[rajushank84]

Question for the more scoop-savvy amongst us: This Meteor looks so good, I am afraid I will get impatient and buy it. But what I really want is the new upcoming Bullet/Classic that has already been spied, based on what the Meteor looks like overall. My all-time favorite shape, now with a double-cradle frame, counterbalanced OHC engine and the same old riding posture? Sign me up!

So.. do we know when that bike (Bullet/Classic) is launching? I wish they had launched that first. I guess with Classic being their cash-cow they wanted to gauge market reaction to the Meteor first.

I'm starting to get impatient now. Can they get at least a waitlist rolling for the new Classic/Bullet?

[car love]

Originally Posted by ebonho

More likely to help with removal of the engine to work on it.

Being an RE, uncomplicated "engine down" is part of the design brief to any chassis designer.

Cheers, Doc

Your sense of humour is
I had a closer look at the real thing. It appears that in this case, the engine is used as a partial stressed member in the chassis (If there is anything like that in engineering terms). The top tubes attach to 2 pivot points on the engine and the bottom tubes also attach to 2 points on the engine close by. This is a very interesting configuration that I have not seen anywhere else.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by swami.n

In the near future, I think smaller generators for battery charging or the jump start units like Powerbanks are going to become common.

They're called trickle chargers. A good investment if you don't use the vehicle often.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by car love

Your sense of humour is .

I wasn't being funny. RE has being making frames with engines as stressed members for closing on to three quarters of a century at least now. Probably longer.

Most double cradle frames continue onward below the engine and actually cradle it ... in that the engine has mounting points on the cradle. The Zundapp Fury for example.

The only reason I can see for the split cradle is for the engine to fall out below.

Let's see. Early days. Either ways, I'm dead serious. The cradle is the only bit about the bike that actually holds my attention.

Cheers, Doc

[car love]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I wasn't being funny. RE has being making frames with engines as stressed members for closing on to three quarters of a century at least now. Probably longer.

Most double cradle frames continue onward below the engine and actually cradle it ... in that the engine has mounting points on the cradle. The Zundapp Fury for example.

The only reason I can see for the split cradle is for the engine to fall out below.

Let's see. Early days. Either ways, I'm dead serious. The cradle is the only bit about the bike that actually holds my attention.

Cheers, Doc

Well, since you were not joking your theory of engine down is highly unlikely. New RE as a company would never dream of giving an engine down option and implying poor reliability in such a fashion. They want to mix it with the best in the world.
IMO, it is a way to isolate/lessen engine vibration from impacting the rider too much considering it's a long stroke single cylinder engine. The split cradle probably brings vibration down to manageable levels. Chassis engineering is a super complex, almost black art which RE is pretty good at these days.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by car love

Chassis engineering is a super complex, almost black art which RE is pretty good at these days.

Yup.

We've all seen that black art numerous times on the Himalayan.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...wo-pieces.html (Royal Enfield Himalayan - Broken into two pieces)

Cheers, Doc

[car love]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Yup.

We've all seen that black art numerous times on the Himalayan.

Cheers, Doc

Absolutely no fan of RE here, never owned one too, agricultural best described their products in the past but I think they are improving slowly..

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by car love

Absolutely no fan of RE here, never owned one too, agricultural best described their products in the past but I think they are improving slowly..

Not a fan of RE either.

But have put my money where my mouth (and body) is thrice.

Over 20 years. And close to a 100,000 km.

Your thoughts are not borne out by the realities on the ground. Realities which we've seen all of, across the length and breadth of the country.

Cheers, Doc

[car love]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Not a fan of RE either.

But have put my money where my mouth (and body) is thrice.

Over 20 years. And close to a 100,000 km.

Your thoughts are not borne out by the realities on the ground. Realities which we've seen all of, across the length and breadth of the country.

Cheers, Doc

I guess wel leave it at that mate. Human memory is very short. Our kids might look at RE as the maker of the finest bikes and totally ignore the hell weve been through. Let's see how it plays out.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by car love

IMO, it is a way to isolate/lessen engine vibration from impacting the rider too much considering it's a long stroke single cylinder engine. The split cradle probably brings vibration down to manageable levels. Chassis engineering is a super complex, almost black art which RE is pretty good at these days.

