Hitchcocks Forum

Hello all from New Zealand. Can anybody tell me some stuff about an RE Meteor circa 1954. This has been bought after left laying in a barn for ages. Not much paperwork came with it so left feeling around. I am pretty switched on with machinery but need to know the quantities of oil for the engine sump, the dipstick looks suspiciously like being 'doctored'. I have heard that a form of electronic ignition makes for more reliable running. Does anybody have thoughts/ observations on this?

Derek

Derek, Trade Me is your friend, get out while you are still sane.lol I assume when you say Meteor it is a 700, where to begin with a barn find, amount of oil is the least of your concerns, put in a couple of liters just for the hell of it, probably find the sump full of sludge,be careful with the sump plug, probably find somebody has been at it with a cold chisel. I fitted Pazon electronic ignition to one a couple of years ago but don't even think about this idea, so you are stuck with the distributor and generator. As I said Trade me is your friend

As Norm suggests. Think about just why was a fine steed like that dumped in a barn? Run for your life.

Great old machine Leon but full of problems, they can be sorted just depends on how much dedication a person has

Derek, as you are new here you won't know Norm and Leon our resident Aussie Doom and Gloom merchants! Norm has worked on a lot on Indian Enfields and they have poisoned his soul, poor lad. Anyway, I have a 1953 Meteor and done quite a bit of work on it and many other Enfields over the years. Meteors are rare anywhere (although there are a relatively quite a few in Aus,) and so not widely known. There were significant detail changes over the 3 years they were made. Your first job is to identify your find. Can you post pics or the engine and frame numbers please? You can do the numbers in a 123xx format for security. Please include all prefixes and suffixes. You can buy a manual for your bike on this site, also identify your bike in the Photo Gallery section of original brochure pics. (Ps, I love mine, it's a real keeper, quite different from the later twins, if you Google RE Meteor in Images it will come up, reg number HKG 265) REgards, Mark

I guess you are right Mark, the old Meteor here is so similar in appearance to yours, it drags so much attention when it is out on the road, but once again it sits in my shed with the motor out, at least the new gearbox housing arrived this afternoon so I can get it all back together. Problem is I won't get the fork tubes back from the hard chromers till sometime in Jan. If he can get it charging and the distributor works ok then he might be in with a chance, it is these basket case Meteors that cause big problems, shed find might be reasonable

I came quite close to buying one in Auckland a few years back. The bloke was supposed to give me first refusal but then sold it to someone else. It was a mag/dyno one and a very pleasurable machine to ride although not a shattering performance. Very smooth for a 700 cc parallel twin. I was quite cross to miss out on it.

Hi Derek, Obviously what has been stated by others is possibly correct, but I for one would want to get it running, does it kick over?, does it have any oil in it?, what is the general condition of the bike?. If the engine turns is there a spark at the plugs?, if so drain both the crankcase and the oil tank to get rid of whatever is still in, take a careful look at what comes out checking for metal particals. put four pints of fresh oil in (cheap 20/50 or flushing oil), Give the carb a good clean, and feed it with fresh petrol. Give it a go and see if the bike will still run, if it does look in the oil filler to see if the oil is returning. Good luck with it, they are a great bike but be aware that a full resto can be expensive.

As Mark says, don't despair in the face of some of these comments! I have a '59 Constellation which is similar to a Super Meteor. I've just come to the end of a complete rebuild (not that these things ever truly end...!) and I'm very pleased with it. I've done the Pazon electronic ignition conversion and it always starts 1st or 2nd kick. Only downside I can report is having also done the 12v conversion, the alternator struggles a bit if I need to turn the lights on. Stick with it, get the manual, post questions here and you should be fine!
Regards Stephen

Stephen, Connie and Super Meteor, chalk and cheese to a Meteor, you can't compare the pair