There are few names in motorcycling with more mileage than Bullet. In production since 1932, it is the model that carried Royal Enfield through nine decades of change, and in 2026 it finally arrives on the brand’s now-very-familiar 650 twin platform. I rode the new Bullet 650 at its Australian media launch.
Photography by Tommaso Fossati and Matty Hayman.
The Bullet 650 is priced from $10,990 rideaway in Battleship Blue, with the Cannon Black colourway at $11,190. As with all Royal Enfields sold in Australia, it’s covered by a three-year unlimited kilometre warranty with three years of roadside assist. Bikes are in dealerships now.
Mechanically, the recipe is familiar. The 648cc parallel-twin makes the same claimed 35kW (47hp) and 52Nm as the rest of the 650 family, paired with a six-speed gearbox, slipper clutch and the proven steel tubular spine frame. What sets the Bullet apart is sitting underneath it: a 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel combination that is unconventional by modern standards but true to Bullets of the past.
That wheel package is also, according to Royal Enfield, the reason the Bullet has taken this long to join the platform. The company tells INFO MOTO that making the 19-18 combination work on the 650 chassis was a genuine engineering challenge, and it wasn’t willing to bring the name back on anything less faithful.
Visually, the effort has paid off. Royal Enfield has nailed the styling here, both in how the Bullet 650 pays homage to earlier models and in how clearly it distinguishes itself from the rest of the 650 range.
The hand-painted pinstripes, casquette nacelle (Snag calls it a policeman’s cap), winged tank badge and single bench seat all land exactly where they should, and nice materials add a ‘premiumness’ that hasn’t always been a given at this price point. The aluminium switchgear is a standout touch.
On the road, the Bullet 650 is comfortable, upright and unlaboured. It is quintessentially Bullet, which is precisely the brief. That big front wheel gives the bike a relaxed, deliberate quality through, though it wasn’t long before its limits were observed through Kinglake’s notorious increasing-radius corners, with steep cliffs to the side. I backed off and enjoyed the flow of the road. That’s the move when riding these things.
Having now ridden every bike built on this platform, I think the 650 twin feels better in other configurations. The Super Meteor 650 strikes a great balance, cruisey in character but willing to hold a more aggressive line when pushed, and for my money it remains the sweet spot of the family. The Bullet’s wheel combination has a major effect on the way it feels and handles, and while it delivers the character the badge demands, it gives away some of the composure its siblings offer.
That’s worth weighing against local buying patterns. The Super Meteor 650 has been the most popular of the 650 family in Australia, second only to the Himalayan in Royal Enfield’s overall local sales.
The Bullet isn’t chasing the same buyer, though. This is a motorcycle purchased with the heart, for its name, its silhouette and its story, and on those terms it delivers completely.
Where the platform goes next is an open question. At EICMA last year Royal Enfield showed concept 750 twins, seemingly teasing a significant update, though we know of no immediate plans to overhaul the 650 architecture. For now, the Bullet 650 stands as the platform’s most sentimental expression.
If you want the sharpest-handling 650 twin Royal Enfield makes, look elsewhere in the range. If you want a Bullet, and plenty of riders have wanted exactly that for 94 years, this is the best one there is.
Editorial Director at infomoto.com.au. Loves Rally bikes.
