The Super Meteor was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

made by

Royal Enfield Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which they had manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "E ...

for export to the US between 1952 and 1962, when the Super Meteor was replaced by the 736 cc

Royal Enfield Interceptor The Interceptor is a British motorcycle made by Royal Enfield between 1960 and 1970. The 700 Interceptor introduced in 1960 was a modified version of the company's Constellation model. In 1962, the company introduced the 750 Interceptor which e ...

Development

In 1953, the US export market led

to develop a 692 cc, overhead valve twin capable of , which was launched as the Meteor. The engine was basically a modified 500 twin crankcase with 350 single (Bullet) pistons, valves and identical 90mm stroke length. In 1954, the Super Meteor was updated and fitted with a new cast alloy headlight nacelle (casquette) housing the speedometer, ammeter and light switch. During 1955, the dynamo and coil ignition was replaced with a Lucas magdyno. This model was replaced by the Super Meteor in 1956 that sported a brand new frame. Based on the

Royal Enfield Meteor Minor Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

496 cc overhead valve engine, the new model had a strengthened crank and improved clutch. The frame was also strengthened to handle the increased torque. The gearbox was modified so that the gear shift lever was concentric with the kick-starter. The compression ratio was increased to 7.25:1; it was upgraded with Lucas alternator and

Amal Monobloc AMAL was a British engineering company servicing the motorcycle and other light-engineering motor industries between 1927 and 1993 Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

B95 and B105 car models during 1959 and 1960. The Super Meteor and the sporty Constellation were replaced by the 736 cc

in 1962.

Anti-lock braking experiment

In 1958, a Royal Enfield Super Meteor was used by the

Transport Research Laboratory TRL Limited, trading as TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) is an independent private company offering a transport consultancy and research service to the public and private sector. Originally established in 1933 by the UK Government a ...

to test the

Maxaret Dunlop's Maxaret was the first anti-lock braking system (ABS) to be widely used. Introduced in the early 1950s, Maxaret was rapidly taken up in the aviation world, after testing found a 30% reduction in stopping distances, and the elimination of ...

anti-lock brake An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintai ...

on motorcycles. The Maxaret works by detecting rapid decelerations of the wheel that may cause it to lock and releases and re-applies hydraulic pressure to the brake several times a second, keeping the average braking effort at the maximum that can be used by the road surface and tyre combination. The experiments demonstrated that anti-lock brakes could be of great value on motorcycles, where skidding is involved in a high proportion of accidents. Stopping distances were reduced in almost all the tests, compared with locked wheel braking, but particularly on slippery surfaces, where the improvement could be as much as 30%. Royal Enfield's Technical Director at the time, Tony Wilson-Jones, saw little future in the system and it was not put into production by the company.

References

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Development

Anti-lock braking experiment

References

See also