Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 have together recorded more than 1,000 unit sales for the first time in January 2019
Royal Enfield introduced the long-awaited 650 Twins in the Indian market in November 2018 with huge anticipation. The flagship motorcycles, as expected, saw the light of the day with aggressive price tags as Royal Enfield endured good initial demand. Despite a modest start with 325 units in November, RE nearly doubled the sales in the final month of last year with 629 units.
As predicted, the homegrown two-wheeler manufacturer has been able to make a good start in 2019 as the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 registered more than 1,000 unit sales in January 2019. With a total of 1,069 units, the 650 Twins have leapt ahead of their premium rivals by a big margin once again.
Priced highly aggressively, the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 have their starting prices stand at Rs. 2.50 lakh and Rs. 2.65 lakh respectively (ex-showroom, pan India) and they are offered with standard warranty of three years or 40,000 km to lure in customers. Royal Enfield sells the Interceptor 650 Custom at Rs. 2.57 lakh.
Moreover, the Continental GT 650 Custom is priced at Rs. 2.72 lakh (ex-showroom, pan India). The 650 Twins is powered by the 648 cc parallel twin engine with air and oil cooling. With 270-degree firing order, the powertrain is capable of churning out a maximum power output of 47 hp and 52 Nm of peak torque.
The most powerful modern engine from the oldest two-wheeler brand in continuous production is connected to a six-speed transmission with standard slip assist clutch. The powerplant is well-received for its suppleness and minimum vibration and more importantly being advanced than any other Royal Enfield currently on sale.
Both the motorcycles are built on steel tubular frame and share several mechanical components. However, they do have distinctive character as the Interceptor 650 is a modern roadster, and the most preferred of the two, while the Continental GT 650 is a cafe racer. They come with dual channel ABS system as standard.