Royal Enfield Desert Diary Rajasthan Tour 2025

Royal Enfield invited us to join them on a 10-day ride across Rajasthan to experience some of the best roads in the country on a Super Meteor 650. So excited were we that we began packing our bags even before going through the email in its entirety

The Royal Enfield Desert Diary Rajasthan Tour came with a lot of promise: smooth tarmac, gorgeous surroundings, and a laid-back motorcycle with a lot of power and torque to experience it on in the form of the Super Meteor 650. Did the actual ride live up to the expectations the itinerary had given rise to in our minds?

Yes, it did.

I arrived at the Hyatt Gurgaon, from where the ride would get under way, knowing what the plan for the next 10 days was but no clue as to what to expect. That evening I met my riding companions and our organisers from Royal Enfield and it became clear that it was going to be an experience full of fun and frolic. The introductory session made it clear that we were a disparate group belonging to different age-groups but with one common trait: the desire to head out on motorcycles and explore.

I was then assigned a gorgeous Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 and that too in my personal favourite Interstellar Green spec. In that one parking lot we had everything from bone-stock solid colour bikes to an Indian Roadmaster-inspired Super Meteor with plenty of custom bodywork and interesting add-ons. The owner, Sushant Thakur, had rather appropriately named his motorcycle “Gabbar”.

Day one was “transport day”, which meant, we were told, we would be riding into Rajasthan, the actual starting point of the ride.

Alsisar Mahal was the first place we rode to and where we stayed. To say that our line-up of hotels during this ride started off on a high note would be an understatement. This heritage hotel with its old world charm, magnificent architecture, and an array of cultural experiences on offer made us feel like royalty.

From day two onwards, Rajasthan began casting its spell on us. The roads were as good as we were told they would be and the Super Meteor was all ready to munch miles effortlessly. One thing became evident soon enough: those who owned Super Meteor motorcycles were considerably more comfortable than those who did not. This is a very traditional cruiser in the way it is set up, which means a feet-forward and hands-forward riding position with an arched back and a lot of the body’s weight falling on your sit-bones. Being used to this posture surely helps and those of us who usually ride other kinds of motorcycles over long distances took a while to adjust.

From day four to day nine I switched to a different variant of the Super Meteor: the Celestial. This spec comes with a more comfortable single-piece touring seat as well as a tall touring screen. It also had a few add-ons such as panniers, a large crash-guard as well as wider rider foot-pegs. The touring seat made a marked difference comfort-wise and I’d strongly recommend getting this one on your Super Meteor 650 if you plan to do long-distance road trips.

For the most part, the roads throughout the ride were excellent, comprising wide open highway stretches and long sweeping bends that gave rise to a very scenic image of 18 Super Meteor bikes, one behind another, following the trajectory of the curve. What many of us missed were more cornering sections. We did encounter two ghat sections, though, during the second half of the ride and they were tremendous fun. Although the Super Meteor is a long and heavy motorcycle, not really meant for such a scenario, the road variation was welcome and many of us enjoyed it. When the Royal Enfield photographers and cameramen asked us to go back to do a twisty section again, we were only too willing to oblige.

Most of the roads, however, were so arrow-straight that my eyes would often get lost in the convergence point on the horizon, much like the point where two guide lines meet on a one-point perspective sketch. There were three main elements on this massive canvas that we were a part of: the road we were riding on, the desert on either side, and the blue sky above us.

Frequent animal crossings were something we had to be wary of throughout the ride, be it camels, cows, goats, monkeys or dogs. Our friends from abroad, Lorenzo from Italy and Seku from Brazil, were particularly taken aback by this “dynamic” set of obstacles.

Occasionally, we did have to go off the beaten track to reach our accommodation for the night or to switch from one highway to another. While the change in terrain was welcome, the Super Meteor posed its own kind of challenges. Its 240-kilogram weight, long wheelbase, relaxed cruiser riding position, and limited suspension travel were aspects we had to be mindful of. However, we welcomed the challenge and crossed all such bad patches without incident.

