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Old 27th November 2024, 20:49   #1
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Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-ponmudivalparaibikeride_015.jpg

As I am about to hit the 25K Km mark on my meteor, its probably an appropriate time to write a long term ownership review.

Previous bikes and riding experience


Beyond cycles, my first two wheeler was a hand me down, my dad to my brother to me, Bajaj Chetak. Me and my friends drove it all over NOIDA and it was a lot of fun.
My first outside city trip on a two wheeler was an impromptu trip from Delhi to Rishikesh and Mussoorie. It was final year of college and the hostel was empty. Sitting bored, we decided to ride to Mussoorie on his RX100. This was back in 1996 and that trip got me hooked on two wheeler touring.
Later, just out of college, a flatmate left his Bullet under my care when he went on a 6 months offsite. That vehicle gave me nightmares and I swore never to buy a Royal Enfield again. But as they say never say never.

Fast forward, several years and spring of 2006, I landed in Bangalore. With that the necessity to buy a new two wheeler. Having a soft corner for cruiser style, I wanted to buy the Avenger 180. Unfortunately the Indiranagar Khivraj Bajaj wasn't really a customer friendly enterprise. Frustrated after multiple delays, I bought a Unicorn from nearby Honda showroom.
This was a lovely machine and it was on this that I started riding all over South India - starting with day trips around Bangalore and then multi day to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridekerala_292.jpg

By 2011, the Unicorn with 60K Km on the odo was showing its age. So I upgraded to Avenger 220. I had a lot of fun on the Avy 220. Again it took me all over South. By this time, tired of logistics challenged of group rides, I was mostly riding solo. I loved the freedom of riding and stopping where I wanted. All my multi day trips also became quite unplanned. Just pick a direction and head out. Find a place to sleep when night falls.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridegulmohar_027.jpg

Meanwhile in 2014, I bought a Honda CB Trigger back at my hometown in Uttarakhand. This was a no nonsense bike which took me to places I never dreamt of. Having a vehicle up there, opened up the opportunity of Himalayan rides to me. On the unassuming Trigger, I did Munshiyari in 2014, Leh in 2015, Spiti in 2017, Darma Valley in 2019 and numerous other Uttarakhand destinations.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-nainitalnov2014_326.jpg

By 2019, the Avy220 was over 50K on the odo, and I was searching for a new ride. The thunderbird enamoured me enough to ignore my previous experience with bullet. But the still legendary RE quality at that time was still discouraging. That coupled with the experience of a few Thunderbird owning friends who spent more weekends at the service centre than on the road riding convinced me to stay away.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-madikeriootybikeride_158.jpg

As I dragged my feet on next purchase, Covid stuck. That put a halt to most riding activities, but intensified online search for a new bike. The air was thick with impending Meteor 350 launch. While I really wanted to pick up the new launch, I did want to be RE's guinea pig on a new launch. On an impulse, I bought a Dominar 250. Lovely engine, but the overall ergonomics did not suit my short round frame. I did do a fun K2K and back on the Dominar though. It was a beautiful ride on the highway. After riding the Dominar I realised, that I spend 70% of my riding time with 30% of my riding KM in city and 30% of my riding time and 70% Km on the highway. While some prefer different vehicles for each, I prefer a single ride. The Dominar wasn't really a city friendly bike. I sold it with 20K on the odo. First bike I sold without riding more than 50K Km.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeride_k2k_d7_070.jpg

In Feb 2022, I picked up a red Fireball after a harrowing buying experience.

Buying experience


By late 2021, there were enough positive experience about the Meteor plus the new J series engine on the web and few of my acquaintances for me to seriously consider buying one. There were odd negatives like hard suspension or irritating tappet sound. Did a few test rides at the showroom and a longer one with a friend's vehicle and I was sold.
Decided on the fireball variant as I am not a fan of a lot of chrome and fireball was the only one of three which had most chrome parts blackened out.

