Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 hits production line

Royal Enfield has started manufacturing their soon to be launched motorcycle, the Continental GT 535 (a.k.a the Café Racer) at their recently inaugurated manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai. This development was confirmed through footage from BBC. It showed workers assembling parts for the Café Racer.

It is likely the fully assembled Café Racers will be exported to United Kingdom as a launch is scheduled there next month. UK is the largest export market for the Chennai based manufacturer, so it makes complete sense for the motorcycle to make its way there first. The India launch is expected to happen in October when the consumer buying sentiment is very high due to festival season.

The Café Racer is powered by the same 499cc air-cooled engine that powers the Classic 500. But for the Café Racer, the engine has been bored out to displace 535cc. The bored out engine now produces 36bhp of power and torque is also expected to be higher than the Classic 500. The engine has been mated to a five-speed gearbox. The motorcycle features clip-on handle bars, Pirelli tyres, disc brake at the front and rear, Paioli gas charged rear suspension and will be lighter than other Royal Enfield motorcycles.

With the Continental GT 535, Royal Enfield is targeting a very niche segment of buyers. Expect the Café Racer to be priced between Rs 2.25 lakh and Rs 2.75 lakh.