MANILA: Cafe-racers have been trendy in the Philippines and we know that by the number of aftermarket modifications that were made out of the Royal Enfield Bullet. Hence, keeping this popularity in mind, the company had introduced the Continental GT 535 in 2013, which was a stock cafe racer.

The company will discontinue the 535 cc Continental GT and would be bringing a replacement soon. The model has been discontinued from a few international markets already. However, this trend of replacing the bike for a newer one will begin a new era in the Royal Enfield's international line up.

During the EICMA event in 2017, Royal Enfield pulled the wraps off the Continental GT 650, which had the same parallel-twin powerplant as the 650 cc Interceptor. This new bigger engine model has a significantly higher power production, making 47.7 PS of power with 52 Nm of torque as opposed to the 29 PS power with 44 Nm torque of the 535.

The international version of the Royal Enfield Continental GT had ABS but the Philippines-spec model did not have it. However, the Brembo brakes did have a decent bite. Having said that, we are expecting the 650 cc Continental GT for the Philippines to have ABS as a standard fitment due to the increased displacement and power production.

Even after the discontinuation, the Continental GT 535 may still be available at some dealerships, but only till the old stocks last. And once all of the units are out for the grab, we will see the beginning of an era of parallel-twin motors, bidding adieu to single cylinder bikes in the company’s retro and legendary line up.