FIRST RIDE
P62
ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL GT
You're not going to leave
many others in the dust
on the Royal Enfield, but
you look good at whatever
speed you're going.
claimed curb weight of 405 once
the shapely 3.5-gallon fuel tank
is 90 percent full), split 53/47
percent thanks to the engine being mounted well forward to load
up the front wheel for extra grip,
according to Harris.
The flat 31.4-inch high solo
seat with contrast stitching is a
beautiful piece likely to become
a favorite of classic special builders, and it's also surprisingly
comfy. Royal Enfield is eager to
market this as a café racer, but
thanks to the quite tall clip-ons,
which are actually positioned
above the triple clamps, the riding position is really too upright to
qualify for this.
Authenticity must be delivered in
tandem with rideability, and comfort, for success in today's market.
In keeping with that, the flip-up
footpegs aren't set too far back on
the Continental GT, and you can
easily kick out the sidestand - plus
there's a well thought out handle
as part of the left shock's upper
mounting to help you lug it on to
the centerstand easily.
Little things mean a lot, and
there are plenty of nice touches
on the new Enfield, including the
Monza-style filler cap, the sweptback exhaust header ending in
a chromed megaphone (with its
graceful taper belying the fact it
carries a three-way catalyst making the Continental GT Euro4legal), the bar-end mirrors that
give an excellent view behind, the
chrome-shelled headlamp and
retro rear light, and the twin round
analog instruments with chrome
bezels. And the speedo on the
left has a digital panel with mileage, twin trips and a fuel gauge.
You can't help but feel that Xenophya has got the styling dead
right – this is an authentic update
of a period classic, just like a Triumph Bonneville or today's Fiat
500, rather than a bad taste pastiche like the current VW Beetle.
However, none of this would
be any use if the engine package
wasn't any good, and after grappling with the hit-or-miss gear
selection properties of the fourspeed transmission in the last
