Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 & Continental GT 650 waiting periods to reduce: Here’s why!

Royal Enfield is sitting on a massive order book for the recently launched Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650  twins. Waiting periods across most parts of India for the Royal Enfield twins have hit 4-6 months. But all this is  about to change. Royal Enfield sources have confirmed to ZigWheels that production is all set to double. Currently,  Royal Enfield produces 2,500 units of the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 each month. While most of this  production is for India, some part of it makes for exports as well. By doubling production to 5,000 units, Royal  Enfield is likely to bring down waiting periods for the Interceptor 650 & Continental GT 650 to about 3 months.

The real reason why both the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are selling like hot cakes in India is because of  pricing. Royal Enfield has really set the cat among pigeons with the Twins’ pricing. Prices of the Interceptor 650  start from Rs. 2.37 lakhs while those of the Continental GT 650 start from Rs. 2.49 lakhs. At these prices, the Royal  Enfield twins are not just the least priced multi-cylinder engined motorcycles in India, but are also the biggest  engined bikes that are sold for so little. Competition for the Royal Enfield twins – in price terms consists of the  KTM Duke 390 and the TVS Apache RR 310.

As for twin cylinder motorcycles, the cheapest alternative to the Royal Enfield twins is the Harley Davidson Street  750, which is priced at more than double. Also, the Triumph Street Twin range is nearly 3 times pricier than the  Royal Enfield 650 twins. While some of the Triumph and Harley Davidson buyers are seriously looking at the Royal  Enfield twins, the real driving force behind the high numbers are coming from existing Royal Enfield owners, who’re  upgrading from 350cc and 500cc bikes. Royal Enfield is expected to launch more 650cc engined motorcycles in the next couple of years.

Meanwhile, the Royal Enfield 650 twins are extremely competent motorcycles. They are based on a brand new platform. The platform is powered by a new 647cc, parallel twin four stroke petrol engine developed in-house by Royal Enfield. This motor is air-oil cooled and has a 270 degree firing order that gives it a deep rumble rather than a thump. Most Royal Enfield 650 buyers don’t seem to mind this at all. The motor operates with 4 valve heads run by a single overhead camshaft, and can rev to over 7,500 rpm. Peak power is rated at 47 Bhp while peak torque is rated at 52 Nm. A six speed manual gearbox with a slipper clutch accompanies this motor, which also gets fuel injection as standard. As for safety, the Royal Enfield twins get disc brakes on both wheels with standard dual channel ABS. The motorcycles will soon get alloy wheels as accessories, which will also allow buyers to opt for tubeless tyres.