Fell in love with the Classic 650 & bought it in a jiffy: Early review

Vibration on the seat, handlebar and foot pegs is present at 100 km/h. I never felt this on my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

BHPian NTO recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Bought the first Royal Enfield Classic 650 in Chennai in black chrome. Around 400 Km done.

Initial Impressions:

1. The motorcycle masks its weight pretty well once we start to ride it. I am taking the motorcycle for short distance errands like dropping the kid off at school, buying vegetables, groceries etc. Very easy motorcycle to ride.
2. Though the seat height on paper is 800mm, it is wide. This will be difficult for shorter folks, 5’5″ and below, to flat foot. Do a test ride and try to use the motorcycle in your typical usage scenarios. You may not be able to balance the weight with one leg when the situation arises, owing to the weight.
3. The engine is very refined at normal speeds but the vibrations appear to be at their peak on the seats, handlebars and foot pegs at 100 kmph. Never felt this in the Interceptor. Maybe it is because the bike is still new and in the run-in period. Will update this later. It left a buzzing effect on the palms post-riding, despite riding with gloves.
4. Weird – the front brakes are very weak compared to the Inty but the rear ones are extremely sharp. Never experienced this setup in any of my other motorcycles. Typically, the front brakes are the strongest.
5. Overall quality, fit and finish is pretty good with the motorcycle.
6. Mounting the motorcycle on the center stand felt surprisingly easy for such a heavy motorcycle.
7. Ergonomic misses – Both the side stand and center stand are difficult to engage without leaving shoe marks on a hot exhaust. Also, the handlebars bent at the end towards the rider caused slight discomfort at the wrists post a 100 km ride.
8. Headlamp is absolutely useless. At night, you will not realize its presence. They look absolutely gorgeous, though, when viewed head on.
9. The instrument cluster has all the necessary information: 2 trips, gear position, gear suggestion, odo, time and an eco indication. However, it is extremely hard to read under direct sunlight while riding.
10. Tripper navigation is okay and I tried it for a short distance. Though it is built on Google Maps, many locations that are available on Google Maps are not available on the Tripper navigation.
11. Royal Enfield has given a USB-A charger in the left box, below the seat, which is access-controlled behind a key. Not sure the utility of this one. The USB-C on the handlebar will be useful for charging the navigation devices.
12. Bike overall feels lethargic in comparison to the Interceptor. Definitely a downside of the weight.
13. Suspension is stiff. Highway undulations at speeds will impact your back but at slow city speeds, it is acceptable and does its job pretty well. Positive side to the suspension and low centre of gravity is very good handling. A motorcycle this long and heavy has no business handling this well.
14. Purchased two accessories – Sump guard and Touring mirrors.
15. Good connected tech using the Wingman application. Lot of improvements needed but I am having Hyundai’s Blue Link as a reference. For a first, it is a pretty good attempt from Royal Enfield.

Buying Process

Looked, fell in love and bought it on an impulse. I bought a Classic 500 in 2013 but couldn’t ride it for even a full 3 months as I had to move out to study back then. This one gave similar vibes, so I booked and bought it in a Jiffy.

Rudraa Motors made it a big deal, ensuring an awesome delivery experience. Special thanks to Sales Head Srinivasan Jagan and my sales rep, Arun Kumar.

Some pictures of the motorcycle

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.