Modified Continental GT 650 Clocks 240kmph At Bonneville Salt Flats

Astride the Royal Enfield was 18 year-old, speed-record holder, Cayla Rivas

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650 haven’t even been launched and yet, they are making headlines already. This time around, the Continental GT 650 is in the limelight for setting a new speed record of 241kmph at Bonneville Salt Flats. Yes, you read that right.

To give you guys some background, the Bonneville Speed Week is, as the name suggests, a week-long speed trial event held at Bonneville Salt flats in Utah. Enthusiasts from all over the world gather here with their souped-up motorcycles to do one thing only - go as fast as possible in a straight line! That said, a Royal Enfield motorcycle isn’t something you’d associate with speed. Especially the cafe racer, Continental GT 650, which is ideally meant for evening strolls around the city…

...That’s what we thought before we saw the custom-made, LockStock high-performance drag bike inspired, Conti GT 650. Modified by Harris Performance, a subsidiary of Eicher-owned S&S Cycle Inc, much isn’t known about the motorcycle except for the fact that it uses an Ohlins suspension setup, different chassis and swingarm and NOS (nitrous oxide) for an extra boost. Of course, there are some changes made to the engine as well, but we still don’t know to what extent. This setup alone helped the motorcycle to clock an average speed of 241kmph in 20 runs. Undertaking this feat was 18 year-old, Cayla Rivas, who already has 12 speed records under her belt.

Coming back to the stock motorcycles, both the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 share the same 649cc, parallel-twin engine, which churns out 47PS of power and 52Nm of torque. After much delay, the twins were expected to be launched in India during Diwali season. However, our conversation with the company president, Rudratej Singh tells a different story. Click here to read about it.