Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Review
Bike Tested: Royal Enfield Continental GT 650; Road Test No. 1043; Test Location: Mumbai
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 3,35,050/-
The Continental GT 650 is currently the flagship motorcycle for Royal Enfield
Royal Enfield launched the 650 Twins in mid-November and it just shook up the market as the pricing is just mind-boggling. I was very keen on riding the Continental GT 650 as the Continental GT 535 was the motorcycle I did my first travelogue on (Mumbai to Goa). To my excitement, I and Faisal rode both the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 a few weeks back but only for a few hours. But then last week, we got the Continental GT 650 from the RE First Mumbai store and had it for quite some time. Did it go the way I was expecting? Here’s a review on the flagship Royal Enfield motorcycle!
Motor Quest: The first Continental GT was a 250cc twin-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle producing around 21 BHP. Launched in 1965, it came with a 5-speed gearbox, clip-on handlebars, rear-set footpegs and a swept exhaust. In November 2013, we saw the same design language with the Continental GT 535. This time, Royal Enfield has gone ahead with a similar design language for the GT 650 as well.
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The Continental GT 650 has an iconic cafe racer design
Styling – The Continental incorporates the classic retro cafe racer design which looks very pleasing yet subtle. From the front to the rear, there is a minimal amount of bodywork. Spoke wheels, metal tank, telescopic suspension with gators, round headlight with a small visor and simple halogen tail-light and indicators give it a complete retro feel. The test bike here was equipped with a touring accessory seat which added more to the classic Continental look. Fully exposed engine with an oil-sump cover just as big as the fuel tank and twin up-swept exhaust pipes finished in chrome. This Continental GT had a great balance of chrome and black, which really grabbed a lot of attention.
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Dual pod analogue cluster which is shared between the 650 Twins
Instrument Cluster and Switchgear – The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 gets a twin-pod instrument cluster which we have seen in quite a few Royal Enfield bikes. But even after being the flagship model, the GT 650’s cluster isn’t loaded with a lot of information. Although it’s an analogue-digital unit, the analogue includes the speedometer and tachometer. While the digital unit has twin trip meters, odometer and fuel gauge. The necessary information is conveyed from this cluster but then the Thunderbird also gets a similar cluster and it provides even more information. The switchgear also has a piano finish which is also shared across a few Royal Enfield motorcycles.
