REMEMBER the FIRST time you ever tasted coffee? Odds on it left you a little dazed and confused. And yet it’s also odds on that you now won’t go a day without drinking a cup of the dark stuff, indeed, that it has become one of life’s rich little pleasures. For the novice rider coming to a café racer like Royal Enfield’s Continental GT, the experience can be similar.
It starts with the arousal of curiosity. While any new bike that rolls into Gassit garage gets attention, the black Continental GT (it also comes in red and green) caught the eye big time. The midnight gloss paintwork, the lashings of chrome, the iconic logo on the tank, the sculpted tan seat and the yellow twin gas-charged Paioli shocks at the back produce a kind of visual symphony. Combine that with the classic café racer lines and you’ve got a powerhouse in terms of presence. In fact, someone thoughtfully parked the GT next to the resident BMW airhead boxer, and it felt like a family reunion.
But the reunion had to be cut short – the road was calling.
The GT has an electric starter, and a kickstarter if you want to (literally) kick it old school. Be warned, however, that you can’t start the bike while the sidestand is down, even in neutral. Still, thanks to the relatively low and narrow seat it’s easy to straddle while you wait for the engine to warm up. The engine is an updated and bored out version of the faithful single-cylinder unit fitted to Royal Enfield’s Bullet and Classic 500s. The flywheel has also been lightened, making the GT Royal Enfield’s most powerful, lightest and fastest bike.
You won’t feel that straight off the mark – the GT isn’t endowed with explosive speed, and when pulling from low revs the sound is a little like a sewing machine trundle. But once you get up around 4000rpm the note gets meatier, and the needle on the analog speedo rises steadily and quickly enough, well into triple figures.
In order to stay in the happy zone of the engine, I found myself favouring the lower end of the five ratio gearbox. Second and third were the go-to gears around town, and even on the highway the top gear fifth rarely got used.
Where the Continental really was an acquired taste for me was in the ergonomics. True, the clip-on ’bars sit on top of the triple clamp, so compared to many café racers, the riding position is reasonably upright. But it’s still a crouch, with the feet set slightly back on the ’pegs and the body weight pushed forwards onto the ’bars. At the speeds the GT travels it doesn’t feel totally warranted, or comfortable.
It’s partly about learning the best way to sit on a bike like this: wiggling to the back of the seat and slotting the knees into the tank cutaways. It’s also about riding in the right locations: ideally in twisties where you can get up a decent head of steam. When the road starts to curve, the whole package starts to make sense.
The chassis has been developed by the Harris brothers – who have had success at GP and World Superbike level – and even a newbie can feel they’ve done a great job. The gentler power delivery gives you an incentive to lean further into corners rather than winding off, and the chassis and suspension package, assisted by the Pirelli Sport Demon tyres, reward you for it.
If you’re an experienced rider you’ll likely enjoy this aspect of the bike even more. A friend with a few more kays on the clock absolutely adored the GT. He praised not only the handling but also the drivetrain, which doesn’t snatch when you open or close the throttle too quickly. He also loved the looks. He counted three tradie thumbs up, plus one comment of “nice resto mate!”
It really does look like a lovingly restored old bike. For a schmick café racer straight out of the crate, you won’t find anything to match the Continental at this price. And if you are interested in customising, it would make an excellent starting point. The tail light and the massive pipe would be candidates for replacement, and if you’re keen, you could check out what French RE dealer Tendance Roadster has done by adding a bikini fairing. Seriously cool.
By the end of our short time together I’d learnt to savour the Continental. For a Sunday ride to a café, preferably with a few twisties on the way, it could easily become part of a ritual.
Pros
Café racer looks
Chassis balance
Fuel economy
Cons
Lack of punch
Vibrations
Can’t start with sidestand down
