Royal Enfield Continental GT Discontinued
Bigger Continental GT650 will replace the outgoing Continental GT 535
Royal Enfield recently unveiled the 650cc twin-cylinder cousins- Continental GT650 and the Interceptor 650. While we were wondering when those bikes will arrive in India, Royal Enfield was already working on this plan. The Royal Enfield Continental GT has been discontinued in India to make way for the bigger Continental GT650.
The Continental GT was inspired by the vintage 1965 Continental GT that was powered by a 250cc motor. However, when Continental GT was relaunched in 2013 it didn’t receive great market response.This was due to several reasons, firstly the 535cc single-piston engine just wasn’t powerful enough for the racier Royal Enfield. The price tag of Rs 2.9 lakh meant that highly competent KTM Duke 390 was its closest rival. Moreover, the cafe racer design made it impractical for day to day use. Relaunching the Royal Enfield Continental GT was a bold move because the Indian consumers were accustomed to seeing Royal Enfield as a cruiser rather than a sporty motorcycle. And when you are targeting this kind of fan following, the product has to be exceptionally good. The company tried to offer quality chassis parts like Gabriel designed front forks, Gas-charged shocks, Brembo Brakes and double cradle chassis design. But as they say- “There is no replacement for Displacement”.
Now, Royal Enfield wants to do it right and give us the Continental GT650 later this year. This 650cc parallel-twin engine powered cafe racer was showcased at the 2017 EICMA show and received a good response. This new 650cc engine churns out 47PS of max power at 7100rpm and a peak torque of 52 Nm at 4000rpm. This should answer to those who wanted more power.
That said, the price of Royal Enfield Continental GT650 is expected to go up considerably. How much? Rs 3 lakh, If we were to guess. If that sounds steep, then there is good news for you- You can still pick up outgoing Continental GT 535 for a discounted price. Few dealerships are still left with the unsold stock of Continental GT 535 and they will be happy to let it go for a good bargain. If you are concerned about the spare parts issue that crops up with the Continental 535; don’t be! Because Royal Enfield will continue to manufacture Continental GT 535 for exporting to other countries. So, spare parts should be widely available.
This is launching before GT650 – RE Thunderbird 500X
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