So in Dec 2021, I booked a Fireball at Jagadamba Automobiles Whitefield. Initially I was promised 45 days which I was doubtful about. All over the internet, most buyers were reporting a three months of wait period. But these guys said they have some allotment and can get a customised one in 45 days. Of Course that never happened and there was absolutely no communication from the dealer.
Early Feb I got a communication from RE that the vehicle is ready and I can go to the dealer and pay the remaining amount. At Jagadamba showroom, first the manager insisted that I have to buy the insurance from them at ridiculous prices. Otherwise they cannot deliver the vehicle. I stood my ground and insisted that I am not paying their price when online I can get the same coverage for half the price. After wasting an hour, when I finally threatened to walk out and take it up with RE higher ups, they relented and agreed to match the online price.

Next drama happened when I went to pick up the bike. First, I arrived little later than the agreed time to give them a little extra time to get the vehicle ready. However, the bike was nowhere to be seen. Half an hour after arriving, they send someone to their godown to get the bike. Meanwhile, I checked for the accessories I wanted. As expected, they wanted to sell me a bunch of accessories and riding gear. I picked up three items - leg guard, touring foot pegs and sump guard. After confirming that they have all three in stock and will install them then and there, I paid for those and got a 10% discount. Then I waited for my bike to arrive and paperwork to get completed.

After a while I got impatient and checked for the paperwork status. By now I had been sitting in their showroom for two hours and was tired of hearing “5 more min” and “only insurance pending”. Eventually, I went into the backend office they have upstairs, only to realise that the person who does insurance had been gone since lunch hour and no one had a clue when she would arrive.

Frustrated, I asked them to install the accessories I had paid for after confirming that they were in stock. To my shock, now they said these are not in stock. I will have to come after a few weeks to get them installed. This, when only a few hours back they took my payment after confirming they had those in stock and would install on the same day. This was a clear fraud on their part.

In all this drama, their manager was missing. He had conveniently snuck away when I started creating noise about the insurance delay.
Finally, after 4hours wait, I was able to get out of that place with the fireball without any accessories and a temp number.. They did not even give me a manual, forget things like keychain or other items.
But the drama was not yet over.

I was expecting a RTO OTP over the next couple of days so that the number can be allocated to me. Having not received that, I again called this dealer. Tens of calls over the next few days, and I had no clue what was happening to the bike registration. Finally after hours of follow up and a few visits to the showroom, they actually paid the tax and registration fees to RTO. This too only after I got hold of a friendly rep who was quite helpful in getting this submitted.
Effectively, for more than 2 weeks, they were keeping the 40K+ amount in their bank without depositing these fees to the government. Imagine the scale of this scam, if they are doing this with every vehicle they sell. Could be going into lakhs or more.
Next ordeal was getting the accessories and number plate installed. This too required multiple followups. The leg guard had a dent on it and the guy took money for installing the number plate. By now I was so frustrated with these guys, that I was willing to do anything to avoid dealing any more with them.
All in all a horrible buying experience which I do not want to go through again. Other than making some fairly decent bikes the entire buying and service experience with RE is extremely poor.

Impressions


Pros
  • Looks - cruiser style looks which I love, however this is subjective,
  • Seating - Low seat height so I can easily flat foot on both sides. So city riding is a boon. Footpeg are quite forward. Though I would have like the placement to be a bit back, the current design is ok.
  • Engine - The J Series engine is significantly better than the previous RE engines, though its no match with the Hondda engines I owned before. All my misgivings about vibrations are gone. I love the torque at the lower end.
Cons
  • Engine can be a litte more powerful. I miss some extra power out on the highway.
  • The tripper is useless. I disliked the fact that the clock on the main display and the tripper was always out of sync. The software was really bad and navigation functionality a disaster. Eventually removed the tripper and replaced with a mobile mount.
  • The default Ceat tyres ain't the best. My rear tyre kept getting several micro punctures.
Neutrals
  • Tank Capacity - Great tank capacity of 15L, but usable is only 10L. Given me around 350Km-375Km on a full tank. Would have loved 400+Km.
  • Braking is fine, as I would expect from a modern bike with disc breaks and ABS.
  • Weight - While riding the weight is not felt, but if I have to drag in a parking lot, its a pain.
  • Riding on bad roads is not great. The jerks get transferred to my back. Some riders have replaced the rear shocks, but I have learnt to live with it. Doesn't bother me that much now.

