Now hold on to your horses! The much awaited 650 Twin from Royal Enfield have only been exported to Australia for display. The Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 will still hit European roads first. Although, tentative pricing for both models have been announced. The Interceptor 650 has been priced at 10,000 Australian dollars (Rs. 5 lakh) while the Continental GT 650 is 400 dollars more expensive at 10,400 Australian dollars (Rs 5.2 lakh). Both motorcycles are being manufactured at Royal Enfield's plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. As far as the India launch is concerned, these bikes will be launched only after April 2018. We expect the prices for these motorcycles to be less than Rs. 4 lakh in India in order to be a super-hit with the Indian motorcycling enthusiasts.
(Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Chrome)Both motorcycles follow a modern classic design with the Interceptor 650 carrying a roadster design and the Continental GT 650 being a café racer. The bikes use the same dual-cradle, tubular steel frame which has been designed and developed by Harris Performance. Both motorcycles will have the same 648 cc parallel-twin, air-cooled engine which will churn out maximum power of 47 bhp at 7,100 rpm and the peak torque being rated at 52 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The engine will be mated to a new six-speed gearbox. Both motorcycles will have anti-lock brakes as standard. Other cycle parts such as suspension and brakes too remain the same.
This is the first time that Royal Enfield has ventured into multi-cylinder engines and gone above 535 cc displacement. Royal Enfield has assured that these bikes will have top notch fit and finish and a lot of thought and work has gone into the quality as well. We are waiting with bated breath for the bikes to be launched in India and to ride it as well.
