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Royal Enfield is probably the coolest motorcycle company you’ve never heard of. That’s not to say that the brand doesn’t have a long history and plenty of fans, but for whatever reason, here in the States, the brand still feels a touch obscure, at least compared to the likes of Honda, Indian, Harley, and others. Royal Enfield is still building bikes that look largely unchanged since their inception in 1901. With that comes fairly underpowered bikes, except someone rebuilt a 1964 Royal Enfield Meteor 700 desert sled, and it is powerful and better looking than most things on two wheels. 

Is there a fast Royal Enfield? 

A 1964 Royal Enfield Meteor 700 rebuilt to be a desert sled.
Royal Enfield Meteor Desert Sled | Collecting Cars

Royal Enfield has made a number of significant models throughout the past 120 years. Enfields played roles in both World Wars. But these bikes were never known for doing anything quickly, including updating their design aesthetic. However, the Royal Enfield Meteor 700 is one of the largest engines the company has ever made. The one we are looking at today has the added benefit of a fresh, fantastic rebuild in the desert sled style. 

This 1964 Royal Enfield Meteor was built by the folks at Hitchcocks Motorcycles. In a stroke of nothing but coolness, the builders sent the engine to Andy Berry at Preston to completely rebuild it, adding a host of killer upgrades to make it more powerful and reliable. According to Silodrome, all of the performance parts, like the performance cylinder head and dual Amal MkII Concentric carburetors, were supplied by Allan Hitchcocks. 

Can you make a Royal Enfield faster? 

Profile view of a custom 1964 Royal Enfield Meteor 700.
Royal Enfield Meteor Desert Sled | Collecting Cars

Making a Royal Enfield faster is possible, but it’s not easy. This Royal Enfield Meteor build required an enormous amount of high-end performance parts and many hours of labor. 

Jeff Duval of Jets Forever is responsible for the bike’s new design. Starting from the top, the team scrapped the bike’s original frame, and in its place, A new desert sled-style 7/8” chromoly nickel-plated BSA motocross frame was handmade by Mark and the team at Wasp Motorcycles. As you can likely tell, the bodywork and paint are both completely custom jobs as well. The suspension also got completely replaced with a set of Ceriani 38mm competition forks up front paired with rear shock absorbers supplied by Csaba Kalderal of CR Suspension. Lastly, the team put on new wheels, and the drum brakes were replaced with discs to finish the job. 

What is a cheap motorcycle to learn on?

The rear end of the Royal Enfield desert sled
Royal Enfield Meteor Desert Sled | Collecting Cars

This Enfield is far from the factory bikes you can buy new. However, most people are surprised to learn that such a good-looking motorcycle is still for sale and for such a reasonable price. Royal Enfield makes a handful of different models in various styles. Enfield makes everything from small cruisers to larger adventure bikes. The now India-owned company also makes GT bikes, cafe racers, and more. The best part is that as fantastic-looking as these things are they are properly cheap. 

A brand new Royal Enfield Hunter 350 will only run you $3,999. The Scram 411 starts at only $5,099. You can even get the Royal Enfield Himalayan ADV for only $5,449. While there are better-performing motorcycles on the market, Enfields are small, friendly, and cool-looking. These are some of the best models for a new rider to start on

This custom Royal Enfield is currently listed for sale on Collecting Cars. If you want more information about the bike or want to be somebody and bid, follow the link here.