Did you line up at the Royal Enfield showrooms to book the new 650-cc series motorcycles launched by the Indian company? And were you among the several thousand enthusiasts disappointed with the high altitude riding on the most powerful offering by the bike manufacturer yet? If yes, we have some interesting news for you. After a popular Youtuber Bulu Patnaik complained about engine stalling enroute the high altitude-lake of Gurudongmar in Sikkim, Royal Enfield looked into the matter and found that it was actually true. It has now come to light that the company might either recall the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 for a revised engine map that handles high altitude riding well or may carry out this exercise silently through a soft recall when the motorcycles are handed for service. The new motorcycles rolling out of the factory will also get this engine update.
Patnaik says that the engine remap is just a 10-minute job and owners won’t have to spend too long at the workshop to get the update. Royal Enfield has no doubt done a commendable job by swiftly acting on the compliant and resolving this issue. It comes as no surprise that the bike manufacturer continues to enjoy pole position in the market when it comes to after-sale services and customer satisfaction.
It was only recently that we witnessed Royal Enfield's commitment to customer satisfaction when it silently recalled the 650 twins for fitment of rubber stoppers in the rear shock absorbers to prevent them from bottoming out. The brand is clearly in no mood to take any chances with the real-world performance of these motorcycles that are by far the most ambitious vehicles the brand has produced.
Wondering why Royal Enfield is betting big on Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650? The company expects the existing Royal Enfield 350cc/500cc owners to upgrade to the twins. Both motorcycles have so far performed brilliantly in the market and together outsold every other Rs. 2 lakh+ two-wheeler including KTM 390s, TVC Apache 310, BMW 310 twins, Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Yamaha R3, and even much cheaper vehicles such as Bajaj Dominar 400 and Honda CBR 250R. The biggest selling point of both motorcycles is the value-for-money price point at which they sell at. While Interceptor 650 starts at Rs. 2.37 lakhs, the Continental GT 650 debuts from Rs. 2.49 lakhs, making them the least priced twin-cylinder engine motorcycles in India. Both motorcycles are powered by a 647-cc, parallel twin engine that produces 47 Bhp power and 52 Nm torque and is assisted by a 6-speed manual gearbox with slipper clutch and dual channel ABS equipped disc brakes.