The newly unveiled Kawasaki Eliminator 400 cruiser is expected to enter the Indian shores in the coming months. Once it makes its India debut, it will closely compete against the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650. While we await the Eliminator’s arrival, let’s see how it stacks up against the Super Meteor 650 on paper.
Design and Features
Starting with the new entrant, the Eliminator takes design cues from the bigger Vulcan S but with a unique flavour. The former looks more angular from the fuel tank to the tail while the headlamp is also circular, unlike the Vulcan which sports a diamond-shaped headlight. The Eliminator is also more compact and minimalistic. The Super Meteor, meanwhile, is a more quintessential retro-inspired cruiser with a curvy design theme throughout and a generous amount of chrome-finished components.
Interestingly, both bikes are on par with each other on the feature front. LED headlamp, LED tail lamp, Bluetooth connectivity, slipper clutch, and a USB charging port. Where the Eliminator has an upper edge in the instrumentation department as it gets a LCD console, unlike the Super Meteor’s round analogue dials with a small LCD. The former also gets an optional high and low seats and heated grips. However, the Super Meteor sports adjustable levers which the Eliminator misses out on.
Engine
The Super Meteor 650 is powered by a 648cc, parallel-twin, air/oil-cooled engine that produces 46.3bhp at 7,250rpm and 52.3Nm at 5,650rpm. Whereas, the Eliminator is propelled by a 398cc, parallel-twin mill that is borrowed from the Ninja 400. This unit pumps a maximum output of 46.9bhp at 10,000rpm and a peak torque of 37Nm at 8,000rpm. From the performance numbers, it’s clear that both these bikes deliver a different character; while the Super Meteor runs on a long-stroke, torque-heavy mill, the Eliminator is a relatively higher-revving engine.
Hardware
The Eliminator is based on a trellis frame and rides on an 18-16-inch alloy wheel combination. Suspension duties are handled by 41mm telescopic front forks and twin rear shocks. Stopping power comes from a single 310mm disc up front and a single 240mm rotor at the back with dual-channel ABS. On the other hand, the Super Meteor is built around a dual cradle frame which is suspended by more premium Showa USD forks and dual springs. The disc brakes are also bigger, measuring 320mm and 300mm at the front and back, respectively.
Price
The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 starts from Rs 3.49 lakh and goes up to Rs 3.79 lakh in India. In Japan, the Kawasaki Eliminator 400 costs 7,59,000 Yen (approximately Rs 4.71 lakh). Now, it remains to be seen what price tag it carries when it comes to India.
