First showcased in the UK last month, the 2023 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 has finally been launched in India. The pricing starts from Rs 3.19 lakh, keeping the pricing really cheap for a power packed yet classic bike.
The top end version — the so called ‘Mr. Clean’ chrome version with wire spoke wheels — is priced at Rs 3.45 lakh. It also comes in a version with alloy wheels for Rs 3.39 lakh (ex-showroom, India, all prices).
We recently brought you news about the new colours of Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 that were showcased during the 2018 Royal Enfield Dealer Conference and Convention (REDCCON 18) held in the city of Chennai.
For all its time on the market, the Continental GT 650 has been an impressive bike, offering exceptional value for money. To be honest it was starting to show its age a bit. More than a few years have passed since it has been updated and some of Royal Enfield less expensive single cylinder models were starting to be more attractive in some of the ways mentioned above.
Fortunately, the 2023 update provides a boost to the GT 650, which is thankfully necessary. Rather than the old halogen reflector headlight, I have swapped in a modern LED unit from the Super Meteor 650, which I think makes a big difference. This also includes an all new switchgear design inspired by bikes such as the Meteor 650 Super and the Classic 350. The aluminium of which the switch cubes are made gives a nice premium feel to the bike, which also makes it feel more up to date.
The biggest update to roll out on the GT takes the form of alloy wheels. Alloys are only available in two of the six colour options: Apex Grey and Slipstream Blue. Not even RE’s MiY configurator let’s you add alloy wheels to any of the other color options.
Overall the size remains the same, 18-inch on both ends, but the wheels are now clothed with new Vredestein tyres. The last new feature is the addition of a USB charging port on the left handlebar.
The fundamentals haven’t changed, but aside from these changes, the fundamentals are still the same. The 648cc parallel twin maintains a max power of 47.5 hp and a max torque of 52 Nm.
As a result of all these changes prices in the lineup increase by Rs 14,000. As the new 2023 model has been launched, the price range had been Rs 3.05 to Rs 3.31 lakh, which is now Rs 3.19 to Rs 3.45 lakh.
