The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 made its global debut recently and marked itself as the brand's third and most premium offering. Moreover, the middleweight cruiser segment in India only has a couple of names like the Kawasaki Vulcan S and the Benelli 502C. So, in this piece, we’ll fare the Super Meteor against the Vulcan S and see where the two rivals score points.
Design
The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 follows a design language similar to the Meteor 350. It features a round LED headlight and comes garnished with chrome bits which make for a good contrast. And the Celestial trim even gets the touring seats, a backrest, and a windscreen above the headlight unit. On the other hand, the Vulcan S too gets an LED headlight, wide handlebar, scooped split seat, and a low-slung stance. Kawasaki also offers a bevy of accessories for the Vulcan S.
Features
Royal Enfield has equipped the Super Meteor with an LED headlight and a twin-pod instrument console. The larger dial is a semi-digital unit with an analog speedometer, an LCD inset for the trip meter, and a fuel level readout. Meanwhile, the smaller unit is for the Tripper Navigation which offers turn-by-turn directions via smartphone connectivity. The Kawasaki Vulcan S is pretty bare-bones on the feature front. It only gets a semi-digital console with all the basic readouts and misses out on smartphone connectivity.
Engine
Similar to the Interceptor and the Continental GT, the Super Meteor 650 also gets a 648cc parallel-twin motor mated to a six-speed gearbox. It dishes out 46.3 bhp and 52.3 Nm. Overall, the engine feels quite refined and offers good low and mid-range performance. The Vulcan S packs a 649cc parallel-twin mill making 59.94 bhp and 62.4 Nm and is linked to a six-speed gearbox. The Vulcan’s motor feels smooth and is quite solid overall.
Hardware
Royal Enfield has equipped the Super Meteor with USD front forks and dual rear springs. And its braking hardware consists of a single front and rear disc with dual-channel ABS. It rides on alloy wheels wrapped in tubeless tyres. Meanwhile, the Vulcan S has conventional telescopic front forks and an offset rear shock. It rides on alloy wheels equipped with a single front disc and rear disc setup.
Price
The asking price for the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 is set at Rs 3,78,900 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the top-of-the-line model. And the Vulcan S costs Rs 6,40,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). So, on paper, the Royal Enfield bike not only costs less but also more features and better value for money overall.
