[jasjotbains]

Slightly off topic, but I got smoked by an Interceptor today. Was driving at 100+ in my i10 on Dharmapuri-Hosur Highway, the Interceptor overtook as if I was standing still, then rode off into the horizon. Needless to say, my Dominar vs Interceptor doubts stand extinguished

[Beast_of_Burden]

Gents,

Before anything else the Interceptor needs a suspension upgrade. If there is one thing I positively dislike it's the handling. It's not the tires, but an overactive unpredictable rear end which doesn't provide controlled damping. I have experienced this and seen other bikes - the rear end is going off like a pogo stick when the bike is pitched into a sweeper. A close friend of mine has adapted to this short coming by minimising lean angle and planning entry/exit very carefully. But it can be better, he's ordered the YSS set for both front and rear.

Yesterday I pointed him to this video by Stuart which has a review of the upgrade suspension. Stuart praises the front suspension feel but I would be careful to ascribe all the improvement to the front suspension upgrade.

https://youtu.be/L8VLql66Y3Y

Wanted to check if anyone has upgraded suspension in India- Ohlins or YSS.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Beast_of_Burden

Wanted to check if anyone has upgraded suspension in India- Ohlins or YSS.

Going by his feedback it has done some good to the suspension but IMHO pricing isn't justified at all:

Front - Fork Upgrade Kit By YSS - £234.00 - ₹22,500
Rear - YSS G-Series Twin Shocks Black Edition - £533.52 -₹51,000

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by philipmathen

The twins are easily the best selling in their segment worldwide and seem destined to enjoy that niche for a long while(especially if Stuart Filingham’s recent video claiming Triumph is in trouble is proved to be true, and that there could be delays on Bajaj-Triumph models), with the stock exhausts being heavy, a swap is a no brainer somewhere down the line for a sizeable portion of owners. Hope S&S and RE wake up.

I've seen the S&S exhaust kit at a store here in Cochin. The price was a little steep, I forget the exact amount right now. That said, the Red Rooster after market exhast does sound pretty tasteful.

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Dude. Honestly, you should’ve upgraded such a long time ago. The Interceptor forms such a complimentary bike to your Striple. One high strung street naked, and the other one relaxed modern classic. It is also such a natural upgrade from your Continwntal GT, which j in think is getting bit long in the tooth...

Haha, I've been on the fence for some time. I love the engine on the 650 twins. Maybe I'll hold on till Royal Enfield announces their new bikes this year and then pull the trigger. None of the other manufacturers have any exciting products lined up for the near future, barring the Honda CB500X that is.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Going by his feedback it has done some good to the suspension but IMHO pricing isn't justified at all:

Front - Fork Upgrade Kit By YSS - £234.00 - ₹22,500
Rear - YSS G-Series Twin Shocks Black Edition - £533.52 -₹51,000

The Indian distributor is IndiMotard, the price for the front kit is around Rs 23,000 and the rear shocks are at around Rs 60,000. LRL Motors also appears to be a reseller for the YSS kits. Prices are steep, considering the motorcycle's price but a good adjustable suspension can make a world of difference to the riding experience.

[Beast_of_Burden]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Going by his feedback it has done some good to the suspension but IMHO pricing isn't justified at all:

Front - Fork Upgrade Kit By YSS - £234.00 - ₹22,500
Rear - YSS G-Series Twin Shocks Black Edition - £533.52 -₹51,000

Agree, 83k is not cheap but if it works as advertised its value is undeniable. Adjustable suspension is not cheap. A 20% reduction/discount would attract more people to this upgrade. This is made in Thailand and the benefits of FTA should reflect in the price. The way I see it if we get somewhere close to the dollar equivalent pricing, it's good value. Good thing is it atleast available in India through a distributor.

[2StrokeJunkie]

What is the best way to reduce the idling of the Interceptor from 1200 rpm? I feel like the engine idles too high. What needs to be changed to help the bike idle lower? Will lower idling make it smoother and more efficient?

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by 2StrokeJunkie

What is the best way to reduce the idling of the Interceptor from 1200 rpm? I feel like the engine idles too high. What needs to be changed to help the bike idle lower? Will lower idling make it smoother and more efficient?

