BLAST FROM A GLORIOUS PAST
This is actually the story of three Royal Enfield Continental GTs.
In 1965, 250cc machines were the biggest that young whippersnappers could ride as learners without passing their test.
Enfield’s response was the first Continental GT, a 21bhp boy racer with a five-speed gearbox, clip-on handlebars, rear-set pegs and a hump-backed seat.
The fastest 250 of its day, it was drooled over by many youngsters who couldn’t persuade their parents to sign the hire purchase agreements for the £270 it cost, compared to the average £200 for a 250.
In 2013, many of those young whippersnappers who’d lusted after a Continental GT back in the 1960s whipped out their credit cards and bought the second incarnation, a 535cc machine which made 32bhp and looked and sounded great, but was vibey at speed.
Well, farewell to all that – the latest machine to bear the name Continental GT is the greatest by far, one of two 650cc twins launched in California along with the Interceptor.
In keeping with its café racer heritage, the seating position is less upright and neutral than on the Interceptor, tipping your weight forward onto the bars. Not a problem at speed, but a bit of a pain in downhill mountain twisties on the launch.
Like the Interceptor which I raved about, acceleration is swift and seamless, and with 80% of torque available from 2,500rpm and a torque curve as flat as Holland, it’s beautifully smooth all the way through maximum torque at 5,250rpm then maximum power at 7,250rpm, after which you hit the red line and there’s no point thrashing it.
It’s made even more seamless by the perfect marriage of a slick six-speed gearbox, Enfield’s first, and a featherlight slip-assist clutch. As for handling, the design team tweaked combinations of rake, trail, frame and suspension thousands of times to get it right, and it shows, with cornering which is beautifully light, neutral and balanced.
The suspension is firmer than the Interceptor’s for more precise carving through bends, and the brakes have a lovely feel and progressive bite.
So the good news is that whippersnappers of all ages now have a new toy to play with, at a price I reckon will be under six grand. And the even better news is that if you’re in the market for a secondhand 535cc Mark Two version, I predict you’ll be spoilt for choice.