Royal Enfield Meteor Custom “Chimera”: the best-seller gets tough and stripped-back
Building a special from a best-selling bike is always a risk, but the urge to radically transform the Meteor 350 was too strong. Here is our “Chimera”
The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is one of the bikes of the moment: it has taken the Indo-British brand into the top 10 of the Italian market sales rankings, long known for favouring large-displacement bikes, and it is one of the best-selling motorcycles in Europe.
The Meteor 350 opened the doors of the cruiser segment to Royal Enfield with a reliable bike at an affordable price, yet with distinctive styling. In short, it is the right machine for anyone who wants to be an EasyRider even on the daily commute, giving rise to a true family that was joined just a few days ago by the Super Meteor 650.
Chimera: the cruiser becomes a bobber
Yet even the smartest, most versatile, fun and easy bike can be improved with a project designed to enhance its style, riding pleasure and therefore its character. And that is exactly what we did by creating our Chimera, based on the Meteor 350.
The idea came from the proportions of Royal Enfield’s Royal Enfield cruiser, more precisely from the wheel sizes: the combination of a 19” front and 17” rear, perfect numbers for creating a bobber, naturally under the sacred commandment of “Less is best”, always dear to customisers all over the world.
And in fact, the first operations that led us to create the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 “Chimera” focused precisely on removing elements such as the mudguard assembly, the pillion seat subframe, the handlebar, as well as the original instruments and handlebar switchgear, the indicators, the OEM tyres, the side panels and all the lighting units.
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Chimera: how it has changed
In practice, we stripped the bike and then dressed it again, but always with the total reversibility of our work in mind: our Chimera can in fact be turned back into a “standard” Meteor 350 at any time.
First of all, we gave this special new “shoes”, choosing to fit a pair of Vintage Classic-style tyres on the original rims; then we moved on to slimming down the sides of the Chimera, removing the original airbox and fitting a new slim battery with fuse box and an external “soapbar” air filter, which gave the Meteor a more aggressive look, improved its performance and made it possible to use the smaller, more compact side panels from the Royal Enfield Bullet 350.
Emphasising the metamorphosis of Cafe Twin’s Meteor 350 is a truly aggressive front end: inverted sportbar handlebar, external springs on the 41 mm fork recalling the old Springer systems, and a low-mounted Daytona Sport headlight. A detail that nods to Italian design, as it pays proper tribute to the legendary low-headlight Vespa.
At the rear, the Chimera features a single seat with a luggage rack grille on which 2 Kellerman Bullet Atto 3 in 1 units have been mounted, combining tail light, brake light and indicators. Putting the exclamation mark on it is the two-tone paintwork of the original tank and headlight base, but the real gem lies in the technology of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Chimera, which provides a real counterpoint to the vintage aesthetics of this one-off.
To create a timeless special, we decided to make use of the latest technology found in the electronics of today’s bikes: in place of the mechanical key, we fitted a Motogadget M-Lock electronic magnetic key in the specifically modified original housing; the original instrumentation was also scrapped in favour of a Motogadget Mini speedometer with warning lights. This modern approach is also reflected in the handlebar switchgear: with the original controls removed, we installed an Axel Joost D-Box mini control unit connected to 7 buttons that perform all functions (horn, high beam, start/stop, ignition, indicators and instrument selection).
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Chimera: the result
We are truly proud of this special, because it brings together everything we aim to put into a unique motorcycle: practicality, since we have retained riding comfort, design that makes use of the bike’s original lines while revolutionising them, a minimal approach yet full of style, improved performance and a sound that stands out among a thousand other bikes.
Don’t believe it? Come and visit us at Via Mesula 12 in Rome and you can judge for yourself. We look forward to seeing you!
