It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Royal Enfield, as they’ve just announced three new motorcycles for the US next year. I’m most interested in the 400cc Himalayan adventure bike, but for the first time in decades RE is production a twin cylinder motor. Said motor is an air/oil-cooled 650cc parallel twin and it will power a bigger Continental GT as well as the rebirth of the Interceptor. The original bike goes back to 1960 with a 700cc motor, but in 1967 Enfield shifted to the Mark 1A, which gained coil ignition to go along with an earlier bump in displacement to 750cc.
US bikes got a chrome tank and a different seat, instrument mounts, mudguars, and handlebar. All of the 1A bikes had twin Amal carbs. Thanks to a dynamically balanced crankshaft, this was one of the smoothest twin engines one could buy from a British manufacturer at the time – I’m curious to see how the new bike will honor its predecessor in that department. The motor in this makes 55 horsepower, while the new bike makes…47. For more on the MkI Interceptor, check out this article on Motorcycle Classics.
This example has 8,000 miles and while it’s said to be “all original”, the motor has been rebuilt and it’s got plenty of new parts including the carbs, tires, seat, brakes, battery, and more. The seller says that it won “first class preservation 2012”, but it’s unclear which Concours d’Elegance he/she is referring to. Find this Interceptor for sale in Wilmington, North Carolina for $12,000 here on Craigslist.