Royal Enfield motorcycles were made for comfortable long rides and were perfect for long distance touring. The KTM RC 390, on the other hand is a purely performance oriented machine. A few years ago, Royal Enfield launched their flagship models Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 in the Indian market and just like other Royal Enfields, they were also a huge success. These flagships are currently the most affordable twin cylinder motorcycle in the country. The RC 390 on the other hand is the most powerful fully faired motorcycle sold by KTM. Here we have a video that shows a top-end race between a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and KTM RC390.
The video has been uploaded by Ayush Verma on his youtube channel. The video starts by showing both the motorcycles and the road the riders will be doing the tests. They have chosen an empty patch where there was no traffic at all and were wearing proper riding gears for safety. The Interceptor 650 used in the video gets an aftermarket exhaust Red Rooster which is very loud and improves the performance slightly.
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The race as usual is conducted in 2 rounds and the vlogger starts by riding the RC 390. The race starts and instantly, RC takes the lead and maintains it through out the race. The Interceptor is a heavy motorcycle and was struggling keep up with the KTM. The riders continued to race for some distance and the lead was maintained by RC 390.
Before starting the second round, riders swap motorcycles and the vlogger was on Interceptor 650 this time. The race starts and the RC 390 was ahead of Interceptor for few seconds but surprisingly, the Interceptor overtakes RC 390 and takes the pole position. The rider on RC is surprised and he is simply pushing the KTM to its limits to overtake the Royal Enfield but fails. The RC390 takes the second round making it a tie.
After the second round, the fellow rider asks for a bonus round and riders change motorcycles once again. The KTM wins that round as well. So, what exactly happened here?. The KTM RC 390 generates 43 Bhp and the Interceptor 650 generates 47 Bhp and 52 Nm of torque. One of the factor that held Interceptor was its weight. It is definitely a bigger and heavier motorcycle and there is no protection from wind blast as well.
The main reason however was the riding style itself. The rider who lost every time was not launching the bike properly and was also not shifting properly. His shift timings were affecting the speed and performance of the motorcycle. The vlogger was also rode both motorcycle and was winning every time because he was launching and shifting properly. This video is a perfect example that shows the importance of riding style during a race.
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