Let’s be honest: Most “retro” bikes are just modern machines wearing old-fashioned costumes. Then there’s the Royal Enfield Classic 650 – a bike that doesn’t pretend to be from the 1950s. It practically is from the 1950s, just with marginally better brakes and fewer oil leaks. After putting 1,200 miles on the 2025 model from London to the Scottish Highlands, I’m convinced this is the most honest motorcycle you can buy today.

Royal Enfield Classic 650 Design: Your Grandfather’s Bike (If He Had Taste)

The Royal Enfield Classic 650 doesn’t do “modern.” It does “timeless” with stubborn determination:

• Teardrop tank in “Mist Green” (optional “Sandstorm Brown” for extra vintage points)
• Chrome everything – fenders, mirrors, exhaust, even the air filter cover (because why not?)
• Sprung solo seat that looks like it was stolen from a 1952 BSA
• Spoke wheels with tube-type tires (yes, really – this isn’t 2025 to Royal Enfield)

But the 2025 updates? Subtle but smart:

• LED headlight (disguised as a vintage bulb)
• USB-C port hidden under the seat (for charging your phone between breakdowns – kidding!)
• Dual-channel ABS (a reluctant nod to modernity)

“Park it next to a Triumph Bonneville. The Triumph looks like a hipster’s carefully curated ‘vintage’ Instagram post. The Enfield? It looks like it just rolled out of a British Army surplus sale – in 1956.”

Royal Enfield Classic 650 The Engine: Slow, Loud, and Gloriously Simple

The 648cc air/oil-cooled parallel twin is where the magic (and the vibrations) happen:

• 47 HP @ 5,250 RPM – slower than some 300cc bikes, but who cares?
• 52 Nm torque @ 3,000 RPM – enough to pull stumps (or at least a sidecar full of groceries)
• Fuel economy: 30 km/l (85 mpg) if you’re gentle

Royal Enfield Classic 650 The experience? Pure analov

• Thump-thump idle that shakes café windows
• Vibrations at highway speeds that turn your hands into tuning forks
• A soundtrack like two skeletons fighting in a tin shed (especially with the optional “S&S” exhaust)

Royal Enfield Classic 650 The quirks:

• Cold starts require patience (and sometimes prayers)
• 5-speed gearbox with a vague clutch feel (think “stirring porridge”)
• Top speed? Maybe 160 km/h downhill with a tailwind. But you’ll feel every km/h.

Ride & Handling: Like a Well-Worn Leather Jacket

This isn’t a canyon carver. It’s a “smell the roses and wave at cows” machine:

• Suspension: Soft as a marshmallow (great for potholes, less great for cornering)
• Steering: Lazy but predictable (no sudden movements, please)
• Brakes: Single disc up front (adequate if you plan stops 3 business days in advance)

Real-world test: The A82 through Glen Coe.

• At 80 km/h: The bike is in its element – relaxed, rumbling, romantic.
• At 110 km/h: You’ll wish you packed more aspirin.
• On gravel: Surprisingly competent (those skinny tires cut right through).

Tech & Features: Deliberately Stone-Age

Royal Enfield knows its audience. The Classic 650 has:

• A speedometer (analog, because pixels are for nerds)
• A fuel gauge (also analog, and suspiciously optimistic)
• A trip meter (reset with a satisfying mechanical click)

What’s missing?

• Ride modes (your right wrist is the only mode)
• Traction control (laughs in British rain)
• TFT screens (the closest you get is sunlight reflecting off chrome)

Ownership: Cheap to Buy, Cheaper to Love

Why normal people buy this bike:

• Price: 4,200 USD – about the cost of a fancy bicycle
• Maintenance: Valve adjustments every 10,000 km (or whenever you remember)
• Aftermarket: Every part is available for less than a pub tab

Why enthusiasts really buy it:

• Customization potential – this is the Lego set of motorcycles
• Community – Royal Enfield riders will wave at you like long-lost cousins
• Soul – it’s flawed, slow, and utterly charming

Who Should Buy One?

✅ You, if:

• You think “character” > horsepower
• You enjoy tinkering more than riding
• Your dream garage has more wrenches than wax

❌ Avoid, if:

• You regularly exceed 100 km/h
• Electronics are your love language
• Your idea of “maintenance” is a dealership visit

Final Verdict: The Anti-Motorcycle Motorcycle

The Royal Enfield Classic 650 shouldn’t exist in 2025. It’s too slow, too crude, too honest. And that’s exactly why we need it. In a world of 200 HP hyperbikes and self-balancing scooters, the Royal Enfield Classic 650 is a mechanical time capsule – a reminder that riding used to be about feeling something.

“It’s not fast. It’s not refined. But every time you kickstart it (yes, it has one), blip the throttle, and hear that lazy twin thump to life, you’ll grin like a kid who just found his dad’s old vinyl records. Some bikes are built for speed. This one’s built for stories.”