THE EMPIRE
Article and Images by Matt Wishart
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Royal Enfield’s, is India, being the prime candidate for the long treks across India’s abundant landscape. Then I think of English Breakfast tea and the grey and gloomy weather of the UK, the thumping of a single cylinder engine roaring through the city streets with a leather jacket and scarf billowing out behind the rider.
All of those feelings are brought to life with the new Continental GT by Royal Enfield, which has just been released on the New Zealand market. I came home to find two gorgeous bikes sitting in my driveway and the first thing I did was take them for a ride.
Royal Enfield have given the Continental GT a generous helping of the much loved cafe racer styling which is prominent in both America and the UK. A stripped back front with the bar end mirrors give the face of the bike a clean and styled look. Moving down to the curved seat cowl with only enough space for one, adds that sexy little touch to finish it off.
Within five minutes of taking it for a ride, I was up on One Tree Hill with a much needed cigarette and a few moments to go over the bike. Not soon after that, I had an old man saunter up to me and strike up conversation about the bike. Listening to him reminisce over his old Enfield back in the UK.
I was going to have to get used to people coming up to me with this bike around me, because it certainly caught the attention of anyone near by.
The new Continental GT is no longer carbureted, instead being updated with a fuel injection unit. Unfortunately due to an EFI mapping error, the GT’s have a low spot just off idle, which if not ready for, will cause the bike to stall rather abruptly.
One could argue that having the bike fuel injected is slight insult to the classic Royal Enfield’s of years gone by, but I quite like it, bringing the GT down to a younger age bracket with it’s updated technology and styling.
Stability through corners is something that the GT does well, hugging the road as you push it through a tight set of twisties. Though the engine is 535cc, it is only a single cylinder and doesn’t have the instant power delivery that many other bikes do, which means that you have to plan your corners carefully and keep a smooth line throughout each corner so as to maintain a constant speed.
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