Way back in September this year, Helmet Stories' Harsh Man Rai was in London for the international launch of the much awaited Continental GT, Royal Enfield's latest offering to the Gods of speed, style and nostalgia. We are headed off for Rider Mania, Goa this week and then for the Indian launch of the Continental GT in an action packed week. Watch this space for photos, updates, news and happenings at both these events in the inimitable Helmet Stories style. Meanwhile, just before the India launch, here's Harsh's London report on the Royal Enfield's emotional bid for your retro-modern heart with the Continental GT. This article first appeared in EVO India magazine in the premiere October 2013 issue.
The Royal Enfield Continental GT has perhaps been the
company’s worst kept secret. Ever since the café racer concept was revealed to
adoring Enfieldistas, both at home and abroad at the Indian Auto Expo in 2012,
whispers around the Internet and numerous sightings had sustained the hype
around this motorcycle. We knew it would have a 535cc mill, we knew it wouldn’t
have Ohlins doing shock duty, we knew it would feature a twin downtube cradle chassis
crafted by Harris Performance, we knew that Royal Enfield had tipped their hat
to their past once again and based the design on the 1965 Continental GT 250cc,
and we knew it would be red. But, other than a select few, we had no idea how
it would ride.
In a cunning masterstroke, Royal Enfield decided to launch
of the Continental GT at the legendary Ace Café, the spiritual home of the
ton-up rockers on the North Circular Road in northwest London. Early last month
on a brisk English morning the forecourt of the Ace was a sea of luscious red
and winking chrome where 40 spanking new Continental GTs were laid out for a
bloat of international journalists, many among them the bleary-eyed who had
flown 30 hours the day before to attend the launch. The nattiest journos were
the trim-waisted Japanese in their vintage leathers and pudding bowl helmets,
goggles dangling nonchalantly from their hand.
The Continental GT looks like a million dollars and Royal
Enfield has nailed the retro racer look perfectly. Liveried in the heritage GT
red body paint, the low-and-long fuel tank with knee recesses, clip-on bars,
the solo seat complete with a cowl, the chrome engine and upswept exhaust providing
a pleasing contrast. The twin-cradle frame is bookended by a conventional 41mm
fork and a pair of preload adjustable Paioli gas-charged shocks. The 18-inch
Excel aluminum wheels wear Pirelli Sport Demons that have a period-correct
look, size 110/90-18 front and 130/70-18 rear. Up front, two-piston Brembo
calipers pinch a 300mm floating disc, while at the rear a 240mm disc, single
piston floating caliper help to haul down the bike from speed.
There are a few things more mechanically satisfying in this
world than kick starting a motorcycle to life (electric start is there, if you
must, but remember this is the Ace Cafe) and hearing the snarl of a well-tuned
single. First stop on the ride is Brooklands, the first purpose-built banked
motor race circuit in the world that opened in 1907 when the speed limit in Britain
was subject to a blanket 32 kph speed limit on public roads. The track has
fallen into disrepair long ago but is regarded as the birthplace of British
motorsport and aviation and the site of many engineering and technological
achievements. Today the Brookland Museum displays a wide range of
Brooklands-related motoring and aviation exhibits. A few minutes into my 35-km
ride, I had already developed a great appreciation for the Continental GT’s
air-cooled, 535 engine and with the excellent Keihin-FI injection system nowhere
in the rev range did I find a hint of hesitation or sign of a stumble, just
precise fueling. The comfortable seat
isn’t too high (or too low) for my 30-inch inseam, allowing my boots to be
firmly planted at stops. The smallish bar-end mirrors offer an excellent rear
view, while the twin clocks provide just the pertinent information via a pair
of analog gauges and a small LCD display. The reach to the clip-on bars has my
torso fairly upright over the tank but the relaxed yet not-too-lazy slightly
sporty rear sets allow me to tuck in my elbows and hunker down at higher
speeds. Around town, the GT carries its claimed 185-kg curb weight well,
providing agile handling. The power of the front brakes, as well as the feel,
is excellent and I felt little need to feather the rear disc even in the
stop-and-go London traffic. A few runs on the short useable part of Brooklands
banked circuit and we are off to Brighton and are promised 90 km of some
twisties and flat-out motorway sections.
Every ride is too short when the bike is good, right? Well,
I can’t complain, because my small taste of the Royal Enfield Continental GT
left me with a very positive first impression. Very few bikes have felt as
instantly familiar as the GT did after such a short ride and the nostalgic cool
is just icing on a very tempting cake. Royal Enfield’s modern take on its
original ’65 Continental GT 250 isn’t incredibly fast, terribly sporty or
amazingly cutting-edge: the new GT’s a bike you just hop on like you used to
do,
especially when you’ve got no particular place to go. Nostalgic it might
be and a feast
for some eyes, but it’s also a super-functional, easy-to-ride
motorcycle. The character is there when you’re riding, and you get it without
all that character building in the garage. And when all you want to do is go on
a ride, what better bike than a fully modern but totally authentic blast from
the past? Royal Enfield has delivered. The café racer is back.
