Author Topic: Meteor in the USA in Spring?  (Read 11853 times)

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AzCal Retred

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on: November 26, 2020, 04:49:14 pm
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2020/11/royal-enfield-meteor-a-new-350-single-debuts/
>>> We understand from RE that the Meteor 350 will be available in U.S. dealers next spring, but we have not heard anything on the pricing. <<<

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2020/11/12/2021-royal-enfield-meteor-350-first-look-7-fast-facts-specs-photos/
>>> Although we don’t have prices, we do know that the 2021 Royal Enfield Meteor 350 won’t be in America until the spring. <<<

The Meteor India price is about 90% of the Himalayan and 65% of the Interceptor.
USA 2021 Himalayan $5000; x 0.9 = $4500     
USA 2021 Interceptor $5800 - $6600 ; $3800 - $4300

So, arriving maybe February, guesstimated cost at an initial $4500, dropping to $4000 or less as the novelty factor wears off? Operators are standing by.... :)
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Bilgemaster

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Reply #1 on: November 27, 2020, 02:20:03 am
Thanks for the links, AzCal Retread. If I were to get another Enfield, it would most likely be a well-kept but used Interceptor. I guess I'm just never gonna be a "new car smell" kinda guy. One thing about this new crop of Meteors though: I do wish this current vogue for blacked out engine cases would subside. I like a nice polished alloy. That whole matt black thing just seems dreary and funereal to my old peepers...Also, must EVERY ride be blacked out. It's sorta become predictable and mediocre now, like only having beige computers back in the '90s, y'know? If they're gonna paint those cases, how about mixing up the palette just a bit? For example, I don't hate my old Bullet "Military's" green.
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Richard230

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Reply #2 on: November 27, 2020, 02:10:38 pm
It has been my observation over 58 years of buying new motorcycles that black is the most popular color of motorcycle enthusiasts. So the manufacturers just give their customers what they want.  Personally, I prefer lime green, but then I like to think of myself as not a typical motorcycle purchaser.  ;)
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20MarkIII

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Reply #3 on: November 27, 2020, 02:30:01 pm
The 2021 Honda Rebel 300 has a MSRP of $4599.00 in the US. It will be interesting to see what RE has up their sleeve for pricing for the Meteor. Oh, FWIW Honda is releasing a Rebel 1100 for '21.


AzCal Retred

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Reply #4 on: November 28, 2020, 12:35:48 am
Rebel 1100? There are several very nice old Yamaha TDM850's for $2000 - $4000 on the used market. those appeal to me if I was going to spend real money. A nice skinny big twin with comfortable riding position, proper wheels and suspension that allow it to deal with bad pavement, often coming equipped with very nice luggage from the PO. A 5-valve short-stroke TDM850 will run fast enough to terrify a sane person. https://adventuremotorcycle.com/bikes/backtrack-tuesdays-yamaha-tdm850-review
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/yamaha/yamaha_tdm850%2096.htm

New buyers are buying reliability and dealer back up, things I work around as I need to. I believe the Meteor will sell well to new/downsizing? riders if R.E. can keep the price around $4,000. It's rather what they did for the Himalayan and Interceptor, put out a good product at an affordable price. Not many of us need or can truly deal with a 170+ MPH Hayabusa or ZX14.

As far as black, well:
1) paint is cheaper than chrome
2) REAL racers have black motors
3) Bad Boaz ride black motorcycles (or as my wife calls them "Mal Derrières") ;D
4) Not too much polishing required for black paint
A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.


20MarkIII

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Reply #5 on: November 28, 2020, 03:56:50 pm
Rebel 1100? There are several very nice old Yamaha TDM850's for $2000 - $4000 on the used market. those appeal to me if I was going to spend real money. A nice skinny big twin with comfortable riding position, proper wheels and suspension that allow it to deal with bad pavement, often coming equipped with very nice luggage from the PO. A 5-valve short-stroke TDM850 will run fast enough to terrify a sane person. https://adventuremotorcycle.com/bikes/backtrack-tuesdays-yamaha-tdm850-review
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/yamaha/yamaha_tdm850%2096.htm

New buyers are buying reliability and dealer back up, things I work around as I need to. I believe the Meteor will sell well to new/downsizing? riders if R.E. can keep the price around $4,000. It's rather what they did for the Himalayan and Interceptor, put out a good product at an affordable price. Not many of us need or can truly deal with a 170+ MPH Hayabusa or ZX14.

As far as black, well:
1) paint is cheaper than chrome
2) REAL racers have black motors
3) Bad Boaz ride black motorcycles (or as my wife calls them "Mal Derrières") ;D
4) Not too much polishing required for black paint
I mentioned the Rebel 1100 as an aside. The Rebel 300 may be the Meteor's main competition here in the US. I agree with you that at $3995.00 USD the Fireball would be mighty tempting. But true also is that the real bargains are well kept used bikes. Just like cars. Of the dozen road bikes I've owned only two were new. But the privilege of properly running in, maintaining and detailing a beautiful new machine comes with a price. I have no regrets to have paid that price for my INT 650. Love it!


