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-   -   The Royal Enfield Interceptor & Continental 650. EDIT: Launched @ Rs 2.50 - 2.65 lakhs (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/192178-royal-enfield-interceptor-continental-650-edit-launched-rs-2-50-2-65-lakhs-15.html)

Himalayan is Half-duplex cradle frame while Continental (535 & 650) & Interceptor are duplex cradle frame.

Hello Nasirkaka and Himanshugoswami - this is regarding the discussions about spokes and tube tyres.

Just for information, the Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8VSE, has spoked wheels and a tubeless tyres. The spokes are bang in the center of the rim and not on the edge like the BMW R1200GS / GSA.

I'm lucky enough to own them and know this for a matter of fact.

Regarding the Enfield Twin, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. so fingers crossed and hope that RE does well.

All the marketing hype, the sales talk, the dealership spiel and the RE devotees getting their undergarments into knots, a YouTube video comparing a Triumph Speed Twin with a yet to be released RE Twin.....

Hmmm....popcorn in hand and waiting on the side lines to see how this plays itself out.

BB

She's a beauty, Siddhartha Lal. That much we agree on.

After quite a lull, the Interceptor 650 has been caught testing in India recently. In gloss black colour this time. Looks much more production representative than the earlier models that had been spied.

Gotta agree that it looks really handsome, and from the front three-quarters, it kind of reminds me of the Yamaha RD350.









Link to the original article -
https://www.rushlane.com/royal-enfie...-12255126.html

The 650s and the 535s are the same chassis. So.much for an all new bike and huge research and the gyaan they company has given till now.
About the Himalayan I will get back. With full and half duplex. If they cannot design a new chassis for this 'all new' bike what chance in hell does the H have to get. A new chassis.

By "research and gyaan" Royal Enfield obviously meant "available in new paint colors" lol:

RE is in the business of making beautiful, retro-style bikes for posing, full stop. Things like performance, endurance, innovation.... these are not a priority on any level and have not been so for decades. So let's not be shocked that nothing's changed on that front clap:

From what I read recently, RE appears to have invested heavily on modern equipment and machinery in their new assembly lines that brings about predictable and consistent quality in their products. The difference they claim is visible in the new BS-IV Himalayan being manufactured in the New facility. They are also talking about quality control being very stringent in the new twin models when they are released. Folks who have bought the new BS-IV Himalayan are in the best position to comment.

How did you figure out the chassis is the same? As far as I know, the chassis for the 650s and the 535s are completely different. Visually similar yes but the construction and geometry is completely different.

The Himalayan has a completely unique chassis as rightly pointed out above. It's not inconceivable that the Himalayan 650, if and when it does come out, will need to be based on a different chassis.

I'm quite excited by the Interceptor. It'll be interesting to see where it's priced at and how it compares to my beloved Bonneville.

Yes, as you have rightly pointed out - they seem to be very similar but they are definitely not the same. And hopefully Royal Enfield would also have much better quality control on their flagship motorcycles - they have been stressing on this topic quite a bit these days, especially since Himalayan experience has already cost them dearly.

Would be looking forward to your comments, once the Interceptor is available for test rides during summer this year! :)

This is not for argument, but I saw the 650 in Goa and I have a Conti GT in my building.
I have a small request, we can wait for the bikes to hit the showroom, and then we can take a tape measure as our witness.
The Himalayan chassis seems to be the same- dimensionally, and made with thinner tubing and thats why all the cracks and poor quality welds as some poor engineering dude forgot to compensate for the thinner tubing.
For a company with decades of abysmally poor quality of spares (not to mention the bike coming out of the showrooms)- I wonder why many here find it difficult to believe.
Do I want a better product? Yes, I do.
I rode the H on the recent Tour of Rajasthan, and came back sufficiently enamored to book it. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed to hope that this Himalayan v2.0 is significantly improved over its prematurely born sibling.

#On an aside* it seems that this is the only RE thread on Team-BHP with positive talking people.
-KD

Wondering!

It’s a quite surprise that there have no fist ride reports available yet for the interceptor and or Continental GT twins globally even after the official reveal. That being said, no one has heard the sound of these twins other than the tweet by Siddhartha Lal and the pre-production test ride mules here and there. Does it says something about the product itself or RE is being an observant on people’s reactions and discussions like never before and decided to take their own sweet time, especially what they have experienced from the Himalayan? Hope they are!

It was quite OK to be a glow stick for decades, but it’s time to break themselves to shine more. Luckily this time, Europeans get the first chance to be the early guinea pigs. Eagerly waiting for the comprehensive review. Like someone mentioned before, I am OK to buy one for my leisure touring purposes as long it stand true to what RE promised it to be.

That is quite heartening / encouraging in itself - hoping there will be many more takers for a bike that got off to a bad start, but was conceptually solid. Your booking against the knowledge of quality issues shows that RE has been capable of creating bikes that truly "stir the soul"... The pricing has been (mostly) fair... so yes, the one remaining thing is QC. Get that right and their global aspirations probably really can be realized. If they've got their act together (soul/pricing/QC) on these twins, they're going to be well nigh unstoppable...

-Eric

PS Re: chassis and whatever similarities to existing models, apparently Honda has been doing a lot of this lately: parts-sharing across platforms towards price-reductions and simplification of many things: https://newatlas.com/honda-bulldog-c...orcycle/36643/

So I wouldn't hold that against them - in fact it might be a stroke of manufacturing / design genius that will bring us better stuff cheaper.

That is because the media ride event is yet to begin for these twins. Also, for some unknown reason RE never had a key on the bike to start or to show the exhaust note off. So, all we have for now is the exhaust note from the official tweets and videos - I just hope they did not put in some fake exhaust sounds like how these engine oil ads do... A single cylinder Hero Splendor sounding like a 4-cylinder sport bike lol:

Is there any possibility of a Himalayan 650 to be launched in 2018? With that ~45-47 bhp power output?

Doesn't look like it. But I do remember reading an interview where Sid Lal mentioned it is something they will work on later.

The Himalayan is too new of a product to get a bigger engine already. The Thunderbird series deserves one if you ask me.