Royal Enfield Classic 650 Spied Undisguised, Launching Soon

Royal Enfield is known to be working on a Classic 650, powered by the familiar 650cc engine. Recently a test mule was spotted undisguised indicating a soon-coming market debut. The spy images this time, aren’t from India. Shared by Darren Waite, and taken online by Rushlane, these were likely captured in the UK, where RE currently has its technology centre.

The Classic, for Royal Enfield, is an iconic nameplate, loved for its signature design and rider ergonomics. Over the years, we have seen it in the 350 and 500 forms. The current generation of the Classic 350 is based on the J platform and is powered by the new-age J-series engine. On the good side, while making the transition from the previous generation to the new 350, Royal Enfield kept most of the Classic’s signature design cues safe and the rest were improved upon.

If spy shots are to be believed, the manufacturer seems to be doing the same with the Classic 650 as well. The motorcycle captured has retro-styling, with most of the moniker’s signature cues intact. The design seems to make a sweet blend of vintage aesthetics and modern performance.

Key cues like a circular headlamp, wide handlebar, curvy fuel tank, retro-styled front and rear fenders, and circular tail lamps have been retained. The motorcycle in the picture has a maroon and cream dual-tone colour scheme, which could distantly remind you of the Super Meteor. Even though this particular bike has spoke wheels, alloys are also expected in the production form.

Going by how the 650 range has been evolving lately, it makes sense to expect the upcoming motorcycle to get features like LED lighting, gear position indicator and colour display with tripper navigation. More details on these are yet to surface.

The Classic 650 will be powered by the familiar 648 cc parallel-twin engine that likely delivers 47 PS and 52.3 Nm. The same is seen in the likes of SuperMeteor and Interceptor. It will, however, have a different state of tune on the Classic. It is interesting to see the attention that RE has been paying to tuning their engines in recent times, and the way they instil extremely different characters into the same motors. The Classic 650 is expected to feature smooth gear shifts and pack good low-end grunt. It will come with a 6-speed gearbox. Most likely, the signature ‘Thump’ will be kept safe.

The motorcycle will use a tubular Steel frame suspended by telescopic front forks and twin shock absorbers that will likely offer preload adjustments. Going by the pictures alone, there should be enough suspension travel for smooth, stable and comfortable rides. The front could get 320 mm disc brakes while it could be a smaller 300mm unit at the rear. Dual-channel ABS is also expected across variants.

Upon launch, it will slot in as an affordable and usable motorcycle in the 650 range. RE’s 650 lineup currently has the Super Meteor, Interceptor and the Continental GT. All these motorcycles feel premium and have some amount of ‘niche-ness’ to them. The Classic 650 could thus become the most practical and usable of the lot.

While it is too early to comment on the same, Royal Enfield could price the motorcycle on the affordable shore of things. It could sit around the 3.5 lakh mark, ex-showroom. The base variants could ditch tripper navigation and USDs. It will become the new entry point into the 650 lineup when launched. RE is expected to launch the Classic 650- a global product- sometime in 2024, and the recently launched BSA Goldstar 650 will be its prime rival here.