[Arizoni]

According to the link below, the 650 will be available for demo rides in the USA, probably to a select few.
This is supposed to happen in September.  Hopefully it is true because that is a big step towards them actually being available sometime soon.


http://overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/royal-enfield-interceptor-650-and-continental-gt-650-parallel-twin-first-ride-in-september-2018/

[Arizoni]

It looks like Royal Enfield is moving the release date so the 650 will be delivered 2 months later than was first announced.

Here is a quote from a news article about the issue:

"Bookings of the two bikes to start in November and deliveries after that. Media drives to happen in California in September. The launch will happen in India and rest of the world," Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO, Eicher Motors, told analysts.

Ready units of the two bikes will be in limited numbers to start with as a full ramp-up of their production is expected only four months later. The company is already running its production at full capacity.

"The production ramp up will happen in a phased manner. By the end of this financial year we will be in most of the important markets around the world. We won't have any capacity issues with the twins. The ramp up will be slow. By March 2019 we will be able to deliver what the market requires," Lal said.

Both the Interceptor and the Continental GT are powered by 650cc, twin-cylinder, fuel-injected motors that deliver a peak power of 47 ps. While price details are not out yet, market sources believe they should priced at around Rs 3.5 lakh.

The two bikes will be the costliest and most powerful in the Royal Enfield stable. While the Interceptor is a new bike, the new Continental GT is a replacement of the now-phased-out Continental GT, which was powered by a 535cc engine.

Prospective buyers of Royal Enfield bikes can expect a delay in deliveries during the festive months of September, October and November as the company's production lines are fully utilized at present.

"In the last couple of months we are tending to demand-supply getting closer. But all our plants are running at peak capacity. As we get into September, October and November demand will rise higher but not the supply," Lal said.

[Richard230]

So the 535 Continental GT is officially a dead duck. 

[Bilgemaster]

One can only hope that RE has the sense to fully break in and sort out whatever test bikes they hand off to the media for thrashing. It's pretty clear from some earlier reviews I've seen that they don't always take the trouble to put their best foot forward. At least just let an intern run it around a track for a week or so, change the oil, and take a torque wrench and a few drops of Loctite to it before tossing it to the wolves.

Hell, I'm retired, with plenty of time on my hands. Toss one of those twins into a U-Haul, bring it on down and roll it quietly into my garage down here in Virginia, and I'd be happy to sneak her out and put a thousand mild miles on her on the back roads down here, and mum's the word. Noone will ever know. Happy to help.

[9fingers]

Like with any new model release, I will definitely wait a year or two for them to work out the bugs, as difficult as that may be.
9fingers

[Rattlebattle]

So the 535 Continental GT is officially a dead duck. 

Yes, confirmed by the dealer I visited yesterday. No great loss IMHO, but the good news is that there is likely to be one with a decent 650cc single engine, together with a bigger engine in the Himalayan.

[ace.cafe]

Yes, confirmed by the dealer I visited yesterday. No great loss IMHO, but the good news is that there is likely to be one with a decent 650cc single engine, together with a bigger engine in the Himalayan.

I actually thought that the GT535 was their best UCE bike to date.

I think a 650 single would be a huge mistake. The stroke is already too long at 90mm.

If they want higher power, how about they make more power? Believe me, there is plenty more power attainable from their current platforms.
Just making more and more displacement to get a few more hp is poor efficiency.
There are 3 outfits making as much power from the 535 single, as RE projects to make in the 650 twins. And they are running clean and efficient.

[Arschloch]

Yes, confirmed by the dealer I visited yesterday. No great loss IMHO, but the good news is that there is likely to be one with a decent 650cc single engine, together with a bigger engine in the Himalayan.

I still like mine but of course it's a bit off from stock. For the general market the quality & performance was shite, nevertheless I think it's an opportunity lost. The twins will automatically come into an higher price bracket and a single that performs doesn't cost more than one that doesn't. 

Other than that I don't particularly care what RE does or doesn't as I have no stakes in it, experience is the best cure for ignorance anyway.