Royal Enfield Unveils Interceptor And Continental GT 650

The Interceptor is a 650cc classic naked while the Continental GT 650 is a cafe racer

Royal Enfield has forayed into the multi-cylinder segment with two new bikes. The Interceptor and Continental GT 650 use Royal Enfield’s new twin-cylinder powerplant. Both feature a retro design but get modern design in keeping with the modern classic segment. Both bike were designed keeping in mind the Royal Enfields from the 60’s Mods and Rockers era.

The Interceptor gets the retro treatment with a new teardrop-shaped fuel tank, a quilted pattern twin seat, a wide braced handlebar and twin megaphone exhausts. The bike gets brushed chrome accents and will be available in orange, red and silver colours. Ground clearance is 174mm and seat height is 804mm. Fuel tank capacity is 13.7 litres while kerb weight is 202kg.

The Continental GT 650 is a cafe racer which looks similar to Royal Enfield's smaller Continental GT, but, according to them, is 90 per cent new. The Cafe racer fuel tank gets a graphic stripe running down the sides while the side panel gets a gloss black treatment. The single seat is finished in a rear hump. The bike gets blacked-out treatment on its mudguards and spoked wheels. The twin megaphone exhausts, though, get the chrome treatment. Colour options are white, light blue and black. Ground clearance is 174mm and seat height is 790mm. Fuel tank capacity is 13.7 litres while kerb weight is 202kg. The tank hold 12.5 litres of fuel and kerb weight is 198kg.

The most important aspect of the bikes is the all-new engine. The focus was to build a modern powerplant which retains the characteristic Enfield exhaust note and engine vibrations that RE purists love. The air- and oil-cooled engine has a vintage exterior design but gets modern internals. (Read about the engine here). The 650cc parallel-twin motor makes 47.6PS and 53Nm of torque. Both bikes will be able to cross the ton (160kmph) mark.

The chassis has been developed by the team at Royal Enfield’s Technology Centre and Harris Performance, the same blokes who developed the Continental GT 535’s chassis. The steel double cradle frame gets 41mm front forks with 110mm of wheel travel and twin rear gas-charged dampers with 88mm of wheel travel. Steering rake is 24 degrees while wheelbase is 1400mm - 40mm more than the Continental GT 535. The wheels are 18-inch spoked affairs on both sides wrapped with Pirelli tyres. Braking is via single 320mm disc up front and 240mm disc at the back. Both bikes gets dual-channel ABS.

Royal Enfield will be selling both the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 in markets around the world. The bikes will have a single global spec but will get minor revisions depending on the regulations of the markets they are sold in. The new bikes will first enter European markets in April 2018 with an India launch later in the year. Expect prices between Rs 3 to 3.5 lakhs.