Royal Enfield Continental GT - Dave's quick review after 1200 miles
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2024
- In this video Dave Mitchell from Mitchell's Classics and The Classic Motorcycle Channel discusses his thoughts on the Royal Enfield Continental GT (649cc parallel twin cylinder engine). This is a very quick review after Dave covered 1200 miles on the bike.
Location is Dave's workshop, East Sussex, England, UK.
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// A BIG THANK YOU TO
- Royal Enfield and Shellwood Blake for loaning us the bike to ride.
Website: www.royalenfield.com/uk/en/home/
- Dave Mitchell for taking the time to film with us on the day.
Website: mitchellsclassic.co.uk
- Sam Mitchell for filming with us.
Instagram: @samthomit
- Lana Shimmin for taking the time to film with us.
Instagram: @mybikeside
- Alex Rollings for producing the video.
CZcams: @motofilmer
Instagram: @motofilmer
#royalenfield
#royalenfieldcontinentalgt
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If you want polished engine covers, chrome exhaust pipes and silencers and wire spoke wheels, you should buy one of the other colours like the red one in the video or British racing green. There's another one that comes with a chrome tank too.
Just completed 24k miles on my Interceptor with no problems.
TEC exhaust, booster plug and DNA airfilter mods. Sounds and goes like a dream. A keeper for sure.
I have the continental gt 535, just put a mikuni carb convertion from hitchcocks, one of the best bikes I have owned.
Don't sell the BSA, Dave. You can have both of them. I've had a couple modern bikes over the last 5 years (a Moto Guzzi V7iii and Triumph T100) but I'm always drawn back to my vintage motorcycles. I've since sold both of those newer bikes but I still have my 64 Triumph TR6 and my 1975 Honda CB750 which I ride daily. The Royal Enfield's are great but there's gonna be times you'll want to hop on a classic. It's just a different kind of experience. I guess you have a access to plenty of old bikes so maybe it doesn't matter if you let the BSA go. : )
The classic build and look of the Interceptor attracted me back into biking after a 38 year car trip ( had a Triton, T 140 and a Hyde T 160 back in the day ). Love it, the DIY mechanicals, doesn't leak oil, or vibrate itself to bits, and starts instantly by leccy ( work of the devil I reckon ) ! RE should bring out a 850 version for a welcome 15+ strong herd of ponies ( essentially bigger barrels, stronger clutch ). It needs a sleek 8+ kg lighter exhaust system (though existing tone and sound level is well soulful ) and preferably unobtrusive but bright LEDs. Personally, I would loose the panel transfer and all the grey paint brackets and engine paint for polished ally. A black tank with gold lettering should be a standard option for ever. Spoked and highly polished stainless wheels definitely. A solution to the 'slide-off' pillion seat is to angle the frame up by about 15 degrees aft of the rear shocks and have that gorgeous Trident T160 curved seat and grab-rail arrangement ( the back of the seat is then three inches higher ). Such changes may cost a few £ hundreds but the result would be a stunning, quick and nimble country road rustler....
Went from a '57 TR6 to an Interceptor and this ticks all my boxes without hours spent fettling. Great bike.
Great video. Thanks.
I love mine.
2019 Mr Clean.
Pipes, Stratos filter, airbox lid deletion and Hitchcock booster plug.
There's something indefinable about it that the spec sheet cannot convey.
I know some people can't get their heads past horsepower numbers.
Mine has become more supple and pliant in the last year. It's on 2900 miles now. The suspension took much longer to break in than the motor and box. It was harsh at first and now it glides.
The polished parts look awesome when you work on them but they're utterly impractical. I'm looking for a second bike to use in bad weather that lends itself to cleaning better.
Well said. I got rid of my 1300cc honda ST and my buddies were all shocked and said why would you "downgrade to a 650" but honestly i dont miss the ST a bit! Absolutely love my GT and i plan on keeping it for many years!
Well said & well done....
You're so right about polishing the blacked out parts. Would you do it yourself?
Another 20bhp wouldn't hurt
It would actually, then you have to upgrade brakes, suspension and tyres.
Which will get the cost up and it wouldn't be as affordable as it is now.
Also, it will also hinder it in some markets where it would be taxed more because of the HP (categorisation).
It's important to know why something is the way it is. The company will of course be coming up with higher hp bikes and they have been working on a different engine for it but that will also cost more.
If you really want to, you can shed weight & get some performance parts.
i think a Hayabusa wouldn't hurt!
the improvements you mentioned were on the original model....not sure why they changed those elements, looked better before
This variant does not replace the old one. It's just an additional colourway that also gets cast alloy wheels and blacked out parts. The one with polished cases, chrome pipes and wire spoke wheels is still available.
Lovely bike 😊
Great bikes. I test ridden one and I couldn't fault it either. There are different models. You can get spoke wheels and polished engine cases. I would opt for spoke wheels to.
If this bloke says it's good, then it's good.
I have just sold my ‘15 Triumph Bonneville- which was a great bike, but after I bought a ‘21 GT - anything more seems too much. I can enjoy the 650 GT fully. It reacts and feels more sporty than any bike I’ve ridden. More fun on any road, unless twisting the throttle to uncontrollably speed is all you care about. TEC exhausts also adds to the wonderful 270 crank drumming.
BRG with short seat- nothing cut.
