ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR 650 AND CONTINENTAL GT 650

Mid-life refresh infuses a dose of modernity into the Royal Enfield twins

- RITESH PATIL

Back in late 2018, Royal Enfield generated quite a ripple not just in India but across the globe with its newest offerings, the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. The reasons, just like the motorcycles, were straightforward — retro looks combined with a torquey 648cc parallel-twin at a price that was hard to ignore. While Royal Enfield received a good reception in the country, the twins garnered great success globally, especially in the UK. Here’s a fun fact - the Interceptor 650 was the highest-selling motorcycle in the UK in the middleweight segment between June 2019 and June 2020! For 2023, Royal Enfield has updated the twins with a few modern touches, including the alloy wheels, and some visual tweaks as well. Do they still make the Royal Enfield twins more enticing as VFM motorcycles?

Let’s start with the design. The 650 twins now get LED headlamps borrowed from the Super Meteor 650, which lends an upmarket look. Both get the rotary-style switchgear design seen on newer Royal Enfields which, I feel, works better on a relaxed cruiser like the Super Meteor but takes some time to get used to on these bikes, especially the pass light operation with the thumb. The twin-pod instrument console is the same as before. While the Tripper navigation pod has been given a miss, you now have a USB port to charge your phone. Its placement under the left side of the handlebar though makes it a bit hard to access.