Probably one of the most important things to know about squirrels is that they’re absolutely everywhere. Some of them even have cameras, such as our own secret squirrel buddy who gets us cool motorcycle spy shots from time to time. Like, for example, these particular photos, which appear to show an as-yet unspecified Royal Enfield 650 Twin-based touring variant out testing.
This isn’t the long-rumored Himalayan 650, as what we’re seeing in these shots is clearly intended to be a road bike, not a dual-sport. It’s also not a first glimpse at a real-world SG650 Concept. If you were hoping for that, don’t worry—we were, too, but it’s unfortunately not here yet.
Instead, what we seem to have here is a more touring-focused 650 Twin. The seating position for the rider is upright and relaxed, with a split saddle offering a little space between rider and passenger. The exhaust pipes go straight back along either side of the bike, unlike the slight upward tilt found on both the Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650. Close-fitting front and rear fenders visually hug the tires in all the photos seen here. Passenger foot pegs are wide and inviting, and almost like steps—not big enough to be floorboards, but definitely more substantial than a lot of passenger foot accommodations.
Gallery: Royal Enfield 650 Twin touring variant spy photos
The bikes seen in this entire group of photos sport big aluminum side cases with Royal Enfield logos on them, as well as a large top box made of black plastic. The side cases look to be the ones that Enfield already sells for the Himalayan, although it’s possible that these have a larger capacity. In any case, the Givi Alaska styling is the same. Also, if you’re going to add big side cases, the exhaust change obviously makes practical as well as visual sense.
Wire-spoked wheels with single disc brakes appear in most of these photos, although there’s one that’s a bit different, which we’ll get to in a moment. Additionally, there’s neither fairing nor windscreen to be seen in most of these photos—again, except for that one variation.
That single standout photo appears to depict a differently-specced version of the same bike. While some people might stick hard cases and a top box on a naked bike, it’s probably not going to be your first choice for long-distance touring. The standout photo adds a windscreen, big chrome crash bars, and auxiliary lights at the top edges of the crash bars. The side cases here are also sleek, rounded ones, rather than the boxier aluminum ones found in the other photos. The rounded black top case appears to be similar to the one found in the other photos, although it’s hard to say for sure given the single viewing angle we get here. This version of the bike also gets a set of dark, matte-finished alloy wheels instead of spoked.