I purchased a '15 W800 as a returning rider, which is in a similar vein to the GT. Pretty basic, 47 hp... not too much to boast about, at all. I purchased thinking that once I got my chops back in, I'd upgrade to something more powerful, a T100 or a T120 even. How did I not know about this class of bike sooner! So darned easy to live with around town. Quick enough through the twisties and enough power to get up the highway. Sometimes I think that I wouldn't mind if it had a bit more power. Then I remember that if I drop it down a couple of gears and open the throttle, it's got more power! The bike accelerates about as fast as I'm comfortable with and it goes faster than I'm prepared to go. I can thrash this bike, I can't do that on more powerful machines, and having a red hot go once in a while is a lot of fun. 90% of riders out there don't know what they're missing out on with bikes like the GT.
@@davidbrayshaw3529 I have an 03 W650 down in NZ and it is a versatile bike plus stunning to look at . I'm just about to head out to the shed and install a new battery (last one is 7yrs-old) I will put the higher-profile and 'skinnier' rear-tyre on eventually as many claim it's better ratio-wise and for handling . My intention was to modify the suspension both-ends but it hasn't shown any real faults that I can notice , even hustling it through the-twisties which I do on every-ride. (we have a much-more agressive-version of 'The Dragons-tail' ,just to get into Town ! ) When you push this style of bike hard , the riding-experience is more-engaging than other more-powerful offerings and that is a very-fullfilling experience . How motorcycling 'used-to-be' Dave NZ
@@kdsowen2882 I'm just over the ditch in Central Victoria. I had a 650 on my wish list but every one in Australia had either been heavily modified or had a million miles on it.
I'm running Bridgestone radials on mine as per recommendation of my mechanic who himself owns a W650. I can't fault them, but at 130mm wide, the rear doesn't need to be any wider.
I have considered sending the front end off to the "tuners" as it's about to come off for fork seal replacement. I was talking over the pros and cons with a mate and we pretty much reached the same conclusion.
For the way that I use the bike, standard works just fine. I know they can be improved, but it's more money and more inconvenience and I just don't push that hard.
The roads where I am vary, but there's not a lot of low speed tight stuff. And they're rough, and the scenery is unforgiving of mistakes.
That said though, I certainly know what you're saying when you state that these bikes are more engaging and more fun than more powerful options. And once you "learn" how to work the engine and gearbox,
they belie their 47hp. with conviction.
Good luck with the battery. The previous owner of my bike said it was a mongrel and it's well worth referring to the manual.
Cheers for the reply.
Excellent video, thanks for taking the time to share. Cheers
I think he likes it
You could polish or chrome the engine casings and valve cover.
I would have an RE if it had 70 bhp. Anything less is not enough to. Give me a thrill when I require. Also I like chrome and non black.i like the wheels glinting in the sun and polishing it
Add the 865 kit, there is your 70 bph easy for not a lot of cash
Seems the Thunder Edition has the shiny casing you are looking for?
Yes, nice, but I would like higher handlebars, and polished gearbox, plus a chrome exhaust, then it might be just perfect. Alloy coloured wheels might also be better that black. The pillion seat is a disaster, it needs to be slightly broader and slightly raised towards the back, with a good chrome handle to hold on to. Other than that, it would appeal to me.
Then the interceptor would be a great choice. Same engine.
@@synriser6742 ill have a look at it, thanks.
I agree with you, Dave; too much black. The spoked wheels and the bare metal engine would be right for me; simply more retro! with the bare metal rims and chrome fenders... yeah!
The Conti is the nicest looking RE, along with the 350 Classic.
I wish you were in India....i wouldlove to hv those alloys,Black colour covers
you cn get the chorme engine, spoke wheels and tank in the mr.clean variant !
no need to mod this!
i meant you can just switch the parts
nice to meet you
I believe that when it becomes convenient, all but a few talented people will degenerate.
Just wondering if you would like a free Triumph Trophy 900 to restore.
I preferred my old real Continental GT
Can you contact the dealer and/or manufacturer and order what you want? Sounds like you are going to need to change half the bike to get it the way you want it to be.
If it ain't broke ,don't fix it 😊
nice video! Do you still feel that these bikes are good value when you realise that in India they sell for half the price we pay in Europe?
Link?
What about the check engine light on most Enfields? They give you the inconvenience of an old bike with throw in the trap of an ECU and sensors to worry about and work around when customising. Worst of both worlds.
So basically Dave, you are changing 50% of the bike. 😂
Just buy the other version that comes with spokes,polished rocker covers & engine covers.
I like the Dark version got alloys & Meteor switchgear & adjustable levers.Gearbox is fantastic once run in.I owned a Interceptor & rode with Harley Davidson bikes & kept up no problem & cruise at 70-75mph all day no problem.Better with fork upgrade.
I have a Royal Enfield Continental GT650 in Rocker Red like your son. If you want spoked wheels and unpainted engine cases, you could copy your son.
Fantastic review thanks for sharing .
I had a mr clean gt650 from new and sold it 2 years later mainly because it stared to rust ,not the chrome tank but mainly the engine covers top and bottom on each side and the top of the rear shocks .
I’ve now got a 1981 Suzuki gs850g and a 1998 zx9r you can see and feel the quality of the metals and plastic are far superior in both bikes than the royal Enfield .
Here’s a link showing when I first got the bike but it doesn’t stay that way for long .
czcams.com/video/Nj8-97Ocwls/video.htmlsi=RFvIISSAXqHqqtMH
Regards
Dave from Scotland
I like the BSA but if you need reliable transport and can only keep one it has to be the Royal Enfield.
Left field question but may I ask what motorcycle boots you are sporting in this video?!..they look fab and are just what I’m after!…great bike and video per se 😎👍( subscribed )