Long Term Review | Six months with a Royal Enfield Continental GT Twin 650

In an ever-increasingly expensive world, John Marcar is searching for cheaper options for our weekend toys. Following a six-month loan of the latest iteration of Royal Enfield's Continental GT Twin 650 - he might have just found the perfect option for riders.

The world is an expensive place at the moment. Everything from petrol to pet food seems to be approximately 20-50% more expensive than it should be or was just a year or so ago. It's sad for many reasons, but it's especially depressing for fans of motorised toys for grown-ups, like weekend cars and motorbikes.

For the vast majority, me included, sporty weekend cars, track day cars and motorbikes are a luxury. They require space, time to maintain and, of course, money - often, lots of money. Once they've been purchased or financed, there are the servicing costs, insurance costs, regular spending on replacement parts and consumables such as tyres, and the fuel and MOTs. Then there's the harrowing fear that something significant might decide to break, warranting a costly repair or replacement. 

In the ever-increasingly expensive world we now live in, many like-minded petrol-heads and gear-heads might be making the difficult decision to let their toys go - or worse, tuck them away in a garage, destined for an inevitable rusty demise. 

There could, however, be hope for the two-wheeled enthusiasts among us, and it comes in the form of a surprisingly attractive cafe racer. The bike in question is the Royal Enfield Continental GT Twin 650, and for the past six months, I've had one on a long-term loan. 

To provide a snap-shot history lesson (it's becoming a bit of a habit for me, this!) Royal Enfield is a British brand that started as 'Enfield' and was a manufacturer of sewing needles way back in the late 1800s. In 1901, the company began making bicycles and then, later, motorcycles before supporting arms and munitions supply soon after the start of the Great War. It was the 2nd World War that really proved to be a booster for Royal Enfield as the company was commissioned to make motorcycles capable of being parachuted from aircraft onto the front lines of war. 

Following WW2, Royal Enfield became a motorcycle mass producer in Britain. A few years later, in 1955, Royal Enfield branched out to produce motorbikes in India. This was mainly thanks to the Indian army commissioning a fleet of bikes a few years prior from the UK factory, which proved to be very popular. Royal Enfield (the British company) almost vanished entirely with the closing of its UK factory in the 1960s, and bikes continued to be produced under a variance of company names over in India. In the 1990s, the Royal Enfield brand was re-established as Royal Enfield LTD and all of a sudden, Indian-built Royal Enfield Motorbikes were re-appearing on roads around the world. 

Royal Enfield building motorcycles in India is excellent for many reasons. Firstly, the Indian motorcycle community absolutely love them - they love them so much that they buy tens of thousands of bikes each month. Then add on the export market, too (bikes going to other countries), and you're looking at a figure of around 63,600 bikes sold every single month. With so many being made each year (about one bike per minute), build costs are vastly reduced, which in turn allows the retail price to be very low in comparison with its similarly styled competitors.

For example, a similarly styled Triumph to the Continental GT is the Thruxton RS, which, albeit with twice the engine power, also happens to be twice the price. 

A Triumph Thruxton RS will set you back £13,595.00 before any custom options. The Royal Enfield Continental GT Twin 650, in comparison, is £6,739.00 - that's on the road, including first tax and registration, placing the Royal Enfield is £6,856.00 cheaper than the Triumph. 

Now let's look at the monthlies; on an HP with a £1000 deposit, a Continental GT will be all yours for £96 per month. On a PCP, it's even cheaper: pop down a deposit of £699, and the bike is yours for a little over £70 per month. Please use these figures as guidance over 48 months. APRs can, of course, fluctuate.

So, it's affordable, but does that mean it's poor quality? Here's the best bit: no. Like many people in the Instagram comments section, I thought that a cheaper motorcycle surely has to mean inferior quality. Upon taking delivery of the Continental, however, I realised I was very wrong. My first impressions of the bike were fantastic; I mean, just look at it. This spec, affectionately known as 'Mr Clean', is famed for its striking chrome cafe racer fuel tank and chassis. Once I'd drawn my eyes away from the mirror-like tank, I wanted to get up close to the rest of the bike and, crucially, the touch points like the handlebars, switch gear, footpegs and levers—the outcome: near-faultless. 