Bilgemaster

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Reply #6 on: November 28, 2020, 08:30:38 pm
The 2021 Honda Rebel 300 has a MSRP of $4599.00 in the US. It will be interesting to see what RE has up their sleeve for pricing for the Meteor. Oh, FWIW Honda is releasing a Rebel 1100 for '21.

Here in the USA, perhaps just from the sheer force of inertia of "just get a Rebel", new or used, as being almost the default recommendation as THE best "starter bike" for new riders, owing perhaps in part to their being the once almost ubiquitous offering on MSF riding  courses, I'm sure that littlest Honda Rebel will always enjoy enough satisfactory sales here for Honda to keep grinding them out.

A couple of the many local police forces in Washington, D.C. also mounted hordes  of their their cops on tons of their 250 predecessors back in the '90s, which only now seem to be getting phased out, which must be a huge testament to their reliability. I've often admired those little cop rides as being just the thing for city or suburban traffic. Nevertheless, it seems that most of the reviews I've seen lately on the 300 Rebel, while giving it its deserved kudos, almost never fail to mention a certain "buyer's remorse" within a year or so of purchase for not having gone a bit bigger with their 500 in the first place.

Royal Enfield might do well to take a lesson from this, and also the lackluster sales of their 350s here back in the '90s, for their new Meteor line, and maybe squeeze out a 500, or better yet their accustomed 535, for their Western export markets. I might be perfectly content to poke around on their 350, but then I'm happily nursing around one of their original "Iron Belly" Bullet 500s. Clearly raw velocity ain't really  my "thing" preferring "character" over heft, but I do expect most might prefer something just a tad beefier. And I've already got that nice Google Lady telling me where to turn. I don't want or need "Der Tripper."
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 09:46:00 pm by Bilgemaster »
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Richard230

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Reply #7 on: November 28, 2020, 10:45:18 pm
Speaking of the new Honda Rebel 1100, check out the comments published by Revzilla regarding the engine. Each cylinder apparently is tuned differently, with one cylinder making more power at low revs and the other cylinder making more power at higher revs. I am not quite sure what to make of that.  ??? 
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/2021-honda-rebel-1100-first-look?
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Arschloch

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Reply #8 on: November 30, 2020, 02:09:11 pm
Seems to be the latest technological outcry, even the super duper complex double clutch gearbox is there. So your life gets spared from the bothersome gear shifting.


Richard230

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Reply #9 on: November 30, 2020, 04:41:00 pm
Seems to be the latest technological outcry, even the super duper complex double clutch gearbox is there. So your life gets spared from the bothersome gear shifting.

That article also mentioned that the new Honda Gold Wing has a 7-speed DCT. Just what that bike needs. 7-speeds.   ::)  (Although, maybe one is a reverse?  ???  )
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AzCal Retred

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Reply #10 on: November 30, 2020, 07:04:32 pm
Looks like it's ready to be transplanted into a kit car...
https://carbuzz.com/features/7-amazing-kit-cars-to-build-in-your-own-garage
A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.


Arschloch

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Reply #11 on: November 30, 2020, 07:31:13 pm
Looks like it's ready to be transplanted into a kit car...
https://carbuzz.com/features/7-amazing-kit-cars-to-build-in-your-own-garage

Automatic in a fun car is like alcohol free beer. Some like it.


AzCal Retred

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Reply #12 on: November 30, 2020, 08:02:50 pm
Power to weight, baby, it's all about power to weight... 8)

The 'Wing likely has some kind of reverse hidden in there. A ZX14 would probably be faster, but pushing your car backwards out of every parking space would get old. I don't know 'nuttin' about the new crop of trikes, I assume they're fast also?
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Arschloch

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Reply #13 on: November 30, 2020, 09:22:17 pm
Power to weight, baby, it's all about power to weight... 8)

The 'Wing likely has some kind of reverse hidden in there. A ZX14 would probably be faster, but pushing your car backwards out of every parking space would get old. I don't know 'nuttin' about the new crop of trikes, I assume they're fast also?

Fun car is not only about power to weight. The manual Wing GL1600 in a Locost 7 has found a room in my fantasy cabinet already some time back. Good sound too with 6 cylinders.

Three wheelers are kinda crap around corners, only one I like is the Morgan. That could be fun on small trips. They charging ridiculous amounts of money for it though.


AzCal Retred

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Reply #14 on: November 30, 2020, 10:11:32 pm
What sticks with me most about trikes in general is how they tumble like footballs once they roll. Wheelbase & CG I'm sure have a lot to do with it.
Is the "7-speed" Gold Wing an Automatic transmission? I've chased a few Fiat Cinquecentos with 6-speed auto's and they moved along just fine.
A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.