The 2025 Honda Rebel 500 is finally here, after years of rumours that started doing the rounds since 2017. Although the desire of fans of the Japanese cruiser has finally been satiated, things are not as rosy as they seem. Times have changed, and the Rebel has two tough rivals – the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 and the Kawasaki Eliminator. In that sense, it is like a three-way rumble mania between the three cruisers.
Round 1 – Show Of Strength
First and foremost, the Honda Rebel 500 is priced at Rs 5.12 lakh (ex-showroom). It is powered by a 471cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine that makes 46.22PS and 43.3Nm, and is paired to a six-speed gearbox. At the same time, it does have an edge over the Eliminator (45PS, 42.6Nm), but the Super Meteor beats it with a 650cc air-cooled parallel twin that makes 47PS and 52.3Nm.
But on the other hand, the Rebel is 50kg lighter than the Super Meteor, but 15kg heavier than the Eliminator. This makes the Eliminator 65kg lighter than the Royal Enfield bike. This also negates all the performance advantage the Super Meteor has on paper. In the real world, the lighter weight of the Japanese bikes means they will be as fast (or faster) as the Meteor 650. Their lighter weight will also mean that the Japanese bikes will be easier to handle – maneuvering around parking lots, tight traffic spaces, U-turns, etc.
Talking about usability, the Rebel has a ground clearance of just 125mm, which makes it a bit worrying over tall speedbreakers. The Super Meteor isn’t too far off that number with its 135mm ground clearance. Both of them make the Eliminator’s 150mm ground clearance look comfortable.
Round 2 – Beauty Of The Beasts
In terms of looks, the Rebel has the shortest length, while the Super Meteor and Eliminator are almost equal; the Super Meteor stretches 10mm longer at 2,260mm. Overall, it’s a bigger and heavier bike than the Japanese cruiser, giving it a stronger presence on the road. Continuing with the underpinnings, both the Japanese bikes have a conventional telescopic fork while the Super Meteor has an upside-down fork; all three bikes have dual rear shocks. The Meteor has the biggest brake disc of the three, but that’s also because it’s noticeably heavier than the other two.
All three bikes have the same rear-wheel size – 150/80 R16. The Rebel also has a 16-inch front wheel diameter, followed by 17-inch on the Eliminator and 19-inch on the Super Meteor. How this affects the ride and handling is something we will comment on only after we ride all three bikes back to back. Talking about the ride, the Rebel with its seat height of 690 mm will be the easiest to climb, followed by the Eliminator at 735 mm and then the Super Meteor at 740 mm. However, from our experience, the Super Meteor is also easier to climb.
Round 3 – The Finisher
With all this, it might seem that the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 falls behind the specs of the Japanese bike. However, it comes back strong and heavy with its price tag. Its top-end Celestial variant is priced at Rs 3,98,885 (ex-showroom, Chennai). It is around Rs 1.13 lakh cheaper than the Rebel and around Rs 1.77 lakh cheaper than the Eliminator (both ex-showroom). It consistently gains a foothold with a more extensive dealer and service network.
It continues on the triple-punch combo with the Tripper Pod (with turn-by-turn navigation), standard windshield and cushioned pillion backrest, not to mention its suite of official customisations. Also, the Super Meteor should have low maintenance costs and spare parts should be cheap and easily available.
However, the biggest strength of the Rebel and Eliminator will be their engine refinement. Not that the Super Meteor isn’t there, but the other two will have an edge with their liquid-cooling. In this triple conundrum, the new Honda Rebel 500 positions itself in the middle, except that it is only available in three cities – Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bengaluru.
If you are a die-hard Honda fan living in another city and want the Rebel 500, you can get the bike delivered at an additional cost; however, you may have to complete the registration formalities yourself. Honda service is also generally pretty good, and spare parts are not considered as expensive as Kawasaki. Overall, the Super Meteor 650 could have easily won the championship belt if it wasn’t weighed down by its own weight.
