The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is a cafe racer motorcycle from Royal Enfield. It was launched in 2017 and is still on sale. Café racers take their look from 1960s British racers: a low handlebar, a slim tank and minimal bodywork. With a 648 cc engine it sits in the middleweight 450–800 cc class.
Power comes from a 648 cc twin-cylinder air- and oil-cooled fuel-injected engine that makes 34.9 kW at 7,150 rpm and 52.3 Nm of torque at 5,150 rpm. Its bore is wider than its stroke (78 mm x 67.8 mm), a short-stroke layout that generally favours higher revs. Divide power by kerb weight and it has about 222 PS per tonne; by that measure, it is lively, with easy overtakes and relaxed highway speeds. The claimed top speed is 170 km/h. It has electric start.
It has a 6-speed manual gearbox with a 1-down, 5-up shift pattern, and a chain carries drive to the rear wheel. Its slipper clutch lightens the lever and stops the rear wheel hopping when you downshift hard.
Its frame is steel tubular, double cradle frame with bolted trussing. Suspension is by 41 mm telescopic forks at the front and twin gas-charged shock absorbers with adjustable preload at the rear. Braking is by a 320 mm disc at the front and a 240 mm disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS. ABS on both wheels keeps either tyre from locking under hard braking. It rides on 18-inch spoke wheels.
The seat is 804 mm off the ground, which is about average and suits most riders. It weighs 214 kg ready to ride, which is on the heavy side, so moving it by hand takes some effort. Ground clearance is 174 mm — enough for most speed breakers. It is 2,119 mm long, with 1,398 mm between the axles. Its 12.5 L fuel tank and claimed mileage of 27 kmpl work out to roughly 338 km per tankful on paper; real-world range is usually lower.
Equipment includes an analogue and digital instrument console, an LED headlamp, USB charging port and gear position indicator. Safety equipment includes side-stand warning, engine kill switch, low fuel indicator, malfunction indicator and low oil indicator.
The manufacturer's warranty is 3 years or 40,000 km. It comes with 4 free services, the first due at 500 km or 45 days. For the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Mechiee offers a fixed ₹2,999 doorstep service.
It is best suited to riders who want retro style as much as performance.
Recommended tyre pressures are 32 psi front and 36 psi rear riding alone, and 32 psi front and 39 psi rear with a pillion. The published service intervals are 1st service at 500 km or 45 days, 2nd service at 5000 km or 180 days, 3rd service at 10000 km or 365 days and 4th service at 15000 km or 540 days. Its chain drive needs regular cleaning, lubrication and slack adjustment.
