Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Long Term Review: Conclusion

Introduction

Little over a year ago, I picked up a brand new Royal Enfield Meteor 350. I picked it up just a few days before its official launch. The odometer had barely touched 20kms, and now, a year later, our Meteor 350 long termer has almost touched 10,000kms.

Before I go on about this long termer, I got myself a new Hero Xpulse 200 – just a month before I got the Meteor 350. While I love riding my own motorcycles, the Meteor 350 was my machine of choice for daily commute as well as for highway duties. Maybe that is why this Royal Enfield touched 10k kms, whereas the Xpulse barely did 3000kms in a year. I must have liked the Meteor 350 that much, no? Well, I loved the Meteor 350 for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the Meteor 350 is one extremely comfortable motorcycle. And when I say comfortable, I don’t just mean the quality or cushioning of seat. The Meteor 350 offers great seat access. The low seat height means a lot of us can easily sit on it. And then there’s the riding ergonomics that doesn’t make you feel too lazy. It is just perfect to get to office on a daily basis and at the same time make you ride for almost 1000kms a day. And then there’s the suspension setup – not extremely plush, but good enough to make you feel at home for a long time. Plus, the city riding dynamics of the Meteor is praiseworthy. The low-speed ride and balance along with the torquey motor makes the Meteor a good companion.

I have been lucky enough to take the Meteor 350 on three long rides. During all three trips, I managed to test the long distance touring abilities along with the endurance levels. The reason I used the word ‘endurance’ here is to signify its 1000kms a day journey – something that not a lot of 250cc-350cc motorcycles can do comfortably. And during all the trips, the Meteor 350 blew me away. The engine refinement along with its mid-range torque spread, smooth gear shifts and the ability to churn out 30-35kmpl fuel efficiency made it quite lovable and pocket friendly (kinda). The large screen also managed to cut out some wind-blast – this drastically reduced wind buffeting and thus drop in fatigue. During such rides is when I figured out one of the drawbacks – unimpressive cruising speed.

The Meteor 350 can do 90kmph all day long – with barely any vibes or harshness. But as the speed gets close to 100kmph, the Meteor doesn’t feel at home. You could feel the NVH going south. Trying to touch 110kmph is a different story. The Meteor is built on RE’s new platform. This platform should had the ability for this cruiser to do 100kmph with ease

Over the last year, I have received multiple queries from people around the country over their confusion on new bike purchase. I have recommended the new Meteor 350 to everyone who has been looking for a motorcycle that is big in displacement, is aspirational, offers good comfort, easy to ride traits but more importantly – a bike to live on a daily basis. A bike that can be the only one in the garage.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Meteor 350. Royal Enfield has definitely managed to bring in more peopled into the brand. After my experience with the Meteor 350, I’m honestly looking forward to see its bigger sibling – a 650cc cruiser based on the Interceptor platform.

Bike Stats

Odometer: 9920kms

Overall fuel efficiency: 31kmpl