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350 Meteor test ride today.

JBacklund

Well travelled
I had been planning on buying a 350 bronze/chrome Classic as soon as one showed up at our new local RE dealership, but my short test ride this afternoon on a 350 Meteor has, unfortunately, soured me on the idea.

In general, the bike is excellent, but I had been a bit concerned about it's relatively meager output of 20 hp, and today's ride has solidified my apprehension about that concern. It's just not enough 'oomph' to keep me interested.

I also own a '22 Interceptor 650, (and a few other bikes), so it's not like I won't have some great-looking and fun toys to ride this summer, but that 350 in chrome and bronze is pure eye-candy, but appearance alone just isn't enough for me to justify buying this model.

At something like 30 hp, I'd be all over the bike, but not at 20, it's just not enough 'snot' for my weight, our hills, and our headwinds.

The Meteor 350 I rode today.....
5244
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
I had been planning on buying a 350 bronze/chrome Classic as soon as one showed up at our new local RE dealership, but my short test ride this afternoon on a 350 Meteor has, unfortunately, soured me on the idea.

In general, the bike is excellent, but I had been a bit concerned about it's relatively meager output of 20 hp, and today's ride has solidified my apprehension about that concern. It's just not enough 'oomph' to keep me interested.

I also own a '22 Interceptor 650, (and a few other bikes), so it's not like I won't have some great-looking and fun toys to ride this summer, but that 350 in chrome and bronze is pure eye-candy, but appearance alone just isn't enough for me to justify buying this model.

At something like 30 hp, I'd be all over the bike, but not at 20, it's just not enough 'snot' for my weight, our hills, and our headwinds.

The Meteor 350 I rode today.....
View attachment 5244
You rode to see what you thought, Awesome !

That's pretty refreshing in an internet full of people who b!+ch about XYZ bike without even swinging a leg over the seat.

I figure aftermarket go quicker parts will show up about a year after the warranties run out.
 

Morgan60

Well travelled
Location
USA
I’m with you the 350 is a nice bike good for in city and riding around lower speed back roads. But if you need get on the freeway, or the highway like in Texas many of the secondary roads are 60 & 70 mph. The 350 just doesn’t work. RE really needs to make it a 500cc.
 

JBacklund

Well travelled
I'm not complaining about the 350's unsuitability to my riding style and my area's geography, it obviously makes many people very happy, and for good reason.

It's kind of funny when I realized that it weighs over twice what my '66 Honda S90 did, and it's engine only puts out about 2.5 times it's 8 hp.

My Honda S90 could hit 55 mph on a good day (no headwind or uphills...and a relatively light weight seventeen year old rider, of course). I did touch 60 mph with the 350 on my admittedly short ride on it, and I hear that it could potentially reach 70, but it would require a perfectly level road, and a long stretch to reach that speed...and I can't help but notice that in every video I've seen of this bike, nobody considers it's almost certain 'optimistic' speedometer error that would almost certainly reduce that 70 mph too speed claim by the typical 5 mph most machines display.

I think that with a rider of average weight, the RE 350 might be capable of an actual 65 mph, which is fine for most urban travel, but really starts to lack on outlying roadways.
 

mpp1

Well travelled
Location
Gujarat, India
I'm not complaining about the 350's unsuitability to my riding style and my area's geography, it obviously makes many people very happy, and for good reason.

It's kind of funny when I realized that it weighs over twice what my '66 Honda S90 did, and it's engine only puts out about 2.5 times it's 8 hp.

My Honda S90 could hit 55 mph on a good day (no headwind or uphills...and a relatively light weight seventeen year old rider, of course). I did touch 60 mph with the 350 on my admittedly short ride on it, and I hear that it could potentially reach 70, but it would require a perfectly level road, and a long stretch to reach that speed...and I can't help but notice that in every video I've seen of this bike, nobody considers it's almost certain 'optimistic' speedometer error that would almost certainly reduce that 70 mph too speed claim by the typical 5 mph most machines display.

I think that with a rider of average weight, the RE 350 might be capable of an actual 65 mph, which is fine for most urban travel, but really starts to lack on outlying roadways.
RE has messed up by not tuning the bikes meant for overseas sales by keeping the HP same as the domestic ones. Even 25-27HP would make the Meteor/Classic seriously good fun for the highways and city riding in the US. I have only done one mod of installing an after-market air intake filter manufactured by a local Indian company and that has really improved the riding dynamics for my local roads, not a ton of HP gains but definitely better to ride in the 1st 3 gears. The manufacturer insists that the real gain is on the top end which I'm very reluctant to test on Indian highways as I have no stomach for that fight. You could add the DNA filter, a reflash of the ECU and cut the cat and you might get up to maybe 24-25HP.
 

JBacklund

Well travelled
Today, I've been smearing an abundance of healing salve on my little broken heart over the knowledge that I won't be buying a pretty bronze/chrome RE 350 Classic, and instead, I'm having a dealer crunching the trade-in numbers and running my financing app for this cute British moped....
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METEOR68

Finally made it
Location
East Tennessee
I feel the pain about the mere 20HP or so of the Meteor, but if you just backroad ride and leisurely cruise, I feel you would be hard pressed to find a more forgiving, nimble and just down right fun to ride bike. The Meteor 350 is no power house but then again it was never supposed to be. However, I do understand that a Meteor 650 is right around the corner…. that will be cool. 😎
 

Back Road Rider

Finally made it
Location
Ohio
A short ride on a new motor isn't a good test. My Meteor didn't break-in till about 2500 miles. With a free flowing exhaust mine is happy to run at 55 mph all day. On level ground I can attain 78 mph. That is not why I bought the bike though, I spend the vast majority on scenic back roads putting along at 40 mph. I recently went to a RE demo event and was able to ride the new Classic 350 twice. The bike was broken in with about 4800 miles on it. The ride was 30 minutes on all road types and we ran from 35-60 mph. The bike never felt strained at all. If you look at the bikes side by side the head on the Classic is different. I found myself revving the gears out longer on the Classic and just seems like a more relaxed ride. I preferred the suspension on the classic over my Meteor as it is cushier. You should seek out an event when the RE demo truck is there to get a real feel for the bike, I think you might end up with one!
 
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