Royal Enfield has expanded its portfolio with the new Bullet 650 Twin - its seventh model upon the tried-and-tested 648cc, twin-cylinder engine platform. This is the biggest iteration of the Bullet in the model’s nearly one hundred year existence. We were recently able to subject the Bullet 650 Twin to our instrumented performance tests and here are the results.
Royal Enfield Bullet 650 acceleration
Considering that the 648cc, twin-cylinder, air/oil-cooled Royal Enfield motor is in the same state of tune as most of its other siblings, in the Bullet, the performance here isn’t entirely unexpected. Being able to manage a sub-7s 0-100kph sprint is a good level of performance for a 243 kilo machine and in the real world, acceleration feels reassuringly measured and while this is undoubtedly a quick bike, it's not a frantic one. It's important to note that our tests were conducted in dry conditions.
Royal Enfield Bullet 650 roll-on acceleration
The strong point of the Royal Enfield twin-cylinder motor has always been its mid-range grunt, which is where the engine is usually going to be in most situations on the road. Opening the accelerator in any gear results in quick forward progress and you don’t really need to plan your overtakes on the Bullet 650, be it in the city or the highway. One point to bear in mind is that there’s little merit in revving this motor all the way to the redline and its sweet spot is the mid-range.
RE Bullet 650 braking
Surefooted braking is a necessity on a machine that weighs 243 kilos and thankfully, the Bullet 650’s binders are more than up to the task. With a big 320mm disc up front and a slightly smaller 300mm disc at the rear, the Bullet 650’s binders are up to the task of bringing it to a halt quickly and surefootedly. Dual-channel ABS is standard and it cannot be deactivated, even partially.
RE Bullet 650 specifications and price
The Bullet 650 is the most affordable Royal Enfield model based on the Super Meteor chassis architecture and is mechanically identical to its sibling, the Classic 650 Twin. At Rs 3.65 lakh, the Bullet costs the same as the starting price for the Classic 650 and is one of the most affordable 650cc models in the Royal Enfield lineup, priced similarly to the top Interceptor 650.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
