Royal Enfield Continental GT

[tonyk]

Folks,
Every now and again I’ve heard people going on about café racers, how they should be like and sound like blah blah blah.
Just seen Royal Enfield Continental GT …………………
OMG i could be turned to the dark side.
IMOHO I think its gorgeous…

http://royalenfield.com/continentalgt/

look at "Royal Enfield Continental GT story" vid.
enjoy.

Was in the local Enfield dealer a couple of months back. He had just got in a new GT demonstrator in red. Salesman threw the keys at me and and told me to give it a whirl ( I told his boss how good he was at his job a couple of years ago and it has had benefits!!) I must admit it 'looked' great but that's where it ended. It was slow slow slow and handled like it was made out of wood. I found it cramped, the gears awful. The SV is a trillion times better and in my mind looks better too. Still if you are into retro stuff and don't expect too much from your rides - it looks nice in red! I though it would be exciting but instead I was a a little embarrassed and soooo glad to give it back. However, I told the salesman it was lovely....perhaps he will offer me a tasty Ducati to ride sometime . I got back on my VN900 Custom to go home and realised that 60lbs of torque is really worth having!

[rictus01]

I had a clubman out on test a couple of years back for a few hours, it does look the part (especially with the polished tank), has a wonderful sound to, and on a solo relaxed ride; wasn't bad, I enjoyed it personally, however I came across some other bikes at one point and found keeping up a fair margin outside the bikes comfort zone, so to me it's a good second bike for the sunday bimble, but not an everyday replacement for a modern one.

[Sid Squid]

It's important to understand that they are not suffering the silliness of hipster "Retro" pretention, Enfields may have had many updates over the years, but they're like Alligators and Crocodiles, they are near enough surviving dinosaurs that got preserved in the amber of Indian day to day technology. And for that I like them, they really are a taste of motorcycling from decades past.
Comparing them with even the most prosaic of modern machines is completely unrealistic, and misses the point of them entirely.

[Sir Trev]

Tank looks a bit like a Honda CB250RS?

Not my cup of tea but it looks the part and I'm sure some will share Tony's enthusiasm.

[BanannaMan]

I love it!!

At least right up to the point where I read it has 29hp.

Originally Posted by BanannaMan

I love it!!

At least right up to the point where I read it has 29hp.

Exactly. No one expects such a bike to be fast but it is in fact glacially slow which to my mind makes the title 'cafe racer' inappropriate. The standard Enfields with a more upright position fit in nicely with the old fashioned motorcycle ethic. However if you put on clip-ons and a racing seat, some kind of performance is implied. The Thruxton is dearer admittedly but smiles per mile, much greater. No, it should not be compared to a modern motorcycle but neither should it be that bad to ride IMO. Many will be swayed by it's drop dead looks. What a shame the ride sadly lets it down. Instead of 'waheeeey!' - it's 'oh for god's sake come on!' But rather than review this bike from your armchair, why not get on down for a test ride like I did - the proof of the pudding............ If you still want one then who am I to deny your pleasure? I'm not exactly sure who will buy them. Certainly not ex-boy racers wishing to re-live their youth, that's for sure!

[Sid Squid]

No, it really shouldn't be directly compared with modern motorcycles - for the simple reason it isn't one.
Suggesting otherwise is to not appreciate what it is, its history, and why it is it still exists.

Trouble is, the GT is not as good as the 'historical' bikes it seems to emulate. Built to a price, it's a good bike. I still think you will be disappointed if you ride it back to back with other cafe racers, although you might be looking to save money so if that is important, you may be less put off. The cafe racers of the 50's were the fastest bikes around. Now, we have moved on. My new SV was cheaper than the current GT yet goes much better. If the SV had been around in the 50's - that would have been the one to beat.

As evidenced by the continuing huge popularity of Harley Davidson products, many people care more about image than they do about performance.