Service History



1st free service - Mar 2022(486km) - paid Rs1000/-
Basic service and oil change. They call it free service, but still charge for a bunch of stuff including chain cleaning and lubrication.

2nd free service - Aug 2022(4285km) - Rs261/-
Mostly cleaning the bike and charged for chain cleaning and lubrication which wasn't needed as I clean and lube the chain myself after every 500Km

3rd free service - Feb 2023 (7169Km) - Rs1032/-
Oil change plus chain cleaning and lubrication.

4th free service Aug 2023 (13031Km) - Rs630/-
Cleaning, rear break pads and the usual chain cleaning and lubrication scam.
The rear break was making a lot of noise. While it looked ok to me, the SA recommended a replacement.
They screwed up the fitting of the new pads. When I reached home, they were hanging on the side. So I fixed them myself and went again to get them fixed properly.

5th service May 2024 (19275Km) - Rs3800
Front break pad change
Chain sprocket change.
Did not get the oil changed. Shifted to Shell fully synthetic. I found the power a little more with shell. It could just be my feeling, having spent the extra money, rather than something actual.

Battery replacement June 2024 (20135Km) - Rs 2200/- with exchange
Few weeks after last service, I noticed that the clock kept getting reset to 12:00AM when bike is switched off. For several days couldn't figure out the problem. Then one fine day the battery just died. Replaced with Exide FXL0-XLTZ9 Xplore battery.
The clock problem fixed itself.

Tyre Change Sep 2024 (21900Km) - Rs6500/-
For the last few thousand Km the rear tyre had been developing multiple micro puncture which were leaking air continuously. Eventually got fed up of fixing these punctures and got them replaced.
Change both tyres to Reise Tour R
Definitely gives more confidence. Plus the knobbed pattern looks great.

Accessories


I am not a big fan of accessories and whatever accessories I put it's mostly for function.
While buying the bike, I went for the leg guard, touring foot pegs, sump guard and low rider seat. I wasn't so sure about the touring foot pegs, but now realise they are worth it. In hindsight, instead of low rider seat, I should have gone for the touring seat.

In early 2023, I found myself picking up and dropping my kid to school quite frequently. With the small rear seat, I felt that not having a backrest was a safety risk. So grudgingly decided to install a back rest. The original meteor one was too big for my liking. Searched for a small one, like the thunderbird one. The best I could find was the Vardenchi Compact Backrest. Got one for Rs3530/- and installed myself. After a year, got rid of the backrest, as it was no longer needed. The Vardenchi quality is fine, but the bolts started rusting quite fast.

On one of the monsoon rides, I was using a Viaterra Claw bag for luggage. Realised that the bag rubs against the rear mudguard on the side of the seats. It was time to install a saddle stay. Needed some basic one. So got the JB Meteor Saddle Stay online from Bandidos pitstop. Cost me Rs1910/- incl shipping. Quite functional, but this also has the rusting bolt problem.

Apart from that, added a gel seat cover from Sahara. This, I can say, works quite well. Immediately after installing, I did a 1000Km morning to evening run just to test out the comfort level.

Rides


Its difficult to ride on regular basis, but I try to do atleast one chota-mota ride every month.
In 2022 the key rides were a ride to Dhanushkodi which I did immediately after the 1st service. It was like an introduction to this bike. The other interesting one was to Badami. Total riding outside commute was 5400Km.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikerides2022.jpg

2022 Rides



In 2023, I did a rain soaked ride to Kaas and Konkan in Aug. The greenery of the Sahadris was mesmerising. I also did another one to Kerala coast to immerse my dogs ashes in the ocean. Total riding outside commute was 5300Km.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-ridesof2023.jpg

2023 Rides



Started 2024, with a 1000Km ride in a day. I was testing my bum endurance as well as the Sahara gel seat. Later in the year, went to Hampi to shoot the monuments in the rains. Then in Nov, a short ride to Ponamudi and Valparai. Total riding outside commute was 6500Km.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-ridesof2024.jpg

2024 Rides




Hoping to ride more in 2025.

