Cafe Racer Bikes

The dearth of updates since its inception in 2018 meant it had started looking and feeling old. Hence, to breathe a fresh lease of life into the GT 650, RE bestowed the bike with a few visual and functional updates for 2023.

To give us a first-hand experience of how the Continental GT-R650 performs on the race track, we were invited by Royal Enfield at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore where the first round of the GP Cup took place.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is the racier version of the Interceptor 650. Featuring lowered clip-on handlebars, elongated fuel tank, single seat with cowl and rear-set footpegs, it follows a classic café racer design language. And since café racers are basically lightweight and powerful motorcycles designed for speed and handling, they can be referred to as street bikes of that era.

We spent a few days riding Husqvarna India's smallest offering, the Vitpilen 250. While it shares the platform with the KTM 250 Duke, the Vitpilen has a distinct identity of its own. But is it worth the money?