BEYOND THE BULLET
Royal Enfield’s departure from convention has resulted into two very varied motorcycles being added to their stable. One harks back to the glorious café racers of the 1960s, and the other is nothing like anything they’ve been known for. Well, almost. We t
“THAT’S NOT A BULLET!” SEEMS TO BE THE
standard answer to the question, “Is it a modified Bullet?” posed by many, quite often at traffic signals, other than the usual, “How much does it give?” My answer to the latter is 29.1 — hey, they didn’t specify what they were asking about. I always assume horsepower — the first one is what is this whole thing is about. We have one three-year-old Royal Enfield and one spanking new Royal Enfield here, two bikes that are incredible in their own ways and bikes that are not to be bought if you’re not specifically looking for what they were made to offer.
RETRO RELOAD
The Continental GT is the closest you can get to a shed bike today. What? Yeah. It feels like a customised bike from the outset. The long tank, tiny little seat, clip-ons and rear-sets all contribute in equal measure to the whole café racer feel, I have to admit. It’s not something you can get comfortable with after a five or even 10-km test ride. No. You have to give it time. For what? To grow on you. That’s right. The Conti GT does just that. Ride it for a bit each day and with every passing day, it’ll grow on you. You get comfortable. You really do. Eventually. It also feels a little top-heavy at first and tight turns need to be managed with caution. You get the hang of it later. The bars-seat-pegs position — seemingly all of a sudden over time — becomes natural, and, dare I say, the riding position to resting position has you seamlessly shifting between them as necessary with zero stress to the back or the wrists. Eventually.
For a “café racer” the Conti is surely not as quick as you expect it to be. It does have good initial punch and a glorious exhaust note, even with the stock pipe, but as the revs pile on, it becomes rough and doesn’t want to be overworked. It will hit the km/h-ton in good time, but the actual café-race-ton — 100 mph or 160 km/h — is something it hasn’t managed to reach. We topped out at below 150 km/h in our test. Maybe, a bit more than 29.1 PS next time.
At 535 cc, the Continental GT boasts of the largest production Royal Enfield engine today. With an 87-mm bore and 90-mm stroke, the unit construction engine (UCE) uses the same dimensions as the engine in the old cast-iron Lightning 535, but instead of 26 PS and 38 Nm, it has 29.1 PS and 44 Nm: quite the bump up. This one is also fuel-injected, although the on-off effect is something that kills the buzz. It needs sorting. Switching to a carb diet might not be such a bad thing.
GET HIGH
The Himalayan, Royal Enfield’s latest prodigy, is completely the opposite. Spend upwards of seven minutes on it and you get comfortable pointing and shooting in pretty much any direction. It just has so much going for it. The exoskeleton chassis was made to be adventure-tourey from the drawing board. Harris Performance — the only common factor between the two bikes here, apart from the maker — have built the frame to a specific brief. To say they have nailed it would be an understatement.
On the road, off the road, through the mud, jumping over stones, rocks and fallen trees, the Himalayan feels planted, reassuring and capable. It’s not the ultimate adventure bike by a long shot — that remains the preserve of a few European 1200s — but what it is meant to be has always been made clear: it’s a bike you move up to from lesser commuters. Want to head out? This is what you buy. I mean, how many other bikes with long-travel suspension, ready-for-anything tyres and more than 20 PS can you find for less than Rs 2 lakh?
That’s the point. It’s a reasonable, affordable entry-level adventure bike that you can get used to and use to get essential skills in order. True, real adventure lies in doing
Real adventure lies in doing the best with what you have, but if you want to be a bit better prepared, look to the Himalayan
the best with what you have, but if you want to be a bit better prepared, look to the Himalayan.
The Himalayan’s all-new 411-cc overhead cam single makes 24.5 PS and a decent 32 Nm, 30 Nm of which is available across a spread thicker than the amount of butter your mum puts on your toast. That’s the cream of it. It’s an engine with good characteristics compared to what Royal Enfield have been making thus far. It actually revs past 4,000 without vibrating you into some-assembly-required form. It gathers pace and revs decently quick and does not disappoint on the highway or off it.
The long-travel front suspension and (firstever for Royal Enfield) monoshock rear can take a beating and still get on smiling. The bash-plate under the engine and swept-up exhaust, which stands on divided opinion for both appearance and acoustics, serves its purpose well. True, the Himalayan sounds like an Enfield might at idle — on sound depth, not volume — and changes tone as the revs pile on.
The Himalayan should not be treated as a Royal Enfield Bullet. It should be considered, even if vaguely so, as the most affordable GS Adventure — let’s be honest, that’s always been the benchmark in several minds. If you want to ‘go’, just go. Sure, a Classic 350 or 500 can help you there. While those may feel like a ticket to Ladakh, it’s the Himalayan that will (probably) not give you cold feet when the water rises to your knees. It won’t feel like its toppling when going over underwater stones smoother than a bald baby. And it certainly won’t feel like a load. It will get the job done — snow, slush, ice, mud, come what may.
The Continental GT is the closest you can get to a shed bike today
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
The Continental GT, like the Himalayan, is not for everybody. I’m not a fan of café racing culture and I wouldn’t indulge in a blast from a Barista at one end of town to a Café Coffee Day at another, but what I do enjoy about the GT is how it makes you feel when you ride it. The forward stance, the little mirrors, the generous torque, and the ‘tock-tock’ exhaust note after you get off the throttle have all played a huge role in making that smile on my face a permanent resident.
Now, I know I’m supposed to give you a verdict. Well, am I? This isn’t a comparison. It’s simply to make one thing clear: the Himalayan and the Continental GT are Royal Enfields. They’re not ‘Bullets’, so if you’re in the market for a Royal Enfield Bullet, they have the Bullet and the Classic, in different flavours, too. Go ahead, bite the Bullet. If, however, you’re out for a Royal Enfield, and want the bike that ensures you maintain discipline, riding and service schedule alike, the Continental GT will deliver on all counts. But if you want a good entry-level adventure tourer, the Himalayan is one of the most capable bikes around — and we’re not just talking about Royal Enfield.