The Royal Enfield Classic 350 thumper is a great entry point for practical rider nostalgia and for general usage but for those novice or returning seasoned riders looking for significantly more oomph and even more pronounced charisma then the new Continental GT 650 Twin is the steed to have. Once again, the model has been reviewed before but I wanted my own direct experience with it to either reconfirm how great it is or perhaps reel it back for revaluation. I am so pleased that I did take the opportunity to test the brilliant café racer, it exceeded my expectations, I loved it!
Let me tell you early on that, I can genuinely confirm that the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Twin is the most compelling standard mid-range bike in our market today for its value-for-money, its overall design and packaging, and ultimately the joy in creates while you are zipping effortlessly along with its cool clip-on handlebars and unique voice.
The steel double-downtube cradle frame was designed with the help of renowned chassis builders Harris Performance. The non-adjustable 41mm conventional front forks with rubber gaiter boots and twin reservoir-equipped shocks (with seven-step rear spring preload adjustments) are from Gabriel. The brakes are handled by ByBre (Brembo subsidiary) with Bosch dual-channel ABS, a twin-piston slide-pin caliper up front squeezing a single 12.6-inch (320 mm) drilled disc and a single piston slide-pin caliper at the rear managing a 9.45-inch drilled (240 mm) rear disc.
The wheels are glorious vintage 36-spoke aluminum alloy rims, fitted onto bespoke inner tube-type CEAT Zoom Cruz F tires, specially developed for Royal Enfield, 2.50 x 18-inch rim with 100/90-18 M/C 56H in the front and slightly wider 3.50 x 18-inch rear rim shod with 130/70-18 M/C 63H. The tires are dynamically balanced but I would prefer the optional Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp tires which offer more grip for more aggressive riding. Ground clearance is 174 mm with a 24-degree rake angle and 106 mm of trail, and weighs in wet at 450 pounds (204 kg.) so the GT rides with pronounced nimbleness.
The Continental GT’s instrumentation is straightforward with a traditional yet tasteful round tachometer and speedometer setup that includes a digital fuel gauge and odometer but I wish it had both mph and km/h speed measure formats included. I also wish the lighting was updated to LED for illumination strength, better aesthetics, energy efficiency, and reduced heat.