The 650cc Interceptor and Continental GT were recently launched in the Indian market. Fans are amazed to see Royal Enfield working hard on new technology as just a handful of Indians ever witnessed twin cylinder Royal Enfield before this moment. Yes, they had a twin cylinder machine before too and the name is none other than the Meteor 700.
It was launched in 1952 and came with 692cc, twin cylinder OHV engine producing 36 BHP at 6000 rpm. Even a model named Super Meteor with 40 BHP arrived in those years. The model was good for 100 mph (160 kph) of top speed and came with parallel twin, air cooled engine. It came mated to 4-speed manual gearbox. Surprisingly, Royal Enfield Meteor 700 weighs just 190 kg, almost equal to the body weight of least equipped Royal Enfield 350cc motorcycle of 2018.
The Meteor series was then replaced by Interceptor in 1962 with a 736 cc engine. Twin cylinder engines are not an all-new concept for Royal Enfield as they have been using these almost seven decades back from the present day. Transport Research Lab once used a Super Meteor to test their ABS kit. Braking duties were handled by drum brakes at both ends while the engine looked more or less similar to the design that is seen on present day Interceptor and Continental GT 650.
The suspension was tuned in such a way that touring was an easy hobby of Meteor 700 owners while swing-arm was specially designed to take the extra load when buyers install a sidecar. It looked similar to present day machines and thus, one can blindly say that it was a Royal Enfield. These bikes are available in limited numbers and thus, one can imagine how important they would be for a collector.
