Time may just keep moving along at an alarming pace, but fashion and aesthetics are strangely (and sometimes comfortingly) cyclical. Motorcycles are certainly no exception, with most of today's current volume-selling OEMs relying heavily on a mix of nostalgic design, coupled with modern engines and safety features to sell at least some of the models in their current lineups.
The specific magic formula may be smaller or greater, depending on the OEM and situation. If you're Royal Enfield, there's naturally a lot of reverence for the brand's long and impressive history, but there's also more than enough willingness to fervently face new directions, such as with the rip-snorting and decidedly modern 450 platform.
But it's hard to get more classic than a Classic, and more specifically, it's hard to get more classic than Royal Enfield's Classic 650. If the Classic 350 was an instant heartstrings-puller, then the Classic 650 might just be its ultimate form. I have two words for you (one compound, one not), and they are: Hand-pinstriped tank. On a bike that carries an MSRP of US $7,499.