Meteor Impressions so far


Of the 6 two wheeler (5 motorbikes, 1 scooter) I have owned so far, Meteor is the one I appreciate the most so far. It is not the fastest or the smoothest, but the various aspects of this bike work together quite well to make a wholesome experience.
It may be a little bigger and heavier for the city, but the low seat heights makes it easy to manage and push around in traffic. On the highway, going beyond 90Kmph is a stretch but I don't need to do that quite often. On bad roads, it cannot be pushed much, but ride slow and steady and it will cushion you ample.
All in all a complete package.

Last edited by KarthikK : 6th January 2025 at 11:37.
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Old 6th January 2025, 11:37   #2
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re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 7th January 2025, 11:02   #3
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re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Nice crisp honest reviews of each and every bike that you had put to good use. Lovely pics capturing every aspect of your rides. Wishing you many more happy miles in upcoming years.
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Old 7th January 2025, 13:42   #4
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re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

I have a meteor too and couldn't agree more.
I've switched the stock suspension with the classic 350 suspension and it's been really great for city use as it's much softer than the stock ones which are meant for highways, but in India with the no of potholes, this suspension suits me better. I've also switched to fully synthetic engine oil (fuchs) and it has the heating under control.
I still I'm not a big fan of the braking as i feel for a bike of 190kgs, it requires more Powerful brakes specially with pillion.

Anyway, happy riding and many more fun Kms to go.

Last edited by KarthikK : 7th January 2025 at 19:29. Reason: Please do not use Non-Team-BHP emojis or smileys which do not render correctly. Please instead use the built-in emojis.
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Old 7th January 2025, 19:26   #5
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninja75 View Post
Nice crisp honest reviews of each and every bike that you had put to good use. Lovely pics capturing every aspect of your rides. Wishing you many more happy miles in upcoming years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 733820 View Post
I have a meteor too and couldn't agree more.
I've switched the stock suspension with the classic 350 suspension and it's been really great for city use as it's much softer than the stock ones which are meant for highways, but in India with the no of potholes, this suspension suits me better. I've also switched to fully synthetic engine oil (fuchs) and it has the heating under control.
I still I'm not a big fan of the braking as i feel for a bike of 190kgs, it requires more Powerful brakes specially with pillion.

Anyway, happy riding and many more fun Kms to go
Thank you.
I may try the classic 350 suspension. Is it a straight fit?

Last edited by KarthikK : 7th January 2025 at 19:30. Reason: Quoted post edited
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Old 7th January 2025, 19:35   #6
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by tasty911 View Post
Thank you.


Thank you.
I may try the classic 350 suspension. Is it a straight fit?
Yes it's a simple replace and switch, I got it done at my trusted FNG. no modifications necessary.
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Old 7th January 2025, 20:47   #7
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Thanks for sharing such a great post! Reading about your experiences brought back so many memories of my own adventures with motorcycles. In the late 90s, we took countless secret trips from Coimbatore to Ooty on the RX100.

Your story resonated with me in many ways. The only difference is that I have Royal Enfield to thank for their horrendous customer service. Because of that, I ended up buying a Triumph Bonneville instead of the yellow Continental GT I had my heart set on. This twist of fate introduced me to the world of big motorcycles, and in a way, I’m grateful for it, haha.

RE has gone leaps ahead with their J series engine and your Meteor looks superb!

Wish you many more miles on this beautiful machine!!!!!
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Old 7th January 2025, 22:17   #8
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

I've known many riders taking their bikes to extreme places but the way you have been frequently riding to so many places, this really is an ode to your travelogues. The way you complete 50k or wrote about K2K so casually shows your knack for exploring the roads.

Liked the machines you've owned. Surprised you left the Domineer so early, it's one of the best efforts from Bajaj post the OG Pulsar.

I rode the Meteor 350 last weekend, and it is a very good cruiser. Hope you upgrade to the bigger sibling soon.

