Believe it or not, Royal Enfield was all about fast roadsters back in the 70’s and 80’s. Their interceptor 750, was the smoothest running twin-cylinder bike to ever launch in America, or at least the company says so. It had a top speed of 120 miles per hour some 50 years ago. Their current image of slow and heavy commuters is only because they were preparing for something like the Continental GT 650, with which the company is going to attempt a top speed run at Bonneville salt flats. In the upcoming International speed week, the company is going to race their Continental GT 650 for an attempt at the top speed record in its class. Not their first time:
Royal Enfield has already attempted a top speed record run with their Continental GT 535. It was customized by Matt Capri, a famous custom bike builder. Surprisingly, he was very impressed with the Continental GT 535. He said that the bike’s chassis was able to handle more power than it’s engine could produce. He increased the cylinder head, changed the camshafts and installed a new EFI, to complete the modification of Continental GT 535. But the bike was only able to travel at 97 miles per hour, which is way less than the kind of speed you’d expect to see at a speed week.Back for more:
The company is back with their Continental GT 650 which, this time around, has a totally new engine, built from the ground up. The twin cylinder 270-degree crank rotation motor, on the production model, produced 47 HP but considering the rule of thumb, the same power will be doubled when the bike will compete in the festival. It’d be due to a large cylinder head, which the company would obviously use, and several other upgrades. All these modifications are necessary because Royal Enfield wants to break past at least 130 miles per hour, or at least they should.
The modified Continental GT 650 will be featured under the banner of RENA or Royal Enfield North America and it will be ridden by Cayla Rivas, a female rider, who holds a record of 212 km/h in the same class.
Talking about the bike, it looks like a cousin of Arch motorcycles. With extended wheelbase and longer rake for additional straight-line stability and what it looks like a reworked subframe, this bike is very much capable of holding a straight line. Rumors are that it will produce around 100 BHP, but all that will be judged when it will compete in the Speed week.
By: Yetnesh Dubey
