The Royal Enfield INT650, or “Interceptor” as it is known outside of the United States, is a British-designed, Indian-built roadster that blends classic authenticity and charm with modern-day performance. It’s one of two 650 twins offered by Royal Enfield, the other being the Continental GT cafe racer.
The INT650, like the Continental GT, is powered by a SOHC air/oil-cooled eight-valve 648cc parallel-twin engine with a 270-degree crankshaft. Modern touches are scattered throughout, like valve rocker arms that use rollers on the cam side and screw/locknut adjustable tappets on the valve side, for less friction and ease of maintenance, and a power assist/slipper clutch. Of course, the twins are fueled by electronic throttle bodies. Smooth, crisp delivery and a mighty fun balance of power give it satisfying real-world performance.
In anticipation of our upcoming review of the 2022 INT650, we strapped it to Cycle World’s Dynojet 250i dynamometer to get horsepower and torque figures. The INT650 produced a modest 40.90 hp at 6,780 rpm and 37.35 lb.-ft. of torque at 5,100 rpm. Not earth-shattering, by any means, but you can see the aforementioned smoothness on its charts. Roughly 34 pounds of torque is readily available from 2,500 rpm, with a relatively flat torque spread following. All this adds up to linear power delivery, which translates to everyday flexibility.