Valheru Rides!

Well to be fair he pops, but let’s not split infinitives on a Sunday afternoon eh? Anyway the reason I’ve started with a strange reference is that I wanted to more closely look at the more obvious differences between my 2024 (reg 25) Meteor and his predecessor from 2021.

The controls.

Right I’m not saying the switches on the 2021 felt cheap, they were good enough in the way they didn’t feel like they were going to fall off (this isn’t a Goldstar 6!) and absolutely did the job, but felt a tad entry level and a bit insubstantial. I don’t know if a different plastic composition has been used, or they’ve just refined the production somehow but the ignition switch, lights and indicator all feel more tactile, substantial and slightly stiffer.

The engine and transmission.

I’m gonna throw these in together as he’s not fully run in yet so I suspect there will be further differences after my first service has been completed. The annoying collector box has gone (whoop) and it’s been replaced by an upgraded all in one exhaust from the 2022 model onwards, so not only does it have a slightly deeper and less metallic sound to it, but when dropping gears it’s not uncommon to hear some fantastic little bangs and pops. A quick short below to show you what I mean, I couldn’t help but chuckle frankly, I love it.

It’s not only that, but the gearing seems slightly higher, especially for 4th which originally used to be used until 28mph when I changed up to 5th (essentially as per the RE manual) and leaving it in 4th often sounded like I was revving the hell out of him past that speed. While I can still do that with the newer model, he doesn’t sound like he’s being overworked immediately past 30.

This is still the same 20bhp cruiser as its earlier version on paper, but it’s kinda not, and I quite like that. Now I’m not going to bullshit you like some influencer telling you to immediately run out and trade in your 2021 Meteor350 because this will somehow change your life totally with all new magical unicorn features, because it won’t, and you’ll probably feel a bit of a prat. But if you tried out one before and found some of the features to be a shortcoming back then, why not give one another go, it might surprise you.