Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 vs Triumph Thruxton 400: Styling, Features, Colours, And More
While both these bikes are cafe racers, only one of them gets those proper retro looks with the semi-fairing
The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is priced from Rs 3,53,105 to Rs 3,81,885 (ex-showroom, Chennai). The only other cafe racer in the sub-Rs 5 lakh segment, is the Triumph Thruxton 400, which costs Rs 2,76,383 (ex-showroom, Delhi). We compare both of these neo-retro cafe racers to find out the better-looking one:
Front
The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 looks quite beautiful with its circular headlamp, sculpted fuel tank, long single-piece seat, clip-on handlebars and rear-set footpegs. But one thing it lacks for being a proper cafe racer is the front cowl. The Continental GT 650 comes with blacked-out circular mirrors as standard which complete its retro vibe. You can get the bar ends as an accessory, though.
The Triumph Thruxton 400 also looks properly retro with its circular headlamp, slim fuel tank, and single seat. What stands out here is the semi-fairing inspired by the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR. Also, the sleek LED indicators give it a beautiful look. The Thruxton’s bar-end mirrors complete its cafe racer look and are a lot more premium than the Continental GT 650 ones.
Side Profiles
On either side of the fuel tank, the Continental GT 650 gets clean striped graphics, which give it vintage racer vibes. The Triumph, on the other hand, has vertical striped graphics on the fuel tank, side fairing extensions, and the seat cowl, which look a lot more beautiful.
The side panels on the Royal Enfield are black-coloured and only get minimalistic badging. The Triumph’s side panels look quite funky with their silver accents, matching its airbox cover. It also has badging on the side panels, but here it is much more premium.
Engine
The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650’s parallel-twin motor is finished in a matte black shade in the Slipstream Blue and Apex Grey variants, and a metal finish in the remaining variants. Apart from the premium finishing of the engine casing, the bike gets long exhausts at both sides, finished in black or chrome, depending on the colour variant.
The Thruxton’s engine is also finished in a black shade but has a premium-looking metal finish on the engine fins. The bike’s exhaust has a metal-finished stubby end can, which adds to its visual appeal. Apart from this, the Thruxton 400 also has a Triumph emblem on its clutch cover.
The Tail Section
Both these bikes have a sleek tail section, which goes well with their individual characters. The Continental GT has a circular halogen tail-light, along with chunky indicators. On the other hand, the Thruxton has sleek LED tail-light and indicators. In our opinion, the tail on the Continental looks much more retro than the Thruxton. The Slipstream Blue and Apex Grey colour variants of the Continental GT 650 get alloy wheels with tubeless tyres, while the other variants come with a tubed spoked wheel setup.
While the spoked wheels look much nicer, it’s much easier to deal with punctures on alloys - so the variant you should get depends on what you prefer more – looks or practicality. The Thruxton, on the other hand, only has blacked-out tubeless alloys, which makes the choice simpler. The Continental GT has twin rear shock absorbers, which add to its retro appeal. However, the Thruxton, with its neatly tucked in monoshock, looks much cleaner.
Consoles
The Continental GT 650 comes with a twin-pod semi-digital instrument console, with an analogue tachometer and speedometer. It has a small inset digital display that shows readouts of trip meters, fuel gauge and odometer. In our opinion, this console definitely does justice to its cafe racer design.
The unit on the Thruxton is a semi-digital one too but comes with a modern layout. It has an analogue speedometer and a digital inset with a tachometer, trip meters, fuel gauge and other necessary information. While this looks modern, it is quietly tucked in the front fairing, and doesn’t stand out from the bike’s retro character.
BikeDekho Says
While the Thruxton has lower performance, it is a great choice for those on a lower budget. The Continental GT has more performance and offers a more retro experience but comes with a higher price tag. So the decision between the two bikes comes primarily to your budget.
Neither of the bikes are bad in that sense, and you won’t go wrong with either choice.
Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 User Reviews
- Gt650 royal enfieldI always wanted a classic. The GT six still looks amazing. Sounds great when engine makes every ride good. Feel special smooth, the power delivery makes every ride enjoyable and give it a unique experience. The ride has been excellent. The engine is refined, acceleration, smooth, and the exhaust not active riding pushes 40, so it can feel tiring on the long right but incredible fun on highways smooth as it is. I would definitely recommend the GT to anyone full of classic styling and strong performance is perfect for the weekend rights and highway touring though the committed writing portion may not suit everyone for daily committing.Read More
- About gt650This bike is one of all fav bikes where every teenager trys to buy this bike becomes of it looks, especially in chrome colour and this is the only bike where we get looks and power for its price and it is the only 650 cc we get under good price. I ridden this bike around 20000 km and the positives are the power, the torque, looks the negative side of this bike is we need to get used to the position of the bike and for long travels we can't prefer it. The person who is into bike and who wants a pure power with zero modes and tech he can buy this bike and for the road presences it is the most sold bike. The person who wants to travel he should avoid this bike.Read More
- Pro and cons of gt650Its good bike only if you can handle it because of its weigth and high cc, its not beginner friendly but if you have experience with high cc and heavy bike its gonna be best bike for its price. but its still not good for day to day or city driving because of its heating and low mileage, its gonna be a problem.Read More1 2
- Good and badI wanted good classy looking cool bike and GT 650 is exactly what I wanted, it has no competitor. If given second chance of choosing bike, I would still pick this up instead of speedy KTM bikes. Only problem it has is the weight is hard to manage and it can be hard to turn in corners but I knew what I was buying. Its a good bike, I have some burn marks on my legs but that is what I expect it gets hot and you can feel the heat in city but it won't shut down and cause issue, you should treat it like a 600 cc bike and properly respect its weight in corners and city. Only if you have other bikes and cars. This being your primary day to day bike is not can be easy to use in a city or day to day commute to office. It will be too much of power and weight. Only buy for highways and sunday ride.Read More3 2
- Its a whole different vibe with 650That bulky boy and speed makes the bike very attractive and muscular and it gives the vibe that other bike can't give you if you'er going to college or office the royal enfild continental gt 650 would be the best option. Eventually its good for mileage and comfort for short rides if you have the capacity for riding on full throttle then you will get deficiencies for mileage, if we ride like a gentleman then we can feel the comfort and safety. If you can maintain the bike and do proper maintenance it would be a great option to choose because this bike has its own aura and there is no similar bike like royal enfiled gt 650 in the market for a middle call this bike is best.Read More3 1