Royal Enfield Continental GT 500 Review

Introduction

This review is about the GT500 which is no longer in production.
This review was written in November of 2014.Updated September 2015.
Most reviews of any Royal Enfield bike (better known as 'Bullet' in India) starts out with nostalgic memories of the bullet or the long history of the brand. I am not going into that. I am not nostalgic about Royal Enfields (RE). Full disclosure, I hated them. Producing a bike with the same engine on the same chassis for decades is not something that makes me a fan. They were the laziest of bike manufacturers selling decade old bikes at a premium. What makes me tick is good, honest, beautiful engineering, not the image or the community the bike brings with it.
I really wanted them to do better. The introduction of the Unit Construction Engine (UCE), first introduced in the older version of Thunderbird, gave me some hope for the company. Then came the 'Classic'. Nice, I thought. Classic 500, that should be interesting, I speculated. Still, it lacked something that didn't get me excited. Then came the Continental GT and it changed everything for me.
Note: In India, Bike = Motorcycle. Not the cycle without motor. Thats just called a cycle.

My background

 It is important for the reader to know my history with bikes. Thats because, unlike the auto journalists, all impressions/opinions/positives/negatives I have mentioned below about the Continental GT depend on what bikes I have ridden well enough in the past/present. The bikes mentioned here have been owned by me or been in my family or owned by close friends. The list does not include the many other bikes that I have ridden only for a short distances.

Yamaha RX135, Yamaha Gladiator, TVS Apache 150, TVS Apache RTR FI 160  , Honda Unicorn, Bullet 350 UCE, Cast Iron Bullet 350.
As you can see this is my first foray into what is considered the premium bikes category.

 Why review this bike?

Its not because I am too excited about the new bike. If I had got the Duke 390 or the Honda CBR 250, I would not have bothered. There is lots of information, some very detailed ones, on those bikes. When I was researching online before buying, I did not find much information about the Continental GT that would help a prospective buyer or even some one just curious to know more about the bike. The purpose of this blog is to try and fill that gap. 

I also want to see how well I could do a writeup. A self assessment kind of thing and maybe get some feedback if someone happens to read this.

Why the Continental GT?

Honestly, there is no hard and fast answer to that. Its a bit of a heart and bit of a head decision. I wanted to buy the KTM 390. For me, there is not a better bang for your buck bike in India in that price range. I will still say that.
I have no serious plans for rides with the bike I was going to buy. It would be unfair for an accomplished and able bike like Duke 390 to just sit in the garage most of the time.  The GT on the other hand is not meant to be taken on long trips or to be an every day ride. But, every time you take out the GT for a ride, there is a sense of occasion, which would be missing from say the Duke or CBR.
I think I am a good example for the kind of new customer that RE wants to bring in with the GT. From hating the brand to buying their flagship.
Lets end this topic here. Surely you are not here to read about my thought process in buying this. Lets get to the interesting part.

Specifications: 

Engine

Single Cylinder, 4 stroke, Air cooled
Displacement    535 cc
Bore x stroke    87mm x 90mm
Compression Ratio    8.5:1
Maximum Power    29.1 bhp (21.4 kW) @ 5100 rpm
Maximum Torque    44 Nm @ 4000 rpm

Dimensions
Wheelbase    1360 mm
Ground Clearance    140 mm
Length    2060 mm
Height    1070mm ( Without Mirrors)
Kerb Weight    184 Kgs
Fuel Capacity    13.5 Ltrs 

Brakes & Tyres
Tyres Front    100/90-18, 56 H Pirelli Sport Demon
Tyres Rear    130/70-18, 63 H Pirelli Sport Demon
Brakes Front    Brembo 300mm Floating disc, 2-Piston floating caliper
Brakes Rear    240mm Disc, Single piston floating caliper

Looks:

Retro, minimalistic are kind of words that describe the design. Since I lack good vocabulary, I'll just say it looks fabulous. I like naked bikes a whole lot more than faired bikes, so there's that. A few professional reviewers had put the three bikes in this price range, the KTM 390, CBR250 and Continental GT, in comparison and all of them were of the opinion that the GT looks best.
Ok, so it looks good, but how does it fare under the magnifying glass? First thought: Royal Enfield has really put in a lot of effort into this bike. It is far better finished than the other Royal Enfields. Still, not there yet with the Japs or European counterparts, but not far away.

