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Upgraded to the Super Meteor 650 from an old Electra: My experience

8th August 2024, 12:11 by Ananth Iyer

I don't like how my bike handles bumps and undulations. I've read that changing the suspension setting a bit improves the experience, but I'm yet to try it.

BHPian neeravp recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I had been a proud owner of Bullet Electra 350, 2011 model for 13 long years. Even when I sold it off to buy my new bike, it was running flawlessly. I sold it just because I couldn't stop salivating at the Super Meteor 650 and finally decided to buy it. I would get my Bullet serviced once a year by my local technician for something around Rs. 1k and it never troubled me.

Super Meteor 650 buying experience

Before I bought the SM 650, I decided to wait for Shotgun to launch. I had seen the prototype and it looked amazing! Since SM 650 had a 6 month waiting period, I decided to pay the deposit for both Shotgun and SM 650. The showroom agreed to refund the deposit if I cancelled my booking later.

Once the Shotgun launched, I was seriously disappointed. The production version was nowhere close to the prototype in its beauty. I took a test ride and did not like it much. That's again my personal preference. The bike is great, just not to my taste. Maybe my disappointment at the looks spilled over to my experience riding it. One shouldn't set the expectations so high that you end up disappointing even with a very good product!

I therefore decided to go ahead with SM 650. I followed up with the showroom after 3 months to check where was I in the queue. They said that bookings made 7 months back haven't moved so I shouldn't be expecting my bike as per promised timeline. One month later they said that making an order (against just deposit) "increases the chances" of getting the bike early. To make an order, I need to pay up 1 lac at least and that is without any guarantee on the delivery timeline.

I realised I couldn't rely on these guys and reached out to my brother who used to work in a bank that also financed new motorcycles. He knew the city level manager of RE from his days with the bank and asked him about the inventory levels across showrooms in Mumbai. He was told - and read this carefully all who want to buy any RE bike - that showrooms get inventories depending on the speed with which they move it, the faster they sell, the more preference they get. Hence, while some showrooms waited endlessly for getting new models, some got it as and when they wanted.

I realised that the Kandivali West showroom was one such preferred showroom. I went there and enquired. I was shocked when they asked me to name my preferred colour and model and they'll get it in one week!! I told them I want the top model in celestial blue colour. They said they'll need 1 week to finish the registration process and hand it over to me!

I wanted a special number (got GF 4666; 666 is my preferred number, my car is also 4666 and getting GF was a bonus ) so the timeline got extended by a couple of days and then I also wanted to buy in my company name so a further delay of 1 week. But still, I was super happy to know that I'll have the bike in my hands in 2 weeks as against an unknown deadline 6 months away!

On the day of delivery, I was surprised and extremely annoyed to hear that I will have to go to their warehouse for delivery! I said I'm buying your most expensive bike and this is the experience you want to give me? You expect me to take my wife and daughter to a warehouse? In my mind I was expecting an experience similar to what I had when buying my Jeep Compass which was extremely pleasant. I told the RE showroom sales agent I wanted to speak with the owner. An hour later, I was told that I'll get the delivery at the showroom instead of at the warehouse. I think this kind of attitude was pure economics at play - demand is way higher than supply. Hence, they've stopped caring for the customer experience.

But then, all's well that ends well and there I was with my beautiful new SM 650

Delivery pic

Me on my beauty!

Super Meteor 650 ownership experience

It is an absolute pleasure owning this bike, not just riding it. Every time when I park my car in the garage, I see it and my heart skips a beat.

SM 650 parked next to my Jeep Compass

I'm yet to go on a really long ride so far, but whatever little time I've had on this beauty has been amazing. I used to own a Yamaha Enticer long time ago and riding the SM 650 took me back to that time. People have already written dime a dozen articles on the bike config and the riding experience, so I won't go there. But a few things I'd like to point out:

Engine heating - I'd been using a 13 year old 350 cc engine and I never experience any heat between my legs, whether in city or on highways but I've heard the new J series engines, whether 350 cc or 650 cc, heat up like crazy. After owning the SM 650, I can second this fact. The hear is extremely uncomfortable in Mumbai traffic but gets releatively okay while riding on the highway.
Suspension - Again, the stories of SM 650 rear suspension are already a part of folklore. My experience has been no different. I don't like how my bike handles bumps and undulations. I've read that changing the suspension setting a bit improves the experience, but I'm yet to try it.
Rear view mirrors - The company fitted round ones are woefully insufficient and don't give you a good view of the rear. I got them replaced with the Bajaj Avenger mirrors and that fixed the issue. Would suggest all owners to get this done.
Horn - Again woefully inadequate for the kind and size of the bike. Got new ones added.

That's it in terms of my owner review after 4 months of owing the SM 650. I thought fellow BHPians would benefit from learning about my purchase experience and could cut down their wait times. This was my primary motivation of writing this review. Hope this helps some.

Leaving you with some more picture of the bike: