When you purchase a motorcycle, comfort is one of the things that should be present, no matter what. This is especially true for certain types of motorcycles that expect you to spend long hours in the saddle. Tourers and adventure bikes are key examples. However, there is one style of motorcycle that needs to have comfort right at the top of its list of things to have, regardless of the time spent in the saddle, and that is cruiser motorcycles.
These bikes are also perceived as premium bikes for the most part, so manufacturers have grabbed the opportunity to increase profit margins. The result is cruisers that are priced beyond what they ideally should be priced at, and their feature set doesn’t live up to the promise of the price tag. However, there are still some brands that look to deliver value and offer great deals if you want your money’s worth. One of them is here: this is the cruiser that proves you don’t have to overpay for comfort.
The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Proves You Don’t Have To Overpay For Comfort
Royal Enfield has been known to make old-school motorcycles. The Super Meteor 650 leans into this pretty much all the way, with a lovely retro look and feel. There are modernities; the fit and finish is good, the engine has a very modern 270-degree firing order and fuel injection, and the ‘Tripper’ with the TFT screen is available as well.
There are currently three different paint schemes available, and if you pick the two-tone Celestial Blue, you also get a much more comfortable touring seat, pillion backrest, and windscreen. And no, there isn’t any extra charge for this, making it the cruiser that proves you don’t have to overpay for comfort.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Price: $7,899
Speaking of overpaying (or not), Royal Enfield is asking for under $8,000 for the Super Meteor 650. This is a very reasonable price, beaten in value only by manufacturers that have a Chinese connection. Sure, it doesn’t have a lot of power or technology, but of late, this Indian manufacturer has been churning out some very impressive motorcycles, with world-class levels of quality and a fun factor that was missing before. Just remember that the two-tone Celestial Blue is the best bargain of the lot, post the recent price shuffle.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Engine
We cannot stress how important this engine has been to Royal Enfield. Before this, the manufacturer had only single-cylinder engines with very old tech. The 648 cc parallel twin might seem old as well, but it is modern with a 270-degree firing order and fuel injection. The Super Meteor 650 has an SOHC head but with four valves per cylinder, and a relaxed 9.5:1 compression ratio.
It runs an old-school cable throttle, but you don’t really need ride modes when you have just 47 horsepower and 38.6 pound-feet available. This is quite a flexible engine; however, with peak power arriving at 7,250 RPM and peak torque at 5,650 RPM.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Transmission And Final Drive
A six-speed manual gearbox and chain have been chosen for the Super Meteor 650. There is a slip and assist clutch as well, which really does help the left hand in traffic. This setup fits with the retro feel of the Super Meteor, and it doesn’t need electronics like a quickshifter because of the kind of motorcycle it is.
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Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Chassis
The Super Meteor 650 has a traditional cradle frame, with inverted front forks and twin piggyback shocks at the rear. There is a preload adjustment for the rear, and an interesting fact is that the rear springs have a linear rate. A 19/16 inch alloy wheel combination is used along with tubeless tires, and a 320 mm front brake disc and 300 mm rear disc are present. Both discs have a two-piston floating caliper, and ABS is standard.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Dimensions
The Super Meteor 650 has got its proportions spot on. It is long (89 inches) and low (29.1 inches seat height). It still manages a decent 5.3-inch ground clearance, but it is a little portly for a middleweight cruiser, at 531 pounds wet. In comparison, the Kawasaki Vulcan S, which has liquid cooling, weighs under 500 pounds wet. For all its weight, though, it doesn’t feel heavy when on the move thanks to its great mass centralization.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Features
The Super Meteor 650 leans into its retro appeal with a retro circular instrument cluster. A floating needle indicates the speed on the circumference, while the center of the dial is an LCD display that offers information like fuel level, the time, the gear selected, and the odometer or tripmeter.
A separate, smaller circular TFT display that RE calls the ‘Tripper’ is standard. This unit displays Bluetooth information and turn-by-turn navigation, although your phone screen cannot switch off if you’re looking for the directions. A center stand is standard with all variants, and there are accessories like luggage, engine guards, and sump guards on the accessories list.
As we’ve mentioned before, the standard Super Meteor 650 gets a different seat. So if you select either the Astral Black or Interstellar Green, you get a normal saddle. Opt for the Celestial Blue, though, and you get a two-tone color scheme, the larger, comfier touring seat, a pillion backrest, and a bolt-on windshield. You can add the seat and windshield to the other two, but the options list tells us that it will add $450 to the price, which is what makes the Celestial such a great bargain.
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Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Competition
There aren’t too many cruisers that can claim to have quality and offer great value as well, so there is a limited field to choose from. One of the value motorcycle kings is the Moto Morini Calibro 700. For under $6,000, you get a liquid-cooled 693 cc parallel twin with a 270-degree crank, fuel injection, and ABS. Unlike the Royal Enfield, it has progressive springs at the rear and uses a Gates carbon belt to drive its rear wheel. There is also the Honda Shadow series, but Honda only sells the Phantom ABS currently, which means it costs $8,699 – pricing it out of this conversation.
A more well-known name is the Kawasaki Vulcan S. This is a modern cruiser with a trellis frame and the driveline borrowed from the Ninja/Z 650. Kawasaki has also given it its ‘Ergo-Fit’ tech, meaning that the rider triangle can be changed to suit the rider. That is a big addition to comfort for sure, and it helps that the Vulcan S is a light motorcycle as well. If you prefer your cruiser comfortable but more modern, the Vulcan S with its high-revving 180-degree parallel twin might be the better fit for you.
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Celestial Vs Kawasaki Vulcan S
|
Model |
Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 |
Kawasaki Vulcan S |
|
Price |
$7,499 |
$6,799 |
|
Engine |
270° I2 |
180° I2 |
|
Cooling |
Air cooled |
Liquid cooled |
|
Displacement |
648 cc |
649 cc |
|
Power |
47 HP @ 7,250 RPM |
60 HP @ 7,500 RPM |
|
Torque |
38.6 LB-FT @ 5,650 RPM |
46.5 LB-FT @ 6,600 RPM |
|
Curb Weight |
531.3 LBs (wet) |
498 LBs (wet) |
Source: Royal Enfield USA