Royal Enfield Rides played a huge part in the success of this ride. The curation of routes, hotels, and overall organisation and ride support were top notch. We would get the itinerary on the eve of the actual ride. It consisted of detailed route, location of pre-planned stop-overs, timings for breakfast, baggage drop, briefing, and wheels-up. Every day we would cover between 250 and 350 kilometres, except on the final day, Pushkar to Jaipur, when we had to cover only about 150 km. Every day we would leave in broad daylight, 8.00 am or thereabouts, for the next location. There would be two to three quick stop-overs during the day’s ride and one main halt in the afternoon for lunch.

Our fleet consisted of 18 Super Meteor 650s, two of which were ridden by our excellent ride leads, Pankaj and Barath. We also had four back-up vehicles, a large Mahindra Bolero pick-up for our luggage, a Toyota Fortuner for the Royal Enfield crew, a dedicated Hilux pick-up truck for the Royal Enfield film crew, and the Royal Enfield Gun Wagon which was a Force Traveller carrying all the requisite spare parts should a bike suffer a breakdown. It also carried a spare bike and had the capability to carry another if on-the-spot repair would not be feasible. The Gun Wagon would always bring up the rear, so that no rider would be left behind. It goes to the credit of the Super Meteor 650 that, barring instances of quick refuelling where petrol pumps were scarce, we never had an occasion to call on the Gun Wagon’s repair services.

The hotels we stayed at were an experience in themselves, too. They offered welcome hospitality and respite on days when the riding proved to be more taxing. Each location had its own appeal. The ITC at Jodhpur captured the essence of Rajasthan and blended it with luxurious accommodation. The Ananta Resort at Pushkar was an exotic sprawl of ponds, cottages, and tropical elements nestled among the hills. My personal favourite was the Ramada in Udaipur. The entire hotel looked like a set from an Avatar film, with old stone architecture winding around the central atrium in an organic and beautiful manner with the cottages flanking the path. The pool was situated at the centre, taking pride of position, and an internal light almost made it look bioluminescent (hence the Avatar reference). Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw a couple of Ikran hanging off one of the ledges.

Since the Jodhpur-Udaipur ride was on the first of March, Ramada Udaipur was also where our whole group of riders celebrated my 23^rd birthday. I can certainly say that riding from one scenic location to another on fabulous roads with a friendly group was an unforgettable way to celebrate.

Now, if this sounds like a fantastic experience, that is because it really was and, therefore, you might want to know how to enrol for such a ride. Step one is to keep an eye on @RoyalEnfield, @RoyalEnfieldRides as well as @RoyalEnfieldCruising socials in addition to Royal Enfield’s website. They announce the details of their forthcoming rides periodically as well as the locations and the bikes recommended for such rides. For example, this one was exclusive to Super Meteors but there are others where any Royal Enfield bike will do. Once you zero in on the ride of your choice, all that’s left is to enrol for it, read the terms and conditions, and arrange a bike. If you happen to own the required motorcycle, so much the better; if you don’t, Royal Enfield provide a rental facility for an additional fee. All the rental bikes during this ride were in fine fettle and ensured a trouble-free ride for us.

How much will all this cost you? This ride cost Rs 85,000 per person and Rs 1.45 lakh for those travelling as a couple. This included living accommodation, route curation, organisational fees, breakfast, dinner, and assistance of Royal Enfield’s full back-up vehicle fleet that included the luggage carrying truck and a comprehensive roadside assistance suite.

What is not included is petrol, lunch, any additional activities you may want to take part in, miscellaneous purchases, bike part replacements (if required), cost incurred to reach the starting point from your home as well as that for the return journey from the point of culmination. If you don’t own the necessary bike, then rental charges need to be paid separately. For this ride, Royal Enfield charged Rs 2,500 per day for the Super Meteor, which came to Rs 25,000 for the 10-day ride.

In my opinion, the Desert Diary Ride combined adventure, exploration, and luxury very well and resulted in an unforgettable experience. It was great fun and we would highly recommend it.