[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Tough call regarding the widest part.

Attachment 1825768

Rider wont burn his ankles (its narrow at that part), but it's quite easy for the pillion if he/she is not very careful.

RE could have saved some money and weight if they'd gone with a single pipe setup. Also would have been a lot easier for saree clad pillions to hop on one side without having to worry about getting their saree or shoes burnt

[jeepster]

Himalayan has gear indicator.

The 650 engines must have a gear position sensor like Himalayan ! (with additional sensors like tps/o2/temp/fuel)

If so then one has to buy a standalone gear position indicator from aliexpress.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

RE could have saved some money and weight if they'd gone with a single pipe setup. Also would have been a lot easier for saree clad pillions to hop on one side without having to worry about getting their saree or shoes burnt

But the market is fascinated with more pipes!

Atleast the RE is a twin cylinder - whereas Jawa also has a twin pipe setup with a single cylinder engine. I don't blame them either - it is such a nice design highlight on that bike.

Take the retro sport Z900RS as another example, people crying internationally for not getting four pipes instead of one!

[ALTIMAed]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I think the best practice on a motorcycle is to shift down gears as you slow down, and the slipper clutch + smooth gearshift combination allows you to come down gears fast when braking.

However, yes - a gear indicator would have been nice. I tend to get this feeling on the highways that I'm not in top gear and tend to hunt for an nonexistent top gear - and this happens to me on the Versys often. Oh yeah - mine doesn't get a gear indicator too.

Agreed with your points. I had the practise of downshifting while braking, though the combined action has become a bit rusty, not having ridden a bike for nearly 18 years. I stalled the bike just as I tried to accelerate, I might have been on 3rd gear, had there been a gear indicator, I would have definitely shifted to 2nd.

I wear shoes having size 12. With such big feet, it was really uncomfortable to put my foot between the foot peg and the lower portion of the gear lever. By any chance, are gear lever extenders available. A better option would be if a compatible toe heel lever could be fitted.

[thumpmeister]

Originally Posted by thumpmeister

@CrazyDriver - excellent ride report.. . As a result, I just postponed my decision to book on that day and now after such an excellent report, I will be mostly hopefully booking the Ravishing Red Interceptor tomorrow after the test ride.

Booked the Ravishing Red Interceptor 650 today at Voyage Motors,Kandivli West, Mumbai. However, upon reaching the showroom, was surprised to see a Himalayan Sleet showcased where the Int 650 was last time I visited and a TBX at the spot where the Conti 650 was on display. On speaking to the SA, was informed that there was a road show organised in Goregaon showroom. This was a major turn off. Anyways, went ahead and booked the bike by swiping my credit card. This process hardly took 5 minutes. Licence card, the only document which was asked for by the SA for booking.

The SA was saying that deliveries are on track to start from Mid January. Later overheard that those who had booked in the initial 2 days of the launch, will get them by Mid January. This particular showroom has received 160+ bookings for the RE twins so far, 80% of them for the Int 650. The Company owned showroom in Bandra is leading with maximum bookings so far it seems with 220 + booking for the twins as per the SA. The SA also told me I might get my bike if I dont cancel by Mid February and he is not aware of any news of the deliveries for the custom coloured bike being postponed. I took that with a pinch of salt.

The showroom experience was nothing to write home about, though. RE has still a lot to go as far as customer experience goes and I am not benchmarking them against the foreign brands, just from a CRM perspective. I literally was roaming around the showroom for 5 minutes without anyone approaching me, though this could be due to the roadshow which they were participating in.

After I reached home after 30 minutes, I received a text message asking me to rate the showroom experience, which I promptly rated it as 2 (Not Good). Immediately, received another text which congratulated me for the booking & a booking ID mentioned in the text along with an offer for discounts on riding gear, for which one has to call on their customer service number.

Now, the wait begins...

Cheers.

[a4anurag]

Accessories for the 650 Twins - Posting screenshots from the Royal Enfield Website.

Interceptor 650











SOURCE

Continental GT 650











SOURCE

PS: Click on the individual accessories for more details like fitting instructions, warranty, compatibility, the fitting time needed, colour and images.

[Funny]

Excellent review CrAzY dRiVeR. This review is as good as any other official review. Thanks for your efforts to help us understand the bike in detail.

