Royal Enfield models are known for its appealing retro design and its happy to see them making bikes which gives that retro feel even now where technology has evolved. Cafe Racing culture were born on the streets of UK in the middle 50s & 60s and surviving still now. By seeing the popularity of this culture, some manufacturers built the Cafe Racer models and sold them which became a hit. 1964 was the year when Royal Enfield introduced the factory made Continental GT 250 which had a rear set pegs, swept back exhaust, clip-ons, rev counter, humped rear seat and fiber glass fuel tank. They've discontinued this model due to some reason and 48 years after introducing the GT 250, the company has revealed the new continental GT 535 and that's the bike we're going to see about in the retrosters category today.
Design
This motorbike incorporated the design elements which is inspired from the Cafe Racer models. I remember those days where I used to stop my bicycle and admire the design of the motorbike which is parked alongside a shop until the owner come and crank up the motor to hear that sweet exhaust note. It had a Cafe Racer styled fuel tank, single piece seat, rear cowl and the foot pegs were positioned at the rear. To maintain the retro look, manufacturer fabricated this model with a round shaped halogen headlamp and twin analog instrument console for speedometer & tachometer.
Clip-ons, rear set pegs and the seat height of 800mm gave the rider a forward riding stance for that aggressive riding posture. To maintain that retro feel, old school type side panels with minimal body works were implemented. I got to say that the old school type front & rear chrome finished fenders, chrome exhaust, headlamp, chrome bezels on the twin dial and tail lamp impressed me very much. It also got a kick start mechanism to experience that retro feel of cranking the motor. Fuel tank and other components are mounted on a double cradle frame which even adds some more essence to the old school feel.
Powertrain
The motorbike is powered by a 535cc, single cylinder, air cooled motor which produced about 29.1bhp & 44Nm at 5,100 & 4,000rpm respectively. From this we can conclude that this motorbike is to be enjoyed at minimal speeds. It is paired to a 5 speed gearbox and it used a Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system to introduce the fuel/air mixture into the combustion chamber.
Hardware
This motorbike is fitted with the premium components which is available at that time. Braking duties are handled by 300mm disc rotor with 2 piston Brembo caliper at the front and 240mm disc with single piston caliper at the rear. Suspension duties by conventional telescopic forks at the front and twin gas charged pre-load adjustable shocks from Paioli at the rear. Wheels are chrome finished wired spoke units wrapped with Pirelli rubbers at both the ends.
Others
This bike too had some disadvantages like every other models which is normal I'd say. Riders of these machines faced much amount of vibrations from the motor. Vibrations are normal especially in this 535cc single cylinder motor. But compared to the other models within the same category, vibrations kicked in very hard, said by the owners. Another reason is the single seat option where riders in our country always expect a pillion seat. After some years, manufacturer have introduced the parallel twin 650cc Continental GT in our country and to make way for these models, they've pulled its plug off the 535 and still now there's demand for this model in the second hand market where youngsters these days started to jump towards the vintage models.
Design
This motorbike incorporated the design elements which is inspired from the Cafe Racer models. I remember those days where I used to stop my bicycle and admire the design of the motorbike which is parked alongside a shop until the owner come and crank up the motor to hear that sweet exhaust note. It had a Cafe Racer styled fuel tank, single piece seat, rear cowl and the foot pegs were positioned at the rear. To maintain the retro look, manufacturer fabricated this model with a round shaped halogen headlamp and twin analog instrument console for speedometer & tachometer.
Clip-ons, rear set pegs and the seat height of 800mm gave the rider a forward riding stance for that aggressive riding posture. To maintain that retro feel, old school type side panels with minimal body works were implemented. I got to say that the old school type front & rear chrome finished fenders, chrome exhaust, headlamp, chrome bezels on the twin dial and tail lamp impressed me very much. It also got a kick start mechanism to experience that retro feel of cranking the motor. Fuel tank and other components are mounted on a double cradle frame which even adds some more essence to the old school feel.
Powertrain
The motorbike is powered by a 535cc, single cylinder, air cooled motor which produced about 29.1bhp & 44Nm at 5,100 & 4,000rpm respectively. From this we can conclude that this motorbike is to be enjoyed at minimal speeds. It is paired to a 5 speed gearbox and it used a Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system to introduce the fuel/air mixture into the combustion chamber.
Hardware
This motorbike is fitted with the premium components which is available at that time. Braking duties are handled by 300mm disc rotor with 2 piston Brembo caliper at the front and 240mm disc with single piston caliper at the rear. Suspension duties by conventional telescopic forks at the front and twin gas charged pre-load adjustable shocks from Paioli at the rear. Wheels are chrome finished wired spoke units wrapped with Pirelli rubbers at both the ends.
Others
This bike too had some disadvantages like every other models which is normal I'd say. Riders of these machines faced much amount of vibrations from the motor. Vibrations are normal especially in this 535cc single cylinder motor. But compared to the other models within the same category, vibrations kicked in very hard, said by the owners. Another reason is the single seat option where riders in our country always expect a pillion seat. After some years, manufacturer have introduced the parallel twin 650cc Continental GT in our country and to make way for these models, they've pulled its plug off the 535 and still now there's demand for this model in the second hand market where youngsters these days started to jump towards the vintage models.
Tags
Retrosters