Royal Enfield Meteor

UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO YOU would have heard people in the classic world complain that new bikes just didn’t fit their needs. Too complex, too ugly, or too expensive – or often, that they didn’t have big enough mudguards. And these enthusiasts were widely ignored by manufacturers which kept selling the same stuff, occasionally taking the fairing off and detuning something and calling it a “classic retro” or some such thing.

And then the revitalised Royal Enfield came along, shook off its old image and produced affordable, capable, classically styled motorcycles, often to the initial derision of pundits who laughed at the very idea. But the buyers ignored those carping from the sidelines and bought the 650 twins in big numbers. Massive numbers. Now RE has come up with another new machine that’s also classically styled, capable – and even more affordable.

Despite a bargain price tag starting at £3749, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 cruiser isn’t a parts-bin special or) and students (students??), as well as their regular buyers. They don’t mention us classic riders, but then perhaps they didn’t feel the need to. Despite being neither small nor female, nor a student, the Meteor was a good fit for me.