It is not a good idea to reduce idling speed as that would also reduce oil pressure and affect lubrication of the bearings.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by 2StrokeJunkie

What is the best way to reduce the idling of the Interceptor from 1200 rpm? I feel like the engine idles too high. What needs to be changed to help the bike idle lower? Will lower idling make it smoother and more efficient?

I seem to have read somewhere that for the CAT Convertors to be at their efficient best a higher temperature is required and the higher idle speeds are a way by which the higher temperature is achieved and maintained. Most of the twins idle around 1000-1200 rpm.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

[vkochar]

Sent my GT650 yesterday for the first service even though it has only 400 kms but due to the lockdown the service never happened.

I sent one of my staff who drives a Bullet so is familiar with handling.

Cost me 3040 Rupees. Oil change etc.

Took 6 hours. The bike was sanitised before sending it inside and then sanitised on delivery back. They did not allow my guy inside the workshop citing new rules. So hence no pictures.

Rode the bike for 2 kms in the late evening and found it to be riding the same.

I hate the polish they put on which actually stains the bike !

Had my driver remove it.

OT - Ordered a BELL QUALIFIER Helmet from Motocentral and looking forward now for a nice sunday ride out on the expressway soon - weather permitting. Its 40 degrees right now so cannot think this sunday will bring any relief.

[2StrokeJunkie]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

I seem to have read somewhere that for the CAT Convertors to be at their efficient best a higher temperature is required and the higher idle speeds are a way by which the higher temperature is achieved and maintained. Most of the twins idle around 1000-1200 rpm.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Yes the Triumph 800 idles at around 900 rpm which is how big twins should idle. My RD350 idles at around 1100 rpm and the 650 should ideally idle lower than that. Noted the point about the cat. convertor.

The interceptor idles at 2,000 rpm when cranked cold. One it heats up it settles to around 1200 rpm however while riding you have to be close to 2000 rpm for you to upshift otherwise the engine knocks. I want to know if anyone has fixed this and is able to get the bike to idle at below 1000 rpm when warm and if this has also solved the roll on torque and rev ability during riding.

The thing is when riding you are constantly at 2,000 rpm and the peak torque is at around 3,000 rpm. Thats a 1k window, wack it open more even as the revs climb the torque doesnt increase and the power increase marginally till about 4k or 4500 rpm. If the idle rpm can be reduced will it make the bike rev quicker and maybe build power and torque in a more enjoyable fashion as the revs build? Can this be achieved with a better cam and a change in fueling and timing or any one of them?

[ArizonaJim]

Reducing the idle speed not only reduces the oil pressure but it also reduces the amount of electricity the alternator produces while the engine is running. With the headlight always on, a reduced amount of electrical power will cause the battery to discharge whenever the motorcycle is sitting still and the engine is idling.

Reducing the idling speed will also not improve the way the engine revs.
The speed that an engine revs with is a function of the cam profile, the mass of the crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons, the size of the air inlet and throttle body and the ignition timing. It has nothing to do with the idle speed except to say, if the engine is actually idling slower, it will need to increase its rpm's more to get from its idle speed to the speed where it produces its greatest power.

[catkins]

On the topic of idling speed, warming up and oil circulation, the Owners Manual says "The engine should be allowed to run in idle RPM for at least 2 minute for the engine oil to circulate and lubricate all the internal moving parts and for the engine temperature to raise. Failure to adhere to this important information will cause serious damage to the engine internals".

Some thoughts

• The advice differs from traditional advice not to warm up by idling but by driving at light engine load. The idea was to minimise the cold running period when combustion products would condense in the cylinder causing "oil wash", corrosion and acidifying the oil. Now we have catalytic converters, faster warm up is also important to minimise pollution.
• How many of us follow the Owners Manual procedure? Of the ones who don't, how many have caused "serious damage to the engine internals"

[surjaonwheelz]

Hello Twin Owners,

In the lockdown you end up thinking, "What can I do other than riding?"
Order and fit parts!

Thanks to sukiwa for pointing me to this air filter clamps from 'bikenbiker'

Replaced the stock snorkel air filter cover with these clamps to hold the stock filter and letting in straight air.


