2019 ROYAL ENFIELD INT 650 & CONTINENTAL GT 650
FIRST REVIEW
P102
torque curve is so completely flat that you have no
advance warning you're nearing peak revs by the
way the torque tails off. The sound from the stock
exhaust is an enjoyable, semi-angry burble, that's
inevitably similar to a 90° V-twin thanks to the 270°
crank, although the throaty sound of the aftermar-
ket (but still Euro-4 compliant) S&S slip-ons that
one of the bikes was carrying, will surely make
them a must-have item for many who hear them.
Though it doesn't get tiring, the Continental GT's
riding position places lots of the rider's weight
on the handlebar, providing good feedback from
the front Pirelli tire even though the well-damped
Indian-made Gabriel 41mm conventional-style fork,
with 110mm of travel, is non-adjustable.
into a turn, then getting back on the gas to drive
hard out—there's a liquid-smooth but still immediate
response from closed to part-open throttle that's
literally perfect. Again, it's an ideal ride for the less
experienced—you just twist and go, with a totally
linear build of both power and torque, peaking at
7250 rpm with 47 bhp on tap, and 38 lb-ft of torque
at 5250 rpm. From throttle opening through to the
7500 rpm rev limiter, the power delivery is quite im-
pressive for a middleweight motor, with its abundant
torque ideally spread throughout the rev range.
The single gear-driven counterbalancer re-
moves every trace of vibration all the way to the
hard-action 7500 rpm limiter, which, to start
with, I frequently made friends with because the
These new 650 twins may be built
to a price point, but Royal Enfield's en-
gineering team has achieved much with
its brief. At a relaxed pace, the fork absorbs
bumps in the road surface easily, though the
more heavily sprung twin-shock rear end, with
its limited 88mm of wheel travel, does skip
about over bumps, plus ride quality isn't the
greatest over rippled everyday road surfaces.
The stiffly sprung shocks' insufficient rebound
damping caused the bike to bounce around
over some bumps, but despite that short
stroke length there was no bottoming out.
(Right) Hook in on
the GT and you'll
get a surprisingly
large amount of
performance for
such an inexpensive
machine. (Left) No
800-900cc twins
just yet, but you
don't really need
it with the INT 650.
It's a pleasure
to ride.
