Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, which were launched in November 2018, have struck the right chord among the performance biking enthusiasts of the country
By now it has become for sure that there is no stopping the great popularity of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. The RE 650 twins have enjoyed a great demand right from the word go, so much so that the company ramped up the production in April 2019 to meet the burgeoning demand.
Last month, the company sold 1,751 units of its 650cc models, which is quite a number for bikes that retail in the above-Rs 2.5 lakh price bracket. On the other hand, sales of the 500cc models have fallen drastically, with a drop of over 70% on the YoY basis. The Classic 500, for example, could find only 640 buyers, which is a massive 73% drop from 2,328 units sold in June 2018.
Even the Thunderbird 500 saw a huge dip of 72% in its sales performance, with just 97 units sold last month as compared to 347 units sold in June 2018. The Bullet 500, on the other hand, witnessed a 51% dip, with only 136 units sold in June 2019 as against 284 units sold in the same month last year.
Coming back to the RE 650 twins, the flagship models in the company’s range of motorcycles have been in such a high demand that waiting period for these bikes has often soared to up to 6 months. Among the two, it’s the Interceptor 650 that enjoys a higher demand. This could be owing to its more comfortable riding position, thereby making it better suited for daily use as well as long-distance touring.
The Royal Enfield Continental GT, on the other hand, is the racier one of the two, with a more committed riding position typical of a true blue café racer. Still, however, there’s a reasonable demand for even the Continental GT and the two bikes mostly have a similar waiting period. In the export markets, however, it’s the café racer that has witnessed a higher demand.
The RE 650 twins were launched in November last year. While the Interceptor 650 is currently priced at Rs 2.51 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), while the Continental GT 650 costs Rs 2.66 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Both the motorcycles are powered by a
648cc parallel-twin, counter-balanced engine with air- and oil-cooling.
It develops a maximum power of 47.6 PS at 7,100 rpm and a peak torque of 52 Nm at 5,200 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed transmission comes with an assist and slipper clutch as a standard option.