Any advice for us folks who'd like to venture back into riding again? How do you rate the low-weight versions : RE Hunter, Speed 400 and the likes. Are these niggle free? Looking to ride less than 200 KMs a month.
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Old 8th January 2025, 18:52   #9
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by 733820 View Post
Yes it's a simple replace and switch, I got it done at my trusted FNG. no modifications necessary.
Thanks. Appreciate the response.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sf-24 View Post
In the late 90s, we took countless secret trips from Coimbatore to Ooty on the RX100.
This would have been a blast on RX100. I once rode on the same route on way to Bangalore from Coimbatore. It was amazing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sf-24 View Post
... Because of that, I ended up buying a Triumph Bonneville instead of the yellow Continental GT I had my heart set on. This twist of fate introduced me to the world of big motorcycles, and in a way, I’m grateful for it, haha.
Wish you many more miles on this beautiful machine!!!!!
Thanks. I drool over the Bonneville Bobber. Beyond my means at this time though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by viren83 View Post
I've known many riders taking their bikes to extreme places but the way you have been frequently riding to so many places, this really is an ode to your travelogues. The way you complete 50k or wrote about K2K so casually shows your knack for exploring the roads.
Thank you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by viren83 View Post
Surprised you left the Domineer so early, it's one of the best efforts from Bajaj post the OG Pulsar.
The Dominar was a good bike, esp the engine. The issue was more with my short/round shape not being able to handle it efficiently in the city.

Quote:
Originally Posted by viren83 View Post
Any advice for us folks who'd like to venture back into riding again? How do you rate the low-weight versions : RE Hunter, Speed 400 and the likes. Are these niggle free? Looking to ride less than 200 KMs a month.
Hunter is good, especially if you are just doing 200Km/Month. Haven't ridden the Speed 400, but have seen good reviews.
My advice, go do a few test rides and pick whatever you like and can afford. Anything 20PS or more is good enough.
Don't wait. The days may be long, but the years are short. Ride while you can.
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Old 27th January 2025, 11:37   #10
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

Got the 25K service done at 24500Km.
Since I am planning a longish ride, ask them to change both break pads.
The left front fork oil was leaking. Got that changed too.
SA suggested swing arm clean and lubrication. Not sure if it was required. Went for it.
Also shifted back to RE's liquid gun semi-synthetic oil from shell fully synthetic I was using earlier. Just checking if there is any noticeable difference.
Paid for AMC which will give 2 free service. Looks to be a cheaper deal.
Net damage - 4451/-
Hopefully I am good for next 10K Km.
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Old 29th January 2025, 22:19   #11
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Re: Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review

A short ride to see if there is any issue after the 25K service in preps for a long ride.
Bike Ride: Foggy Morning
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-map.png

Took some internal roads from Hoskote and circled round to join the highway near Narsapura. Extremely foggy throughout the trip.

There were a few clouds as I left Bangalore around 0615. I was expecting a good sunrise, but as soon as I left the city fog engulfed everything.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_004.jpg

The visibility was a few meters. So had to drive very carefully. Its on these occasions that I am tempted to get auxiliary fog lights.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_011.jpg

A tea seller was warming himself besides a wooden fire. Took a tea break and warmed myself.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_016.jpg
More fog continued.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_024.jpg

At Jangamakote Cross, stopped for some piping hot bisebele bath.

Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_026.jpg

For started lifting as I approached Sidlaghatta. I was in two minds whether to turn left or right. Decided to turn towards Chintamani.

As the sun started coming out, the rays filtering though the fog and tree made am impressive sight. Tried to take a picture, but it didn’t come out as pretty as it actually was. Nearby, there were these weird cobwebs on the ground.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_033.jpg

Before Chintamani, turned on the Kaiwara road to join SH82. Then at HCross, turned towards Kolar to join NH75 at Narsapura.
Fireball | My Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Long-Term Review-bikeridefoggymorning_043.jpg

After that it was straight back home.

Ride Month : Jan 2025
Distance : ~140Km
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