Royal Enfield 650 has been launched at a very aggressive price. Starting from jut Rs 2.34 lakhs, it competes with the likes of KTM Duke 390 and Ninja 300 where price is concerned. But where its real competition is concerned, it is the Harley Davidson 750, which is about twice the cost of the Royal Enfield 650. Here is a comparison of Royal Enfield 650 vs Harley Davidson 750 vs KTM Duke 390 vs Kawasaki Ninja 300.
Dimensions – Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 measures 2,122mm in length, 789mm in width and 1,165mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 1,370mm and ground clearance of 174mm. Seat height is at 804 mm while kerb weight stands at 202 kgs. KTM Duke 390 length is 2,002mm while width is at 838mm and height at 1274mm. Wheelbase measures 1,357mm and it gets ground clearance at 185mm along with kerb weight of 155 kgs and seat height at 830mm.
Kawasaki Ninja 300 2,015mm long. Width is at 715mm while height is at 1,110mm. The Ninja 300 sits on a 1,405mm long wheelbase and gets ground clearance of 135mm, seat height of 785 mm and kerb weight of 179 kgs. Harley-Davidson Street 750 measures 2,215mm in length. It gets ground clearance of 145mm, seat height of 720mm and wheelbase measuring 1,520mm. Kerb weight is at 233 kgs while tank capacity stands at 13.10 liters. With its kerb weight of 233 kgs, the Street 750 is the heaviest motorcycle among its competitors.
Features – Royal Enfield 650 boasts of simple features. It gets a twin pod instrument cluster, small digital screen offering information on fuel levels, two trip metes and an odometer. It also sports an analog dial displaying speed and engine revving while other on board features include a round fuel tank, raised handlebars, a flat seat and round headlamp.
KTM Duke 390 on the other hand spells state of the art features. The Duke 390 is seen with all LED lights, a TFT instrument display in full colour offering information on speed, distance and fuel consumption. It also gets mated to smartphone via Bluetooth to receive text messages and calls which can be answered via switches on the left handlebar. Kawasaki Ninja 300 sports a semi digital instrument cluster with an analog tachometer and digital dashboard for information on speed, fuel levels, trip meter and clock. The console does not offer any information on either fuel consumption or gear position and neither does the Ninja 300 get any adjustable levers.
Harley Davidson 750 also receives the basics in terms of features. It is seen with a single pod analog instrument cluster offering information on speed while the digital screen shows off an odometer and twin trip meters. Like the Ninja 300, the Street 750 also does not get a fuel gauge or adjustable levers. It sits on 17” alloy wheels and gets LED tail lamps along with indicators.
Powertrain Options – Royal Enfield 650 is powered by an air+liquid cooled, parallel twin engine offering 47 hp power at 7,250rpm and 52 Nm torque at 5,250 rpm mated to a 6 speed gearbox. This is the only air+liquid cooled bike among the four competitors while the others are liquid cooled. Top speed is at over 180 kmph while fuel efficiency is at 25 kmpl. Harley-Davidson Street 750 receives a 746cc, liquid cooled, Revolution X V-Twin engine offering 55 bhp power at 8,000 rpm and 59 Nm torque at 4,000 rpm mated to a 6 speed transmission and offering mileage of 20 kmpl.
KTM Duke 390 is powered by a 373.2cc, single cylinder, 4 stroke, liquid cooled, BS IV compliant engine offering 44 PS power at 9,000 rpm and 37 Nm torque at 7,000 rpm mated to a 6 speed gearbox. Top speed stands at 160 kmph while mileage is at 30 kmpl. Kawasaki Ninja 300 gets its power via a liquid cooled, 4 stroke, 296 parallel twin engine. This engine offers 39 bhp power at 11,000 rpm and 27 Nm torque at 10,000 rpm mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox. The bike claims a top speed of 182 kmph and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kmph in under 8 seconds.
Braking and Suspension – Royal Enfield 650 gets telescopic fork in the front and twin shock absorbers at the rear and ByBre (Brembo) twin piston callipers on disc brakes on both the wheels while dual channel ABS is offered as standard. KTM Duke 390 receives WP upside down fork in the front and WP monoshock at the rear while braking is handled via 320mm front disc brake and 230mm rear disc brake.
Harley-Davidson Street 750 gets telescopic forks in the front and twin shocks at the rear. Braking is via 292mm single disc, 2 piston calipers in the front and 260mm single disc, 2 piston calipers at the rear. Kawasaki Ninja 300 is equipped with an advanced suspension and braking system. It sports 37mm telescopic forks in the front and uni track 5 way adjustable gas charged shock absorbers at the rear. Its braking is via disc brake and two piston calipers on both wheels. It gets front petal disc brake of 290mm and single disc brake of 220mm at the rear. The Ninja 300 also sports an advanced ABS system.
Price – The aggressive pricing of the Royal Enfield 650 which start at Rs 2.34 lakhs going up to Rs 2.69 lakhs for the Custom variant puts it well within similarly priced bikes such as the KTM 390 Duke (Rs 2.44 lakhs) and the Kawasaki Ninja 300 (Rs 2.98 lakhs). Though not in terms of pricing, it also contends with the Harley-Davidson Street 750 (Rs 5.59 lakhs) due to the fact that it is a mid displacement twin cylinder bike.
Conclusion – Though the recently launched Royal Enfield 650 motorcycles are efficiently priced and the most affordable twin cylinder motorcycle on sale in the country, it does come in with a retro stance and does not receive many of the contemporary features that are otherwise demanded by buyers in its segment. KTM Duke may receive a host of features and offering high level of performance but its target group is somewhat limited. Kawasaki Ninja 300 recently got a price cut that added to its appeal while its comfort and performance is also a major attraction. Harley-Davidson Street 750 may be the most expensive bike among the four but then it also commands better brand value and appeals to a select set of buyers in the country.
