1963 Royal Enfield Meteor Minor, 496 cc. Registration number...

Hammer

£3,100

1963 Royal Enfield Meteor Minor, 496 cc. Registration number YBN 673. Frame number 6741. Engine number EA 35261.
Launched in 1948, Royal Enfield's twin followed orthodox lines, though the use of separate barrels and cylinder heads, and the incorporation of the oil tank within the crankcase - a feature inherited from the Redditch firm's singles - was unusual. The new engine was installed in what was basically the Bullet frame, the latter an advanced design featuring swinging-arm rear suspension. The 500 Twin was progressively updated, gaining a double-sided front brake for 1955 and crankshaft-mounted alternator for 1957, before undergoing a more radical revision in 1958. Dubbed the Meteor Minor, the new twin featured shorter-stroke engine dimensions, replaceable big-end shells, 17" wheels and bigger brakes, and was built in standard, De-luxe and Sports variants, the latter being equipped with a different inlet camshaft that boosted peak power to 33bhp at 6,500rpm, a 3bhp/250rpm improvement over the standard/De-luxe models.
YBN was first registered on the 13th September 1963 and had an unknown early life until it was bought by Jonathan Millard of Halifax in 2006 with a mileage of 28,210 and in 2010 entrusted it to WGW of Chorley to rebuild the engine, gearbox, electrical system as well as other issues, MOT'd afterwards at 28,886 miles. In 2014, with a mileage of 29,406 he passed it to his father who has since undertaken many modifications including a Boyer electronic ignition, Hitchcocks primary belt drive, the front forks have been uprated to Constellation /Super Meteor specification, a full crankcase breather modification as per REOC, a 19 inch front wheel with twin brakes with an 18 inch rear.
Little used, the mileage is now 29,775, it was placed on SORN in 2014 and laid up in a dry garage.
Recommissioned for this auction it is sold with the V5C, last MOT and the receipt for WGW's rebuild.