Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 launching today! What to expect?

Abhay Verma Updated: October 01, 2019, 10:28 AM IST

Today is the day. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are easily the most anticipated motorcycles of 2018 and both are launching in India today. So if you've been saving up for the past year to be able to own either of these two all-new Royal Enfields, your wait ends here. We're just a few moments away from the price announcement of both bikes for the Indian market and while you wait with baited breath, here's a summary of the things we think you-might-just-be-thinking-about too, before you sign that cheque.

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are expected to set new benchmarks in the midddleweight classic bike category with their pricing, performance, build quality and more

All-new Royal Enfield parallel-twin engines

The Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are powered by the same engine, which is an all-new, parallel-twin unit and one that promises to change the way RE engines are perceived. Numbers, for the record, stand at 647cc, 47PS and 52Nm. More importantly, this twin pot motor boasts top notch refinement levels and offers performance that will stun 'Bullet' stereotypes, as the Ed found out on his first outing on the twins. The water pump has evolved Hehe

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are powered by the same 647cc parallel-twin engine that is the most refined mill to power a Royal Enfield yet

RE Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 deliveries in India

The bikes go on sale today. So effectively you could get into that beeline today itself, because deliveries do commence immediately, but given how highly anticipated these motorcycles are, and of course what they bring to the table at their price point, well, expect massive we mean it massive waiting periods in almost no time.

RE Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 price expectations

Speculations have been rife for a while now, but we have reason to believe the Interceptor 650 will be priced around the Rs 2.5 lakh mark, ex-showroom that is. The Continental GT 650 should command a premium of around Rs 15,000 or so over its immediate sibling, and we expect it to undercut the Rs 3 lakh mark for its ex-showroom price as well.

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 both use the same chassis, which is an all-new double cradle frame

Chassis

Both bikes share the frame underpinning them. The visual appearance is similar to that of the (now discontinued) Continental GT 535, but this is an all-new double-cradle unit. It features removable downtubes and is suspended on 41mm telescopic forks with 110mm of travel upfront and preload adjustable gas charged twin coil over shock absorbers at the rear.

Build quality

Again, this is an area of immense interest to pretty much everyone. Given our time with the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 we can confirm to you that these two motorcycles boast the highest quality levels and attention to detail seen on a Royal Enfield yet. Given that the brand is targeting international markets in a far bigger way with these machines, a lot of emphasis has been laid on ensuring build quality and fit-finish levels are top notch. On the whole, the two bikes are in fact comparable or even better than motorcycles belonging to higher segments as far as build quality is concerned.