Once seated, the build quality is even more evident. It's a tubular steel-framed chassis that supports the beautiful twin-cylinder 650 engine and gearbox. Paired with the chrome tank, the polished casings on either side of the bike give the distinctive and instantly recognisable design characteristics of a Royal Enfield. Looking down at the handlebars, you have two nice big clear dials, one for speed and the other for revs. Within the tachometer, you can make out a series of illuminating lights, including indicators, abs, voltage and oil, which are all very reassuring. On the speedometer, there is a small LCD screen that shows a fuel gauge, and with a cycle-through button located between the clocks, you can display the mileage and two individual trip computers. It's a basic setup, but what more do you need? On the handlebars, you have the essential switch gear with a main/dipped beam switch on the left side, along with indicators, a horn, and a flash-to-pass trigger on the front. You have the ignition switch on the right side, plus the start button. The buttons and switches are all excellent quality and on par with what you would expect to find on a new bike from any other marque. There are no optional rider modes such as 'sport', 'touring' or 'rain' as you often see on other bikes now; it's just one 'good for all' setting - 'on'.

Once rolling, I wanted to address some of the comments I'd heard from other riders regarding the Continental. I'd heard complaints about the brakes saying they weren't quite sharp enough, but honestly, I couldn't fathom an issue. It's not the lightest bike in the world at 200KG, so add on another 90KG of rider, and it's got a task to stop - but at no point have I felt the bike is 'underperforming' on the brakes, and I'm pretty sure a set of off the shelf upgraded brake pads will cure most riders concerns. 

Another moan I'd heard was regarding the suspension set-up, some saying it's too stiff, and others saying too soft - again, considering it's a sub-£7k bike, I can't really decipher what there is to complain about. Yes, the components will be on the cheaper end of the product spectrum, but again, like the brake pads, spend a little bit of money on some after-market parts, and you can have whatever suspension set-up your heart desires. 

There are a few things that I would change, but again, considering the price of the bike, it's all stuff I don't feel too rotten for suggesting. 

First up as a style queue is the mirrors. They do the job, but they're just not very pretty. Bolt-on a couple of end-bar mirrors, and you have a significant styling upgrade. On a similar front are the light clusters - specifically the indicators and the rear brake light. Again, with the low cost comes some cheap off-the-shelf parts. Still, most Royal Enfield retailers will offer an upgrade package featuring LED replacement units - another relatively inexpensive modification that will dramatically transform the bike's look. 

Another personal change would be the exhaust mufflers. Like all the two aforementioned changes, this isn't really needed at all. The mufflers look great and create a lovely sound, but I think I'd prefer just a bit more noise. I've since found out that the stock mufflers weigh around 5.5 kilos each, and an off-the-shelf replacement upgrade will offer a little more noise, a smarter image and save you a bit of weight too. 

My final change is the only one I'd consider categorising as 'a must'; the tyres. Royal Enfield offers the Continental GT Twin with some budget rubber as standard. Whilst at no point did I feel I was at risk of losing traction on the CEAT branded tyres, for personal peace of mind, I'd be looking to hang those up as spares in the garage and put on the equivalent Pirellis. The logic of why Royal Enfield has fitted budget rubber makes sense in keeping down the sale price, but I will always favour good tyre tech over saving a few quid.

In case you're wondering, for my entirely optional and non-necessary changes, it all comes in at well under £1000, factoring in labour costs for fitting too. Can you imagine customising any other new motorbike with a warranty for under £7500? Nope, me neither. 

Changes aside, riding the bike on the local roads, even in stock form, is an absolute joy. The 650cc fuel-injected engine produces just shy of 50HP and 52nm of torque at 5250rpm. It's not going to set any land speed records or be much of a threat to any 1000cc superbikes, but equally, at no point have I felt the bike was underpowered. It is, of course, a naked frame with nothing to deflect air around you as a rider. This means that at 60+mph, you're getting a battering from the wind. But more power isn't going to make that any better. If anything, it's going to be worse. The 650 engine offers a very linear power delivery, which I found to be rewarding both at low and high revs. There's not much to be achieved by ringing it out to the red line; however, it will put a big smile on your face. 