So today I went for my second TD post which I booked the Interceptor 650. Booking details can be found here - (The "I Booked my Bike / Scooter" Thread).

Here are my quick impressions after riding the Twins :
Positives :
* Interceptor is more practical bike overall for City and Highway use
* Interceptor riding posture is more upright and comfortable compared to GT.
* Interceptor has about 1L additional fuel tank capacity compared to GT.
* GT weights about 4KG lesser than Interceptor, so the smaller fuel tank issue is negated up-to certain extent.
* Ergonomic wise I feel the GT is better than the Interceptor mainly because of the footpeg position especially for shorter riders, more details below.
* Both the bikes had done around 500kms on ODO and there was a little heat if you place your legs closer to the engine case. But I feel its alright as Mojo also heats up similarly in bad traffic and moreover there is some amount of additional heat to be expected from new TD bikes.
* The torque is great, although you can go fast on the bike but it naturally feels at home if you ride it leisurely and anyway there is ample amount of power for quick overtakes in any gear.
* The engine is very practical even for the City, I could do 40kph in 4th gear, something which is not possible on the Mojo (KTMs and similar) as it would struggle at lower RPMs.
* Although there is no side-stand indicator, the engine automatically shuts off if you slot any gear when the bike is on side stand.
* The bike doesn't feel heavy on the move and the center stand length (or throw?) is short so its not very difficult to put it on. Also they have given a grab rail at the side which actually helps while putting the center stand.
* Fit and finish levels are unlike any other RE, almost at par with Mojo. Vibrations are non-existent, there is a slight buzz at higher RPMs which is expected.
* The pricing is really good, they have kept the ex-showroom lesser in Cities where the taxes are more (Bengaluru) which I feel is a really good move. The OTR is exactly 3lacs for Interceptor 650 Std colors which is very VFM when you compare it with any other bike on sale today!

Negatives :
* Both are not as comfortable as say the TB350 or even the Mojo I feel. For GT its the combination of slightly rear-set pegs and slightly forward committed riding position which may be an issue on longer journeys and in bad traffic conditions. For Interceptor, one of the reason is the soft seat, another is the next point.
* The seat is kind of slippery on the Interceptor, upon hard acceleration I was sliding back on the seat and had to re-adjust after each wrist of throttle
* On Interceptor rear brake pedal is right under the engine case, almost half of the pedal seems to be positioned under the engine case. But I didn't find any issue with that apart from minor heat since I wasn't wearing my shoes. The length is adequate but I feel it could've been positioned a little bit to the right similar to how it is placed on the GT. (pics below)
* On Interceptor, the footpegs position is actually an issue for shorter riders. I am around 5.7 and my legs were touching the footpegs right at the center when I sat closer to the tank. If I sit a little bit away from the tank then my legs go behind the footpegs which is the ideal position. But shorter riders will face this issue initially and it needs some getting used to. Not a deal-breaker for me at-least. And this issue is non-existent on the GT because of the slightly rear-set pegs.
* The handlebar grip is not to my liking, I will need to get that changed. It has an uncomfortable texture unlike on the Mojo where its plain and feels good to hold.
* Feature list is very minimum, they could've increased the price slightly more and offered more features on the instrument cluster at-least.

I may have missed few points, which I will add later when I remember. Pardon my lengthy paragraphs, I am really tired right now to be able to format it in a better way.

Now let's look at the pictures that I have taken using my Phone :
The TD Bike - Interceptor 650 in Silver


The TD Bike - GT 650 in White


My legs touching the footpegs on the Interceptor, whereas its not an issue on the GT


The left half of the rear brake lever on the INT650 is below the engine case, whereas its completely away from the engine case on the GT. Also notice that I am sitting slightly away from the tank on the Interceptor and hence my leg is behind the footpeg and not beside it, which seems ideal.


Note :
I own a Mojo and my brother owns a TB350, so obviously my comparisons are mainly related to Mojo, TB350 and the Twins.

~Cheers

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

[b][u]Accessories for the 650 Twins

Saddlestays needed a black option as well - chrome is too much!

[Red Liner]

Test rode the Interceptor 650 Twin yesterday for a very brief distance with a pillion.

