A used Royal Enfield retro is a shrewd buy if you want great value and yesteryear style

Fire up your DeLorean, pop back a decade or so and tell everyone Royal Enfield will top UK sales. They’ll think you’re potty. Yet here in 2025 their charming, laid-back bikes outsell… well, quite often everything.

But while RE’s just-so balance of price and quality makes the current range oh-so-appealing, modern-era Enfields are staggeringly affordable if you go pre-loved. Here’s how to get in the RE groove for not a lot at all.

• Related: Retro riding gear buying guide

Read on for our expert guide to easy-going Enfields!

---

MCN Recommended: 2018 – 2025 Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 – £2000 – £3999

Robust, functional, usable, old-school dual-purpose trailie

Spec:

• Power: 24bhp
• Engine capacity: 411cc
• Seat height: 800mm
• Kerb weight: 185kg

Obviously the omnipresent BMW GS is the often UK’s best-selling adventure bike. Except that on the odd occasion it’s been out-sold by a modest 24bhp single built in India.

Enfield’s simple Himalayan refreshed the market with a mix of form, function and feel that other small adventure bikes don’t have. The 411cc single laps up commutes, evening trundles and occasional green lane exploits with cheerful charm. Simple to ride, reliable and with an almost cult following, it’s still a used bargain.

Royal Enfield Himalayan used buying advice

• Build quality is generally good, but some machines left the factory without enough grease in some of their bearings. Check movement of the steering, swingarm, wheels…
• Clocks can get water in and so will mist up. And the digital compass can be wildly inaccurate as well.
• Servicing is frequent at every 3000 miles. Make sure no services have been missed on a bike that’s covered decent mileage.
• There was a recall due to the risk of corrosion affecting the ByBre (‘By Brembo’) brakes, so double-check that the bike was sorted.

---

2008 – 2016 Bullet Electra X – £2500 – £4000

Not a retro, but an actual old bike they just kept on making…

Spec:

• Power: 25bhp
• Engine capacity: 499cc
• Seat height: 790mm
• Kerb weight: 197kg

The Bullet defined RE for 70 years and there are loads about, but hunt out a good Electra X. Made briefly as a stop-gap before the new unit-construction engine of 2008, the lean-burn single is the original design with external oil pipes and traditional thumper, but with better oil supply, improved reliability, more grunt, five-speed box, electric start and a disc brake. It’s reliable classic biking.

Bullet Electra X used buying advice

• Weak batteries cause starting kickback, which can break the sprag clutch as well as hurting your ankle.
• Enfields crave nice clean oil. The service book says change it every 5000 miles but specialists say 2500. There are three levels to check and change: engine, gearbox, primary.
• Check where the earth wire joins the battery. Make sure it’s not about to break unless you like using the AA.
• Paint bubbles up on fuel tanks and headlight casings. Engines look scruffy if not protected over winter.

---

2008 – 2023 Classic 500 – £2690 – £4499

It’s the most refined and on-trend of all the trad’ RE big singles

Spec:

• Power: 27bhp
• Engine capacity: 499cc
• Seat height: 800mm
• Kerb weight: 187kg

Buried under the ample mudguards and single seat, the Royal Enfield Classic is the same as the 499cc, overhead-valve, unit-construction Bullet that ran from 2008 until a few years ago. But in Classic form the bike has a different vibe – it’s less flat cap and garden centre, and more trendy boots and coffee house. The final version of the 500, it’s as refined and dependable as the ‘large’ singles get.

Classic 500 used buying advice

• Condition, condition, condition. The Classic is bought for aesthetic appeal as much as the charming laid-back ride, so don’t buy anything other than a shimmering, pampered example.
• All the Bullet ‘bewares’ apply: look for a scruffy engine, rusty bearings in the wheels and steering from jet washing, poor earth leads, and bad starting from a tired battery. Make sure it’s had regular clean oil too.
• If it’s got a metal spark plug cap then replace it with a rubber one (£5) or the engine will be a pain in the rain.

---

2018 – current Interceptor 650 – £3250 – £6749

Far and away the UK’s most popular retro – with good reason

Spec:

• Power: 47bhp
• Engine capacity: 648cc
• Seat height: 804mm
• Kerb weight: 213kg

No retro flies out showrooms like the Interceptor 650. A perfect mix of trad and modern, it combines classic style and traditional feel with contemporary handling, reliability and ease of use. The motor is friendly yet keen, the chassis could handle twice the horses, its styling impresses old folk. Popularity means very strong used values – don’t get in a bidding war and end up paying new-bike money.

Interceptor 650 used buying advice

• Most finish is decent, but check steel parts for signs of corrosion.
• Some have electrical niggles. Dodgy ignition switches and lame batteries are the most common, so check for easy starting and that everything electrical works properly.
• Check steering head bearings are as they should be and that the speedo cable isn’t playing silly buggers.
• The 648cc twin is understressed, was developed by ex-Triumph boffins and had a three-year warranty – you’ll have no mechanical worries.

---

2013 – 2023 Continental GT 535 – £2795 – £4595

Café racers don’t get much more authentic than this thumper

Spec:

• Power: 29bhp
• Engine capacity: 535cc
• Seat height: 800mm
• Kerb weight: 184kg

It’s a factory hot-rod. Enfield bored out the Bullet motor and gave it more revs, and slipped it into a short Harris chassis with proper Paioli shocks and Brembo brakes. The engine vibrates when revved hard (hey, it’s just like a ’60s café racer), but with oodles of ground clearance and high centre of gravity the GT is amusing on tangled back roads. Not a hit when new, but in demand and rising in value now.

Continental GT 535 used buying advice

• Reliability is decent, build quality is good enough, and there have been no recalls. Buy with confidence.
• Check there’s no condensation in the breather pipes that run to the under-seat catch tank.
• The throttle could be hit-or-miss from new and doesn’t improve with miles, so make sure it fuels cleanly.
• Tired batteries cause kickback and cause the sprag clutch to fail.
• Early GTs were all red. Yellow and black options came later and their desirability means paying a bit more.