Royal Enfield Continental GT 650

Royal Enfield Continental GT 650

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is a powerful and spirited motorcycle with an iconic twist. It makes for a unique proposition at its price point.

How’s the design?

The bike comes with a classic and intriguing retro design like a café racer. In terms of road presence, matching up to it is hard. It offers lower bodywork across the rear and front, while coming with a round headlamp, smaller visor, suspension system with gators, metal tank, spoke wheels, and a halogen tail lamp and indicators. There is the completely bare engine with the oil-sump cover which is huge. There are also swept-up twin exhaust pipes with chrome finishes. The chrome touches are simply fantastic to say the least. Looks-wise, this is arguably on a different plane.

How is the performance?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 comes with a 648 cc parallel-twin engine that makes 47 BHP and 52 Nm of peak torque. The engine revs neatly with a spread-out power band as well. The mid-range is chunky enough while the bike also feels responsive around the top-end. It can touch 100 kmph in the third gear, going up to 160 kmph easily. The bike comes with a good lower-end as well, making it a good option for city rides as well. Yet, the speeds come fast and the redline is at 8,000 RPM. The gearbox shifts nicely (6-speed) and the clutch is also lighter this time around. The engine revs smoothly over 7,000 RPM while churning out higher power than many of its counterparts. The Royal Enfield counter-balancer has been a masterstroke on this count, enabling more refinement and a zero-harsh engine note. There are only some negligible vibrations nearer to the 8,000 RPM mark. The engine has a mellower feel due to this reason as well.

How does the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 ride?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 offers good ride and handling with a sporty touch as well. It offers a neat riding posture while the stiffer suspension also aids things. The front suspension can take most bumps and the rear gets 5-step pre-load adjustability as well. The stability quotient is tremendous and cornering is also nice. There is good grip with the Pirelli tyres and dual-channel Bosch ABS is another handy feature. The braking system is good although the ABS does set in slightly earlier than desired in some scenarios. However, the bike is still heavy to maneuver.

How comfortable is the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 offers a more comfortable riding posture this time with ergonomic foot-peg placement as well. Seat cushioning is also excellent to say the least. There is ample space for the pillion rider and seat height of 804 mm will constrain shorter riders in some cases.

How’s the Tech?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 comes with a twin-pod instrument cluster and this has a tachometer and speedometer along with twin-trip meters, a fuel gauge, and odometer. The bike also gets dual-channel ABS from Bosch along with piano-finished switchgear.

How’s the mileage of the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 offers mileage of 25 to 28 kmpl.

Is the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 good value for money?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 offers decent value for money and gets good features, a stylish design, great ride and handling manners, and most importantly, brand value. The bike is one of the best offerings from the brand in the country at this price point. The engine performance is a major plus point for sure.

How is the after sales service?

The service intervals are 5,000 km, 10,000 km, 20,000 km, 30,000 km, 40,000 km, and 50,000 km.

Which motorbikes compete in this Segment?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 takes on its own sibling, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, the KTM 390, and the Harley Davidson Street 750. It does manage to hold its own in the segment with its power, performance, looks, and features.

Verdict (Value for Money)

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 stands out on the road and comes with immense brand value and road presence. It has a refined and powerful engine with great performance and speed. The ride and handling is top class while the price point is also competitive. However, braking could have been even better and the engine feels mellower this time around. The instrument console also feels slightly obsolete. Yet, these are minor aspects, since the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 manages to create that wow factor with ease.