Royal Enfield 650 range India prices to start below Rs 3 lakh

Royal Enfield has just revealed US pricing for the Interceptor and Continental GT. The MSRP for the Interceptor starts from $5,799 (about Rs 4.21 lakh), while the price of the Continental GT starts from $5,999 (approx. Rs 4.36 lakh). The price goes up for the bikes with special colour schemes. However, when the motorcycles come to India before the end of this year, we believe Royal Enfield will price the motorcycles below the Rs 3 lakh (ex-showroom) mark.

The price for the Interceptor in Custom trim in the United States goes up to $5,999 (about Rs 4.36 lakh) and further up to $6,499 (approx. Rs 4.72 lakh) for the Chrome variant. Meanwhile, the Custom and Chrome variants on the Continental GT are priced at $6,249 (about Rs 4.53 lakh) and $6,749 (about Rs 4.91 lakh). This means the premium one has to pay for a chrome colour scheme in the United States is around $700 (Rs 50,000)!

Both new bikes are powered by a 648cc, air-cooled, SOHC, fuel-injected parallel-twin motor which produces 47hp at 7,250rpm and 52Nm of torque at 5,250rpm. The engine is paired to a 6-speed gearbox with a slip-assist clutch. We also recently found out that the engine has been tuned to have a healthy torque curve, with 80 percent (over 40Nm) available from just 2,500rpm. On the other hand, power peaks at just over 7,000rpm, which means it should be quite rev-happy too.

These new Royal Enfields are equipped with a conventional telescopic fork and gas-charged twin shock absorbers. Braking is addressed by a single 320mm disc up-front and a smaller, 240mm disc at the rear with dual-channel ABS as standard. The bikes also share the same wheel and tyre sizes. The wheels are 18 inchers and the tyre sizes are 100/90-18 at the front and 130/70-18 at the rear.

The bikes also have a claimed top speed of over 160kph and an overall fuel efficiency figure of 25.5kpl (WMTC). The kerb weights for the Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650 are 198kg and 202kg (without fuel), respectively. The fuel tank on the Interceptor is also slightly larger, at 13.7 litres, compared to the 12.5-litre tank on the Conti GT. The seat height and ground clearance on both motorcycles is identical, at 804mm and 174mm, respectively.