Royal Enfield 650 Twins Family Explained - Which Is The Right Bike For You?

The Royal Enfield 650 Twins were a revelation for Indian bikers. We finally had an option of riding and owning an affordable mid-capacity, twin-cylinder motorcycle without having to plot and execute a bank robbery. No wonder then, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 was an instant hit with the Indian bikers. And it wasn’t just the twin-cylinder engine configuration, Royal Enfield as a brand surpassed all expectations with the refinement of the 648 cc engine.

Such were the NVH levels of the bike that bikers doubted the integrity of many journalists who tested the bike, but once everyone rode it, they fell in love. Adding to the excitement was the wave of torque and the punch from the engine, the 650 Twins made a perfect connection with a lot of buyers. In the 7 years since the Interceptor’s and Continental GT’s arrival, Royal Enfield introduced many new bikes and currently there are 6 motorcycles which fall under this category and here are their pros and cons.

Interceptor 650

Pros
Performance - The 648 cc engine and its relatively lightweight demeanour makes the Interceptor a very enjoyable bike to ride if you’re looking for some thrill.

Styling - The Interceptor 650 like most Royal Enfield bikes is beautifully designed and while the spoke wheels look more period correct, but, the practicality of the alloy wheels can’t be dismissed.

Price - The Interceptor is the most affordable bike in the 650 Twins family and the pricing ranges from ₹3.03-3.31 lakh (ex-showroom).

Cons
Ergonomics - The Interceptor 650 has one of the worst seats in the segment. It lacks adequate padding and even the footpeg position is such that your legs hit the pegs when straddling in traffic.

Pillion Unfriendliness - The rear seat experience is even worse. It tapers down and whenever you accelerate hard, the pillion is always worried of falling off. Also, the footpeg is so highly set that the pillion rider is cramped for space.

Suspension - The suspension damping is inconsistent and while riding through rough roads or even speed bumps, you have to tread with caution and at very slow speeds. The wavy suspension also comprises the handling performance, although the chassis has merit.

Continental GT 650

The above pointers are similar for the Continental GT 650 as well but where it scores is being a niche product, so if you want something distinctive and attention-grabbing, the cafe racer is perfect for you. The handling dynamics of the bike is better as the front-end is more loaded, thereby giving the rider more feel. However, the sporty ergonomics will not be everybody's cup of tea and it’s pretty expensive too.

Super Meteor 650

Pros
Styling - The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 with its traditional cruiser styling and attractive colour options has the visual charm and appeal.

Ergonomics - With forward-set footpegs, sofa-like saddle, the Super Meteor 650 is a very comfortable bike for both the rider and pillion with respect to riding posture and space.

Low Seat Height - With a seat height of just 740 mm, the Royal Enfield cruiser is very accessible for short riders.

Cons
Ride quality - With very less travel in the rear suspension, the ride quality of the cruiser is stiff, amplifying it is the way you sit on the bike as all the jolts and bumps are transferred directly towards the rider's tailbone.

Low ground clearance - With just 135 mm of ground clearance, you have to be very careful over large speed breakers and sharp bumps so as to not brush the underside of the motorcycle.

Heft - It’s a heavy motorcycle at 241 kg, but what adds to the difficulty in managing the heft is the handlebar position and the manner in which you sit, making the Super Meteor 650 quite a handful to ride in crawling traffic.

Price - With prices starting at ₹3.64 lakh and going up to ₹3.95 lakh, the Super Meteor 650 is the most expensive bike in the RE 650 family.

Shotgun 650

The Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is a bobber offering and shares most of its DNA with the Super Meteor 650. However, it offers better handling dynamics, is slightly more comfortable and agile than its cruiser sibling. Another advantage is that it's the more affordable of the two.

Bear 650 

Pros
Being Distinctive - The Royal Enfield Bear 650 is the first scrambler offering from the brand and if you want to stand apart from the crowd, it’s a very good option.

Performance - Apart from being among the lightest bikes in the family, the Bear 650 also boasts the highest torque output of 56.5 Nm and the extra performance can be felt immediately when you go hard on the throttle.

Features - The Bear 650 is the only bike to get a fully-digital TFT display, thereby giving the bike features such as Google Maps navigation, Bluetooth connectivity for call/message alerts and music control.

Cons
Suspension - This will come as a surprise for many as the Bear 650 is a scrambler bike and should offer supple ride quality, but that is far from reality and it’s stiffly sprung.

Seat height - The 830 mm seat height doesn’t look much on paper, but being a wide motorcycle, the saddle feels tall and short riders would struggle.

Off-road Issues - The motor makes so much torque that it easily overpowers the rear tyre and it slides very easily. The standing up position doesn’t feel very natural and honestly a 216 kg scrambler bike will take some effort if you drop it while off-road riding.

Classic 650

Pros
Badge Value - The Classic is the most important entity for Royal Enfield and for the millions of Classic 350 owners, the Classic 650 is the most logical upgrade.

Styling - One of the key reasons for the success of the Classic 350 is its styling, the manner in which Royal Enfield designers could capture the vintage styling details in a roadster form. The Classic 650 shares many design elements, but is also much bigger in proportion.

Pricing - The Classic 650 sits in between the Interceptor 650 and the Shotgun 650 with respect to pricing (₹3.37-3.50 lakh, ex-showroom) and the best part is there are no variants and you have to pay extra just for the colour options.

Cons
Weight - The Classic 650 is the heaviest Royal Enfield bike at 243 kg and it’s a handful while parking the bike or riding it crawling traffic.

Suspension - It’s based on the Shotgun 650 and with hardly any travel in the rear suspension, riding over bad roads needs lots of caution.

No Tubeless Wheels - Imagine you puncturing the tyre and the need to push this behemoth on wheels, yeah, it will be one strenuous exercise.