of bike you’d take home to meet your parents. It’s powered by an air-oil cooled 349cc single cylinder, making 20.5PS (15kWkW) and 27Nm (20lb ft) of torque, and boasts an incredibly accessible seat height of 765mm and a low-set wet weight of 191kg.

It’s named after another Enfield – a 692cc touring model, produced between 1952 and 1962 – and shares many of the same values. Namely the ‘cruise easy’ approach, representative of those long, slow summer rides, where the journey is as important as the destination. Picture yourself cruising along the NC500, with the sun on your back and a canvas tent rolled up on the pillion seat - that’s the Meteor’s jam.

Royal Enfield has stuck with the galactic theme with the modern model variants, with the Fireball, Stellar and Supernova editions. The entry-level Fireball, costing from just £3,749, is my personal favourite, with minimal chrome, no windscreen or sissy bar and simple black lettering on the tank.

It’s affordable and accessible, and targeted squarely at learners, returners and (it was whispered on event), women. Having rocked up on my own 250kg-plus, 1,000cc adventure bike, the latter made me chuckle, for I could think of plenty of vertically-challenged males to whom this bike would equally apply.

Way back when I passed my CBT, 17-year-old Laura envisioned herself riding into college aboard the coolest of hideously underpowered 125cc sportsbikes, dressed in skin tight leathers of Power Ranger proportions.

However, my father – the then-bursar of my burgeoning obsession – had other ideas, and the following week I found myself skulking into the carpark aboard a metallic purple Honda Rebel, even older and rustier than I. To make matters worse, the most embarrassing of hairy bikers himself insisted on escorting me to the door; I could have died. Suffice to say, ever since I have hated everything about the small capacity cruiser – the abundance of chrome, the associated image and the fact that you may as well book an appointment with anything over 50mph.

So the Meteor, with its laid back style and chrome effects presented an interesting proposition. In the interest of impartiality, I went along to the launch, preconceptions firmly stuffed into the cobwebbed attic of my mind. And despite testing arguably the least cool of the three specs – the Supernova with its brown seat and touring screen – I was glad I did.

With its single cylinder cradled inside a twin downtube spine frame, the Meteor is basic but charming, lacking in tangible equipment but certainly no toy.

The quality surprised me, especially after a disappointing encounter with an early production Himalayan a few years previously, where its exposed welds, poorly-fitting pannier frame and flat battery marred an otherwise excellent trip. On the Meteor, however, the build is remarkable given its price point – the switchgears seem a little plasticky, but other materials appear smart and well-considered. Neat details are everywhere – the filler cap, the chromed badge on the higher-spec models, and the metallic and two-tone paint jobs available on the Stellar and Supernova.

How the Meteor will stand up after years of use remains to be seen, but on first impressions, it’s a comprehensively pleasant package.

Size doesn’t matter; winning isn’t everything; remember the moral of the tortoise and the hare? I could list any number of Pinspirational quotes; or I could just tell you that while this gentle cruiser reaches nowhere near an actual meteor’s average speed of 45,000mph, it uses every ounce of power in its new J series, 349cc single-cylinder to reach a top speed a fraction north of 70mph, and sit just below quite comfortably. What’s better, it does so with an astronomical (excuse the pun) fuel economy of 101.25mpg, which combined with the teardrop tank’s 15-litre capacity will likely see riders go days between filling up.

With a long stroke of 85.8mm (to a bore of 72mm), the air-oil cooled, electronically fuel injected engine produces enough bottom end power and easy torque to get even the most hesitant of riders off to a smooth start. These figures rise to respective peaks of 20.5PS at 6,100rpm and 27Nm at 4,000rpm – enough to match the acceleration of your average hatchback, without sending you rocketing (I’ll stop) off the line. Press the start button and, providing the side stand is stashed, the Meteor jumps to life and settles into the rattling purr of a content feline, a sound that becomes a rasping growl as you open the throttle. It doesn’t sound half bad.

It reaches the rev limiter quickly, but with the exception of the heel-toe gear shift (more on that later), changing gear is no chore – the five-speed constant mesh box is the smoothest of any Enfield I've ever ridden. On the other end of the speed spectrum, the brakes stop you before the hazard, rather than upon it – the 300mm disc with twin-piston floating caliper up front and 270mm disc with a single-pot at the rear are both really quite okay, especially when you consider the wooden blocks of its ancestors. As is often the case, the so-called safety feature that is the dual-channel ABS kicks in far too easily and on a couple of unremarkable patches of dry tarmac sent me lurching forward, a disconcerting sensation that really feels the opposite to safe.

Again, impressively for its price, the Meteor boasts six stages of preload adjustment on its rear twin-tube emulsion shock. The standard setting is comfortable for a breadth of rider weights, but on a couple of occasions I found myself airborne (this isn’t the Royal Enfield Pegasus…) courtesy of insignificant bumps in the road, and longing for some rebound tuning. The telescopic 41mm fork counts 130mm of travel, and the 19-inch front wheel holds its ground well, leading the bike smoothly through bends both wide and tight. The steering lock is impressive too, lending a slow speed agility that will only inspire confidence in nervous riders. 

A bike this affordable could be forgiven for lacking in tech. And while there are no riding modes, or switchable rider aids, it comes with a USB port and a standard ‘Tripper’, a no-nonsense navigational device that simply points the way forward, with small details such as distance included. Powered by Google Maps and the Royal Enfield app, it really is the most succinct of sat-navs.

The speedo, too, is a cool combination of timelessness and tech, a digital dash sat within an analogue dial, imparting speed, time, gear, fuel and trip, with neutral and ABS lights below.

The stand-out feature about the Meteor 350 is without a doubt its price. For less than the cost of a second hand Corsa, you can pick up a fully-functioning, British-designed motorcycle, complete with quality equipment and Royal Enfield’s unique style.

It is basic but charming; gentle but capable and the perfect introduction to modern classic motorcycling. It boasts light handling, easy power and excellent fuel economy, and will likely appeal to a breadth of rider, from those learners and returners, to city slickers in search of an affordable and cool commute. It also occupies a unique spot in the UK market – Honda doesn’t sell its CMX300 Rebel in the UK, and the closest thing is the twin cylinder 471cc, £5,799 version.

The entry level model is by far my favourite, with its simple appearance and custom potential. All models come with a three-year warranty and a host of aftermarket accessories and apparel, with classic, custom and touring options. Accordingly, in the three months since it launched in India, Meteor has already gone down a storm, and I would be surprised if it doesn’t develop a cult following here.