The first thing you will notice when you get on the Continental GT is the meaty clip-ons and the triple clamp. They look strong, well finished. The meters don't look bad when you sit on the bike, but from the angle shown below, it looks cheap.

Meters look cheap

The tank is well finished. Its long and thin. Paint finish looks nice. The tank has the 'Continental GT' sticker. That's the only place where you will find that. The sides covers do not have any badging.

The neck of the petrol filler that shows between the lid and the tank is an eyesore in otherwise well built tank. The lid is not hinged and comes off when opened.
Next up is the star of the proceedings, the single seat with cowl.

The single seat gels well with the overall design. The double seat, available as an extra accessory, takes away the charm. I have seen some RE Classics with single seats. They don't look right for some reason. Classic looks good fully furnished, with the rear seat, the grab rail and big crash guards. In the GT, its the other way around.

The red stitching on the seat matching the paint is a nice touch.

A mess of wires. Could have been packaged better. Some parts of wires don't have insulation.

The fat front forks, silver finished thin fenders and brushed alloy spoked rims add to the looks.

These Paioli shocks with the yellow springs and the XL size gold colored cylinder is the most 'look at me!' part on the bike.

Fork brace designed to look like a fender bracket. Is this the first Indian bike to come with a fork brace?

Pirelli Sport Demons look good on the bike

Twin horns. Standard on all Enfields except Bullet 350 and Electra. Loud horns, must for Indian roads.

The Ride

I am not going to compare the Continental GT to any of its competition in this section. Partly because I am not qualified to do so, partly because the Enfield brotherhood has threatened me with dire consequences if I do so. I have put two links at end of this section from motoring websites where seasoned journos (who obviously have made some kind of deal with the Enfield brotherhood) have done the comparison. I will just quote Shumi from Overdrive to set the tone - "If you  (you riding a GT and a KTM rider) go looking for a cafe, you’ll find your KTM-mounted friend already halfway through his coffee by the time you park your Continental GT." 

535cc Fuel injected. No twinspark as seen in Classic 500. Why?

Engine:

"The Royal Enfield Continental GT is our lightest, fastest, and most powerful motorcycle in production." - That is the first line in the GT's user manual. No denying that. The catch is, with 29.1 bhp and 185Kgs, this bike is not going to be a scorcher like the KTM Duke 390. You know that even before you ride it.

And when you ride it, you will find the limitation of having a long stoke single cylinder engine - the low revs (rpm). With a limited bandwith  of rpm to play with (5000 rpm), you don't feel like this is a fast bike.
Another issue is that you will think twice before taking it to 5000 rpms because of the vibrations. Initially I wanted to name the bike 'Vibratus Maximus', but since the vibes have reduced a bit as I have put in some kms and naming a bike isn't something I do, I thought better of it.
Update: The vibes have come down as the bike has logged more miles. Or maybe I got used to it. Anyway, its not something that bothers me much now.

Let me explain a bit more about the lack of rpm. The first 1000 rpms is just the idling. You don't use that while riding. The last 1000 rpms ( or from 4000 rpm and above) is a place you don't want to be in for long (more so if you have a full stomach). So in real, you have about 3000 rpms to play with. In that, the bike isn't making any fun kind of power below 2500 rpm. So you are left with 1500 rpms. That isn't something a cross-hopper from revy bikes would appreciate.
I know, I know, I am not supposed to compare the 'Bullet' with any other bikes. Its a whole different experience etc etc. Yes, it sure is a whole different experience.