+No buzz. It's a "thrum" as I would like to call it.
+Instantaneous torque. Very driveable in the city.
+Very slick gearbox but enough travel between gears to know you have shifted.
+Extremely low seating position. Feels like a toy compared to the Versys.
+Weight disappears I don't know where when on the move.
+Marginal engine heat, nothing to throw an alarm over.
+Light clutch.
+Supple suspension.
+Brings back some memories of the RD 350 and the Jawa 350 Twin (Which I had).

-Tube type tyres are not happening. I refuse it.
-This is not a touring bike, it is a cafe racer'ish/classic/scrambler bike. The windscreen if installed will probably need to be over a foot tall.
-Low GC at least from where I saw it. Offroad, standing and riding, these are things that you cannot do on this bike, unless you scrambler it with revised footpeg settings.
-No big bike road presence a-la ADV bikes which are practically cars on the road.

You know, as a bike that you will use primarily for the wind in your hair kind of rides (if you have any left), as well as to strut your millennial creds with your beaten up old leather jacket, this is certainly the ticket.

I must say, I really want to buy the bike. Baker White, please!

[rakesh_r]

Visited Brahma Motors to TD the INT 650 on the weekend. Was mighty Impressed with the power and refinement, had to cross check twice to see If i really was riding an RE. Coming from a Himalayan, Initially took about 5 min to get adjusted with the new posture. The stock pipes. though has a mild rumble is an eyesore since it protrudes, very prone to scuffing If riding in the city. Didn't find any heating issues.
Couple of Changes or mods to be done on Immediate basis when I buy the INT-
1- Handle bar with risers, since my elbows were a bit stretched (have installed the official RE Handlebar with Risers on my Himalayan)
2- Seats- felt they were a bit slippery and narrow, will opt for CGT-650 touring seats
3- Sump guard
4- Leg guard
5- A shorter exhaust, provided the sound is not irritating
Point to note- the Instrumentation panel will show some of the tell tale lights only when the engine kill switch is kept in the ON position.
I have narrowed down on the INT (Chrome most prolly) but for next year Q4 since I just bought the Himalayan and have no plans to sell it off.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

-Low GC at least from where I saw it. Offroad, standing and riding, these are things that you cannot do on this bike, unless you scrambler it with revised footpeg settings.

Perhaps they should make a real scrambler out of this one, rather than the joke (Classic 500 scrambler) they currently seem to be working on!

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Perhaps they should make a real scrambler out of this one, rather than the joke (Classic 500 scrambler) they currently seem to be working on!

It will come after the Himalayan 650 is out in 2020. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't. The Classic 500 scrambler is just to buy time until the real launch like the smaller Himalayan was.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Funny

My legs touching the footpegs on the Interceptor, whereas its not an issue on the GT

Agreed, this was exactly my personal experience and observation, this is a big issue especially when you have the move the bike manually while astride. The footpegs will hit the shins.

The left half of the rear brake lever on the INT650 is below the engine case, whereas its completely away from the engine case on the GT. Also notice that I am sitting slightly away from the tank on the Interceptor and hence my leg is behind the footpeg and not beside it, which seems ideal.

Another point which implies that the main focus was GT and Interceptor was an afterthought.


I also didn't like the handlebars on the Interceptor. Way too low positioned.

[thumpmeister]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

You know, as a bike that you will use primarily for the wind in your hair kind of rides (if you have any left), as well as to strut your millennial creds with your beaten up old leather jacket, this is certainly the ticket.

This is what most of the 30+ guys are going to buy this for, you worded it perfectly. Brought an instantaneous grin on my face!

If not for the strict Mumbai traffic cops who flag down every two wheeler rider without a shell on his head, would love to ride it with the wind in my hair and a pair of Wayfarers or Aviators, atleast on a small freeway stretch!

[greenoval]

Most of the bookings seem to be for the Interceptor 650. Wanted to know if the riding position on the GT 650 is so committed that it is putting off people from going for it? How much more or less is the lean compared to Ninja 300 or Yamaha R3? I am yet to test ride the twins though my first preference is GT 650 (personally, I think GT looks better than Interceptor). Also, will someone of 174 cms height be able to flat foot the GT? I know a test ride will clear all my doubts but I'm a bit pressed for time.