Since its launch back in 2018, the Continental GT 650 is getting its first major update. The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 will now be offered with alloy wheels, as dealers have confirmed with The Financial Express. Also, speculations are at the moment, if the spoke wheel option will also be on sale alongside the alloy-wheel variant.
The alloy-wheel option for the Continental GT 650 was expected, as the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 was spied several months sporting alloy wheels. This makes sense, as the GT 650 and Interceptor 650 are road-biased motorcycles, and Royal Enfield is working on a 650cc platform that can be used off-road — the Scrambler 650 that has been spied numerous times.
When taking the Royal Enfield Scrambler 650 into consideration, all makes sense as the GT650 is the sporty one, the Interceptor is the street-oriented model, the newly-launched Meteor 650 is meant to cruise long distances, and the Scrambler 650 will be more of a dual-purpose motorcycle.
There is no news of a hardcore adventure model based on the 650 platform yet, however, there could soon be a proper adventure motorcycle based on the same platform. For now, those looking for a Royal Enfield with a go-anywhere capability have the Himalayan 410, while a more potent version of the Himalayan with a 450cc liquid-cooled engine will be launched soon.
Coming back to the alloy wheels on the Continental GT 650, the updated wheels could help shave off some weight and also improve the handling. However, the biggest benefit comes in the form of tubeless tyres with alloy wheels, meaning better resistance against punctures and easy fixes.