Its not slow. It is easy to hit 100 kmph and stay there. Its rock steady at this speed. You will even be urged to do more, but I haven't. I haven't yet got the hang of this heavy-weight so have not crossed over this psychological barrier of 100 kmph.
Update: Have tried speeds upto 125Kmph. The wind blast is so strong that hanging on to the bike is a task. Mind you, I am not used to doing those speeds on a two wheeler. I did not have the mental bandwidth to see how the bike was behaving at that speed. It was fine I suppose.

Throttle response : This is another thing you have to get used to. You should not twist the throttle like on a commuter or a sports bike. Since its a big displacement single cylinder, the time it takes to rev up is slightly longer. If you just wring the throttle, especially when cold or from idling, you may stall it. Does not mean you have to do it in sloooow motion, but just a little slower than you want to. It maybe because of this that there is a choke lever. I have never seen a choke on a fuel injected engine before. Manual says it has to be used in severe cold conditions.

The lever above the arrow mark, that's the choke.

Gearbox:

The gear box is not bad. It suits the other bikes from the stable like the Classic and Thunderbird better than the Continental GT. The issue is the spacing between each gear is a bit too much. Its fine when your leg position is as in the other Enfields (angle at the knee about 90 degrees). The GT has rear set foot pegs. In that position, the range of movement your heel can make is limited. Atleast thats the case for me. So the long gear spacing becomes a problem. The angle of the gear lever is adjustable. After I adjusted that to suit the angle of my foot, it was better.
The box however does not fall into false neutrals. I only faced very few, which is same as any other bikes. Finding the neutral when the engine is hot is almost impossible. Oddly, when the engine is cold, neutral can be found with a bit of prodding.

Brakes: 

Oh yes, my favorite part of the ride. The Brembos up front with the steel braided lines and Pirelli tyres offer superb braking. There is no ABS. This is the most disappointing part of the ride. For a bike at this cost, ABS should have been provided. Enfield skimped on this to save a few bucks, no better way to put it. A hike of about 10k on the price for providing ABS would not have made me changed my decision. I had a broken arm from the front washing out on braking on a dust covered tar road. So I am nervous about braking hard on any surface other than clean tarred roads.
The rear is a smaller disc brake by Bybre. Unit looks the same as that on the Thunderbird. Bybre is an economy brand of Brembo. Something like Mercedes-Benz trucks and Bharat Benz trucks.

Brembos at the front

Bybre at rear.

Handling and ride quality:

The first test ride I took of the Continental GT, I was surprised how easy it was to handle. The bike lost all its weight when moving. I was mighty impressed. That has been the case after I got the bike, but I did have a few heart in my mouth moments. Its when the bends are a bit tight. The bike requires you to put in a bit more physical effort into making the tighter turns compared to the other bikes. Taking a U-turn requires as much space as a Tata Nano! The bike is very sensitive to the white (or yellow) markers on the road than what I have felt in other bikes. It seems to tram line on the edges of those markings.It can be unnerving at times.
The suspension is stiffer than I would like it. When the road is uneven, I just cannot ride fast because the bike is too jumpy. Riding on well laid roads with the occasional potholes is not a problem. The rear shock absorbers are adjustable, but its a screw type adjustment. There are no markings either. So you can never be sure if you have set both the sides to the same position. Why have this kind of adjuster when every other bike has these notch kind of adjuster? (Don't know what they are called)
The rear view mirrors are useless at speeds. Its gets blurry. You can barely determine if there is anything behind you or not. Heard that the bar-end mirrors are much better. I will have to try that.

The stock RVM. Useless most of the time.

 Update: Yes, the bar end mirrors are completely vibe free. Nice. They are not the best because the area it covers is very less.

Bar end mirrors. Looks good. No vibes, but not enough coverage of whats behind you.

Part 2 - Living with the Royal Enfield Continental GT.

Comparisons:

Continental GT vs KTM Duke 390 - Overdrive
Continental GT vs KTM Duke 390 vs CBR 250R - MotorBeam