Enfield of dreams

Royal Enfield's 650 twins have been a roaring success since they reached dealers in the spring of 2019. So how can a classically-styled machine appeal to such a wide range of riders? John Nutting rode one to find out

- JOHN NUTTING

What's most exciting about the success of the new Royal Enfield 650 twins is that they are classically-styled machines in the truest sense, yet have been developed to the most up-to-date performance and design standards.

Even more remarkable is that they've been manufactured to specs that mean newbie A2 license holders can ride them, and at a selling price that almost defies logic. No wonder then that the bikes, offered in Interceptor and Continental GT versions, have been the UK's top sellers in the 125cc-650cc category since they reached dealers in March 2019.

At Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, whose focus is Japanese machines from the seventies to the noughties, there's recently been a broadening of the coverage that embraces modern bikes like the Yamaha XSR700 twin, Kawasaki W800 twin and the latest four-cylinder Suzuki Katana, all of which use classic styling based on a contemporary platform. Stretching the argument to include bikes like the latest Moto Guzzi V-twins and Triumph Bonneville 900cc and 1200cc parallel twins involved a measure of bartering with the editor, because the official line was that these were covered adequately elsewhere in the Mortons portfolio. But now the gates have been opened, as you see here, to the latest Royal Enfields.