Royal Enfield has created quite a storm in the Indian as well as global bike market with the launch of Interceptor and Continental GT650. The bikes have been a smashing success and the long waiting period on the twins is the proof of the same. However, the company has already announced that it will bump up the production of the bikes to meet the demand, and one can also spot a lot of these bikes on the roads of India now. In recent series of announcements regarding the twins the company has announced that it will replace the rear suspension of the bike without any charge.
This is not a recall or a service call and so far it appears that only the first batch of the bikes are being upgraded. The new rear shockers are being equipped with a yellow colored rubber stopper that prevents the contact of metal parts of shocker if the suspension is depressed all the way down. This will ensure that the shockers of the bikes will have a longer life as the rubber bits will prevent the contact of metal parts of the suspension thus preventing wear and tear that is maximized in case metal touches metal. The company has still not stated as to how much time will this upgrade take but the upgrade is being made as and when the first lot of the bikes are reaching the service centers. From the next lot of bikes, the company has started offering the yellow stoppers in the suspensions of the bikes as default.
The Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are not only the most affordable twin-cylinder models in the retro bike maker Royal Enfield’s line-up, they are currently also the most affordable twin-cylinder engine bikes in the entire country. Everyone anticipated that Royal Enfield would go aggressive with the pricing of Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, however when the retro bike maker revealed the prices, everyone was left positively shocked. With the Interceptor’s prices starting at only 2.34 lakhs, its nearest competitor in the twin-cylinder segment is the Kawasaki Ninja 300, and the Japanese bike is priced at 2.98 lakhs. Even models such as the KTM Duke 390 or TVS Apache RR310 (both single-cylinder engine) are pricier than the Interceptor 650.
As far as the specs of the 650 twins are concerned, the company worked hard to develop a new 647cc, parallel twin engine for the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. Equipped with an engine that is mostly vibration free, and revs smoothly, the bikes come rated for producing 47 Bhp-52 Nm. Apart from the 6-speed gearbox and slipper clutch as standard, the bikes also come equipped with ABS on both wheels as standard.