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The launch of the twins from Royal Enfield is undoubtedly the most exciting bike launch of the year. Now, with the prices out, we finally get to ride them on home soil.

- Jared Solomon

The Dominar was indeed a very strong entry for Bajaj in the 400cc category, and it did make some ripples. They even launched an ad campaign specifically targeting Royal Enfield, in which the classic RE bikes were replaced by large, lumbering elephants. This direct swing at RE must have irked the Chennai-based company quite a bit. But we already knew that they were working on something special behind closed doors.

The Twins are now here. The premium 650cc motorcycles have been priced starting at 2.5 lakh. So, ultimately, RE does seem to have something in common with those elephants, for the Indian bikemaker, and the world’s oldest bike company, is now all set to trample its competitors like an enraged elephant. And if that’s not clear, let me put is simply – RE is literally going to destroy its competition. Harley Davidson had better come up with something extra special if they want to launch a bike in this category – something which they have in the works. As for the alliance between Bajaj and Triumph, they may need to rethink their plans too.

But all this talk about business competition is rather dull, so let’s get to the point. How do these bikes behave on Indian roads? We first rode the bikes in California during the global press ride, but those roads are a far cry from the wonderfully diverse roads that we have in our country. But, after riding the bikes around Goa for two days, it’s confirmed – these bikes are pretty damn good!