What I saw today at the stockyard, no test rides at service center. RE surely made it look complicated. Need to have a bike for some time to scrutinize further. The moment you start looking closely the service advisors flock in as if I've found a flaw or something as these bikes are waiting for PDI. The sales advisor told that they have 27 Meteor bookings for the 3 dealerships combined under their name. The first dispatch was only Red Stellars!


The double cradle downtube break at the 4 engine mounts.


RHS frame gets hidden behind the silencer pipe.


The downtube passes all along the engine, there's a connecting rod between the two sides. I think this is where the bash plate will fit.


There's sufficient gap between the engine and the frame. Note the the side stand sensor/switch and gear lever linkage. The engine design is like that of the 650 twins with a separate cover for the front sprocket. Here also the rear section (slant sub-frame) meets the lower part of the engine at a separate point. The lower frame mounts seems further behind!


There's a substantial cat-con (or whatever that black box is called) running across the frame, from the silencer pipe to the other end. Only slip-on type end cans (exhausts) can be swapped in as the cat-con serves as the stopper for the main stand also.

May be this chassis design is modular and here changing the rear section might get us the Classic replacement in future. All in all compared to the old TB chassis this seems a bit complicated.

/surjaonwheelz

[Venkatesh]

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 compared with Jawa and Imperiale 400, Honda doesn't have the H’ness 350 media bike yet as per Evo India

https://youtu.be/Aggk6P-jPkc

[Jo-G]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

So.. do we know when that bike (Bullet/Classic) is launching? I wish they had launched that first. I guess with Classic being their cash-cow they wanted to gauge market reaction to the Meteor first.

Not sure if RE has any idea/timeline calendar of how they bring out their products or if they have a clear long term planning like the Japanese (sorry, they have disappointed us too) brands. Been following RE since couple of years after their launch (even before that on their website about the twins) of Interceptor in the USA. I was expecting a TD Interceptor at their dealerships, least a year after launch and I was disappointed. Have been following the Meteor for pretty long and thought it would come out of wraps in June, July, Aug, when my patience level hit the roof. Then Honda surprised by launching their CB350 and me trusting their legacy booked it even without a TD (but Honda in India is not the same Honda worldwide, it is a "Genetically Modified" Honda for "India" ) So, from experience, waiting for Classic or Bullet could be a waste of time unless you are a teenager or in early 20s.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The only reason I can see for the split cradle is for the engine to fall out below.

A chassis with engine as stressed member is comparatively harder to work on than an engine mounted on a cradle type chassis, not the other way around.

Can't speak for ASC's but when DIY'ing you cannot mount and dismount the engine on the former without the help of a car jack, whereas in the case of a cradle frame you simply undo the mount brackets and take the engine off, once done working on it simply put it back into the chassis like putting a baby to sleep.

EDIT: Cradle Frames FTW!!! Those who've bottomed out on both types of chassis would be able to share the sentiment.

Regards,
A.P.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

A chassis with engine as stressed member is comparatively harder to work on than an engine mounted on a cradle type chassis, not the other way around.

Can't speak for ASC's but when DIY'ing you cannot mount and dismount the engine on the former without the help of a car jack, whereas in the case of a cradle frame you simply undo the mount brackets and take the engine off, once done working on it simply put it back into the chassis like putting a baby to sleep.

EDIT: Cradle Frames FTW!!! Those who've bottomed out on both types of chassis would be able to share the sentiment.

Regards,
A.P.

It's pretty obvious you know nothing of Bullets and the thousands of small shop mechanics who've been working on them for decades without car jacks then.

Try fabricated steel stools and wooden blocks.

https://youtu.be/M_WD5m9RKdM

Cheers, Doc

[ku69rd]

Interesting video by Abhinav, looks like this guy is ticking majority of the checklist if not all.

https://youtu.be/6FBzOyt9wjw