Does The Royal-Enfield Meteor 350 Make Sense In The UK? First Ride Review!

[Music] foreign [Music] so you join me today in the beautiful cheddar gorge and i've had this meteor 350 from enfield for a couple of weeks and it's kind of had me wondering you see clearly it's built for the indian market where it can sell in big numbers but if you look at the bikes that it competes directly with the honda hyna cb350 or the jawa 42 those bikes don't really exist in the uk or at least not in significant numbers yeah enfield have given us the meteor anyway so is it genuinely a good fit for the uk or did they just release it as an afterthought you see clearly this is a bike that's built as a practical workhorse with economy and frugality at the forefront it's powered by a 349 cc air and oil cooled single which will do 20 horsepower at just over 6 000 revs and 27 newton meters of peak torque so it's not the quickest by any stretch but it's enough to get from a to b and it'll sip fuel from the 15 liter tank with enfield claiming that a hundred miles per gallon is possible that'll give you about 330 miles between stops wrapped around the engine is a steel cradle frame and it's suspended on some fairly simple right way up forks and a pair of shocks at the rear no fancy adjustability here just pre-load on the shocks which you might want to jack up if you're carrying a passenger brakes are from bybre which is an affordable subsidiary of brembo so you could say that the calipers have some caliber and they're equipped with dual channel abs but ultimately it's just a single two pot brake on a 300 mil disc at the front and it's not exactly gonna throw you over the bars and that's basically it there are no advanced riding modes or rider rates to speak of and no premium high spec components on the road it's pretty much as you'd expect if you want to overtake with just 20 horsepower and a fairly substantial wet weight of 191 kilograms you'll need a bit of a run-up and on the motorway it'll top out at about 75 if you've got it fully pinned so it's not exactly going to be set in any lan speed records [Music] [Music] so but you know if you're happy to take your time and stick to mainly b roads there's plenty to like about this bike first being the finish i mean you really do feel like you're riding something a lot more premium than a three and a half thousand pound bike i've been lucky enough to borrow plenty of affordable chinese retro style bikes and the finishes have been acceptable given the price point but the meter 350 it goes beyond expectations the paintwork looks good there's some nice touches of chrome stuff like the switch gear and grips feel decent but one of the most important pieces of finishing in my book is the cockpit because that's what you're looking at most of the time i really like what they've done with the speeder it has a bit of a retro look but it's also easy to read and functional and then you've also got the tripper navigation system now i'm a massive fan of the b-line moto i use it on all the press bikes and demo bikes that i borrow essentially enfield's tripper is the same thing it's powered by google maps you pair with your phone over bluetooth set a destination and then it just gives you super simple navigation prompts it's no substitute for a fully fledged garmin or something if you're doing touring and long distances but for just getting around and city work and stuff like that it's really very good now i also like the look of the led daytime running light at the front there but as well as these modern touches it still has a bit of old-school charm a big thing is the sound and i think they've done a great job of making the most of a single cylinder engine you know versus one two fives and stuff it does have the benefit of a bit more capacity so it has a meatier more substantial sound but also i think they've done a great job with the silencer you get a bit of noise from the intake as well in fact let me start her up you know it's not a harley or anything but for a 350 single i think it sounds quite nice a good soundtrack massively enhances the riding experience and i also love possibly a bit disproportionately because it's quite a simple thing but the heel shifter it just gives it a bit of its own character gives it more that cruiser feel and it's those nice little touches at this end of the market that really do make a difference but hands down my favorite thing about this bike is the comfort and ergonomics normally in this price range you're looking at smaller bikes and they tend to feel a bit less substantial and soft but this bike's got a decent amount of weight to it so it takes a little bit of that chatter out of the road surface and also some good padding on the seat as for the riding position i wouldn't call it a full-on cruiser you're not totally laid back but they've just made some little tweaks that give it that long range comfort you know the seat's slightly lower than you'd find on a regular retro bike and it has that nice tractor shape to it the bars are nice and high and fairly pulled back and then you've got these mid position foot pegs now they're not full on cruiser you know highway peg style just a little bit further in front than you might expect to find on this style of bike but combined with the windscreen this meecha 350 has really surprised me as something i could spend plenty of time on and do some decent days in the saddle and that for me is the key strength of this bike when you set it against the other options for new riders or those who are looking for a cost effective commuter it feels far more weighty and cushy whilst also being easy going and surprisingly well put together obviously it'll never be the thrill seekers choice but it can still put a grin on your face if you're happy to cruise along on a sunny day especially considering the price with the range starting at just 3 749 pounds as for whether it truly belongs in the uk that'll ultimately come down to the sales figures but for now i'd say i'm suitably impressed 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Channel: MOTOBOB

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Keywords: motobob, moto bob, motobob vlogs, speedoangels, pandosummer21, meteor 350, royal enfield meter 350, enfield meteor 350, meteor 350 review, royal enfield meteor 350 review, enfield meteor 350 review

Id: bn7H9kdjTeg

Length: 6min 57sec (417 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 06 2021