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The Cerra GT 865 Is The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 We Never Imagined
Royal Enfield motorcycles used to be all about riding a wave of torque while enjoying the thump from the exhaust and slowly taking in the moving scenery. However, things changed slightly with the launch of the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 motorcycle.
This motorcycle was all about bringing back the nostalgic cafe racer theme from the late '80s. However, it did not possess any demerits of the motorcycles from the '80s. In fact, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 could be the first Royal Enfield from the factory that can actually carve corners without bringing the fear of god inside the rider.
Though the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 was a charm to ride, the motorcycle got stuck in the shadows of the KTM Duke 390. Fast forward a few years, Royal Enfield shocked the Indian two-wheeler segment with the launch of the Royal Enfield 650 twins - The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650.
The biggest highlight of the Royal Enfield 650 twins is its engine. This engine unlike most Royal Enfield motorcycles uses a parallel-twin setup and produces 47bhp of peak power and 52Nm of peak torque. While the numbers do not excite much, the way the engine makes power and the noise while doing so made the motorcycle very exciting to ride at any speeds. However, the cherry on top was the pricing, which was more than a lakh cheaper than the next most affordable twin-cylinder motorcycle available at that time in the country.
At present, the Royal Enfield 650 twins are among the best retro-themed motorcycles you can buy anywhere in the world, and the Cerra GT 865 is the result of reimagination by Carl Cerra from Skunk Machine in Australia. Moreover, this model is limited to just 25 units. However, we are not sure if this model will be available in India.
For starters, Carl has removed every single body panel from the standard Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 motorcycle and replaced it with custom-made resin-infused carbon fibre body panels. Moreover, the Cerra GT 865 also gets a full fairing made from the same material. Other noticeable design elements include new circular LED headlamps, exposed carbon-fibre body panels, bar-end LED turn indicators, and new taillamps. Also, it is worth mentioning that the stock fuel tank has been retained by the custom builder.
Mechanically, the biggest change happened in the powertrain as the twin-cylinder engine now displaces 865cc. This change is most likely to give the motorcycle a lot more power and torque compared to the stock motorcycle engine. Apart from that, the Cerra GT 865 motorcycle also gets dual slip-on exhaust from SC Project with custom headers and a 40mm throttle body with exposed air intake.
While the rear suspension looks similar to the stock one, the front suspension has been upgraded to more sophisticated USD forks. Additionally, the brakes have also been upgraded to match the additional oomph, and the Cerra GT 865 now sports a dual-disc setup with Brembo calipers at the front.
While keeping the track usage in mind, the Cerra GT 865 comes with smaller 17-inch slick tyres at both ends and the analogue instrument cluster has now been replaced by a digital instrument cluster that double up as a dash-cam display unit.
Thoughts About The Cerra GT 865
The Cerra GT 865 feels like a dream because it is one. However, only 25 units of this outstanding machine will be built, and it is yet to be known if this motorcycle will ever reach the Indian shores.