40-60mph on the Continental GT Twin is the sweet spot. The suspension does allow for some minor play which I only found apparent above 80mph - this occasionally gives a floaty-wobbly sensation at high speeds, but for 99% of riders, it's never going to be an issue as not only are you going too fast for public highways, but you're also combatting an unpleasant wall of air anyway, thanks to fundamental physics.

Speed and power aside, the Continental GT steers and turns into corners beautifully. Thanks to the reasonably punchy torque, it's very satisfying to thump out of corners with the engine under load. Despite the budget shocks and springs, the Continental has a surprisingly compliant and predictable chassis. Bumpy B-roads are a joy, but when you consider the roads driven by Royal Enfield's primary sales market (in India), you soon realise why.

The quality of the clutch and gearbox really surprised me; in all honesty, it's one of the most precise feeling and intuitive boxes I've ever ridden. In the six months of riding and well over 1000miles, I had not one false neutral, not one missed gear, and the clutch remained progressively light and consistent. It's a slipper clutch too, which allows for aggressive downshift and acceleration with minimal risk of unsettling the back wheel through transmission lock or loss of grip under acceleration. 

There isn't much in the way of rider aides, no traction control or quick-shift systems, but thanks to a new law, all bikes now come with ABS as standard allowing for hard use with no fear of locking up either wheel. 

It's comfortable, too, which was immediately reassuring as I had also made the mistake of researching before taking delivery 'the optimum rider height' for the different Royal Enfield models. An alarmingly high number of forums, websites and articles all suggested that at 6 ft 1 (185cm), I'd be simply too tall to sit comfortably, but again, this turned out to be false. However, I will say that if you're on the taller side, you might want to try the different saddle options when test-riding. On my long-termer, it was the two-seat saddle (for a pillion behind), whereas the single-seat option may limit the seating positions for the longer-legged rider.  

The one thing I didn't expect or factor into my time with the bike was the reaction from other people. The Continental Twin is up in the top 10 for vehicles I have driven/ridden, which sparks conversation from strangers. And it's not just other bikers, either. Everyone has something to say or ask about the bike, from my neighbours to random pedestrians passing by. One gentleman, whilst on a coffee break in the Cotswolds, asked how I'd managed to fit 'a 2021 registration' onto a 'Classic' Royal Enfield, and he was delighted to discover that it was, in fact, a new bike. "Does it ride half as good as it looks?" asked another passer-by - everyone, regardless of biking interest, seems to love the Continental. 

The other big personal perk is how it makes you feel riding it. Royal Enfield is a long-standing and prestigious British brand. It falls into the same brand recognition categories as Mini, Land Rover or even the BBC. Thanks to its age, people know the brand; they've heard stories about it and know someone who has owned or ridden one, meaning it's ingrained into British society. 

So, to answer the question of the passer-by in the Cotswolds, "Yes, it really does ride as well as it looks". And given the price, it's exceptional value too. What Royal Enfield has done, perhaps unwittingly, is produce an excellent product just in time for people to want to save a few quid on their toys. We, the petrol-head-hobbyist, don't need to sacrifice the joy of owning bikes like this, as now we can just spend less on them. For a small deposit and around £100 a month, I'd be pretty shocked to find anything else as good as this that is brand new and comes with a three-year / unlimited mileage warranty. 

For the mentioned reasons, and perhaps many more, the Royal Enfield Continental GT Twin 650 has been an exceptional and enjoyable temporary addition to my fleet of vehicles for the past six months. When I get the opportunity to drive or ride something I suspect I'll enjoy, I often conclude many of my reviews and road tests with a simple question; 'If it were me and my money, would I buy one?' The answer on this occasion is a resounding yes. And, in fact, I might do just that - genuinely!

words & pictures:John Marcar
special thanks to Shellwood Blake PR & Royal Enfield Europe

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