Royal Enfield’s Interceptor 650 goes head-on with the Harley-Davidson Street 750.
Royal Enfield unveiled the Interceptor 650 Twin and the Continental GT 650 Twin just yesterday at the 2017 EICMA Motor Show in Milan, Italy. With these motorcycles, Royal Enfield aims to be the global leader in the middle-weight category. However, time will tell who becomes what but for now, we do an on-paper comparison to find out how does the Interceptor fare against the Street 750.
Looks – Both the motorcycles here look simple. However, it’s the Street 750 that’s more stylish. Both the motorcycles get classic round-shaped headlight (Street 750 gets a black visor), upright handlebar and simple instrumentation. The Interceptor does with dual exhaust pipes while the Street settles with just one. The Street gets black alloy wheels while the Interceptor gets spoked wheels. The Street 750 is all American muscle while the Interceptor 650 is all classic British heritage.
Dimensions – The Harley is longer (by 93 mm) and wider (by 26 mm) but shorter (by 456 mm) when compared to the Interceptor. While these figures might not bother you that much, what you will, of course, consider when buying either of the two motorcycles is the ground clearance and wheelbase. The Street 750’s ground clearance of 145 mm is too low when compared with the Interceptors’ 174 mm. Though the wheelbase of the Interceptor isn’t available currently, looking at both the bikes, one can come to a conclusion that the wheelbase of the Street 750 is much higher than the Interceptor. A shorter wheelbase ensures better flickability in the city while a longer wheelbase means highway miles can be munched with ease.
Features – Both the motorcycles get halogen headlamps and ABS. However, the Street 750 marginally surpasses the Interceptor by offering black alloy wheels. Both the bikes get telescopic forks up front and twin shock absorbers at the rear. Disc brakes at both the ends take care of braking duties.
Powertrain – The Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes powered by the Revolution-X V-Twin motor that churns out 58 HP of power (estimated) and 59 Nm of torque while the Royal Enfield Interceptor is powered by a 648cc parallel-twin motor that produces 47 HP of power and 52 Nm of torque. Both the engines pair with a 6-speed gearbox. The Harley can easily do speeds of up to 180 km/hr and we have seen the Royal Enfield doing speeds of 160 km/hr. So on that front, there isn’t much of a difference between both the bikes.
Verdict – Royal Enfield is expected to price the Interceptor at Rs. 3.5 lakhs (ex-showroom) and if it does, it will significantly undercut the Harley’s asking price of Rs. 4.91 lakhs (ex-showroom). However, a Harley is a Harley at the end of the day. Comparing these two motorcycles is like comparing the OnePlus 5 and an iPhone 7 where the latter is considered a status symbol. If you want your motorcycle to announce your arrival, get instantly noticed on the road and if you don’t mind paying that extra premium of approximately Rs. 1.4 lakhs, then head to the nearest Harley-Davidson store and buy the Street 750. Otherwise, you know where to look at.
RE Interceptor 650 vs HD Street 750