What did I achieve?
- A direct air flow to the air filter, that's it!

Did I experience any change?
- Frankly very difficult to notice any change in intake sound or feel any change in throttle response.

Anything to worry?
- Need to monitor in the rains but there is plenty of room between the side panel and the air filter.

Will I upgrade to a performance filter?
- No, I'm still not convinced to use them.

This costs only 500 bucks and installation is a simple DIY. Hope this helps you.

Ride free (someday)
surjaonwheelz

[his-xc-lnc]

Originally Posted by dr_davis97

1. Will downsizing the rims to 17 inches cause a significant enough error in speedo readings?

2. Will I be able to accomodate 150mm or 160mm section tyres without any swingarm modifications?

Now hear my "aankho dekha haal". I wanted to downsize my GT's rear tyre to 15 inch. Aim was to reduce the seat height. Tried out everything, no use. And then out of nowhere came a guy on a red interceptor(heck i didnt click pics). He had replaced stock 18 inchers with 17 inch alloys of KTM. Rear tyre in place was 160/60 R 17. He had to add additional spacer to accomodate this fat tyre. As per him, till 140(and 150 too), its a simple fit it job! He had redone the seat too making it absolutely thin, but it looked drop dead gorgeous. I took it for a ride and KTM alloys didn't feel out of the world at all. Some additional mod was done to adjust the front disc petal but overall it seemed to be tastefully done. Now i want the same to be done for my bike. Will keep you updated about my bike.

[rahulskumar]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Hello Twin Owners,

Thanks to sukiwa for pointing me to this air filter clamps from 'bikenbiker'

Did I experience any change?
- Frankly very difficult to notice any change in intake sound or feel any change in throttle response.

Anything to worry?
- Need to monitor in the rains but there is plenty of room between the side panel and the air filter.

Will I upgrade to a performance filter?
- No, I'm still not convinced to use them.

This costs only 500 bucks and installation is a simple DIY. Hope this helps you.

Ride free (someday)
surjaonwheelz

Why did you spend 500 for these. We can easily open the outer shell of the default snorkel. When needed we can use fix-it to get it back together. I've been using this set up from past 4k kms and I've not faced any issues. I'm attaching the pic of the outer shell that was lying on my table

No need of performance filters. This set up is perfect as paper filter will not allow dust particles to enter and it is foolproof. You might see 1 -2 km increase in mileage. I'm averaging around 28 inside city and 33-34 during long drives. Mostly my engine speed while cruising is around 3000-3500 rpm with intermittent bursts to 4500 during overtakes

I had done a small workaround for my Honda Jazz by lowering the air intake. Yesterday I received K&N for my Jazz and when we compare both of them, the performance and feel remains the same. Low end torque is a bit better but engine becomes noisy on both the set up. Today I returned K&N and I'm even cancelling order from motowing for Interceptor. If we need to feel the actual performance of these filters, then we have to install free flow exhausts along with it.

I test drove Moto spares owner Nibin's interceptor and it was really fun to ride. He has installed aew classic short 201 exhausts with one size up smaller sprocket. He has used a different size iridium spark along with 20-50 engine oil and harder front fork oil. I recently installed CR8EIX on my bike, I felt slight variation in throttle response. Yet to check mileage with the new plugs. The default plugs are from Bosch. I'm also using motul 7100 oil from past 1500 kms.

As I'm not a fan of after market exhausts, I did one modification to my silencer, drilled a 10 mm hole thinking it will help to get a slight punchy note. I did not find any difference, may be a slight variation in sound and I always keep thinking why did I do . This weird idea came to my mind during the lock down days.

I am finding it difficult to source exhaust putty to try and close the hole. Can this small hole cause any issue to the engine as it might be affecting the back pressure. I saw the aew exhausts and it was complete see through, do these aftermarket exhaust damage the engine in the long run. I dont think there is any sort of back pressure created. I always felt my bikes engine a bit stressed out around 40 on first gear, around 60 in 2nd. I dont recollect if it was the same behavior before. Nibins bike was really smooth on first till 60.