Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 vs KTM 390 Duke – Competition Check

Royal Enfield has replaced the older Continental GT with a new one which gets the much-hallowed twin-cylinder, 650cc motor. The Continental GT 650 technically competes with the Kawasaki Z650 and Harley-Davidson Street 750. However, owing to the RE’s aggressive price tag, the KTM 390 Duke comes up as an ideal rival in terms of power figures and pricing. We take a quick look at how they fare against each other on paper.

Design

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is a great combination of sportiness as well as classic styling. The round headlamp, twin-pod instrument cluster and heavy use of chrome give it an old-school charm while the clip-on handlebar and angular tank make it look sporty. The KTM 390 Duke, however, is a proper modern streetfighter with sleek body panels and highly aggressive stance.

Engine

Royal Enfield has used the newly developed 650cc, twin-cylinder, air/oil cooled motor on the Continental GT 650 that churns out 47bhp of power and 52Nm of torque. The unit is mated to a six-speed gearbox and the implementation of 270-degree crank angle setup means it is almost vibe-free.

Powering the KTM 390 Duke is a smaller 373.2cc, liquid-cooled, single cylinder motor, but the power figures are competitive at 42.9bhp and 37Nm. The engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox, but the presence of a slipper clutch and ride-by-wire throttle makes it more potent during enthusiastic riding.

Cycle Parts

Holding the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is a steel tubular, double cradle frame and it is suspended on 41mm telescopic forks on the front and twin gas-charged shock absorbers at the rear. For braking, it utilises a 320mm disc with twin-piston Brembo calipers on the front and 240mm disc at the rear and, dual-channel ABS is standard. It rides on 18-inch front and rear wheels that are shod with Pirelli tyres. 

The KTM 390 Duke is based on a steel trellis frame. Suspension duties are handled by WP 43mm upside down forks on the front and WP monoshock at the rear. Braking is taken care of by 320mm single disc with four-piston caliper on the front and 230mm disc with single-piston caliper at the rear. Dual-channel ABS is standard here as well. It rides on 17-inch front and rear wheels both of which are shod with Metzelers.

Features

In terms of features, the KTM 390 Duke leads the battle with a plethora of modern bits. It gets LED headlamps with DRLs, full-digital TFT LCD instrument cluster with Bluetooth connectivity, ride-by-wire throttle and slipper clutch. Moreover, ABS has three modes – Road, Supermoto and Off. The Continental GT 650, on the other hand, is all old school. Illumination is provided by conventional bulbs while the instrument cluster is analogue with digital fuel level indicator, odometer and two trip meters.

Pricing

Undoubtedly, the Royal Enfield Continental 650 has a mouth watery price tag starting from Rs 2.65 lakhs. The custom and chrome versions come for Rs 2.72 lakhs and Rs 2.85 lakhs. However, at Rs 2.42 lakhs, the KTM 390 Duke also makes for a value-for-money proposition. (all prices are ex-showroom, Mumbai).