[sukiwa]

Bike 'N' Biker introduces Puig windscreen for Interceptor priced at Rs. 5,000, it looks similar to one available from RE for Himalayan.

[nasirkaka]

Finally received Mr Baker express last weekend after close to 6 months of booking. A lot has been said on the bike already so not getting into the details, but just a few observations after a 150 kms breakfast ride.

• The engine is very refined and smooth and the gearbox is utterly butterly smooth. Linear acceleration without any drama, bike feels light enough to maneuver around especially after the heavy and taller Versys.
  
• Exhaust note is subtle and nice in a subdued way. Would have preferred it to be a wee bit louder when on open throttle. Its big and bulky and the most noticed part of the bike, the exhaust I mean. Even visually, they could have designed it to be a bit more sleek and not stick out like a sore thumb, literally.
  
• First bike where the horn feels adequate. Am very happy with that. The ergonomics are a bit sporty for my liking. I will replace the handle bar with a more upright one. Foot pegs do feel a bit widely placed and interfere a bit, depending on which previous bike we are coming from. Something which we will get conditioned to and make sure to place the legs a bit far when wading through traffic.
  
• Engine heat is there but that is expected from an air-cooled 650 twin. In B2B traffic, the tank gets very hot for some reason. I would have liked to have a gear position indicator, even as an after market accessory. It is very difficult to tell if one is in 5th or 6th.
  
• Seat is narrow and too soft, flat, and uncomfortable. Hope there are better aftermarket options soon. Suspension may be OK from a general point of view, but I have been spoilt by the suppleness of the 310 Kgs. So naturally the suspension on Mr Baker feels stiff and bumpy.
  
• Overall build quality seems fine especially where it matters. Stuff like indicators, tail lamp assembly, switchgear, etc are not so great but something we can live with or change it to our tastes.
  
• I am yet to ride it at night, So no idea on the light. As the first mod, I have installed a pair of aux lights, so I guess it should be OK with night riding.

Overall, I feel happy with the bike so far and hope for a longish relationship. Lets see how it goes. Leaving with a few pics of Mr Baker.

[HandfulOfHell]

A few queries about the interceptor and accessories

1. Adjustable levers: I want to install (CNC aluminium) adjustable levers for the Interceptor. Has any one installed one on their bike? If yes, can you please share your experience and point me to the brand, price and place to procure

2. CNC Mirrors: The stock mirrors on the Int start vibrating past 60 – 70 kmph and so are not very usable. I think the RE touring mirrors are of high quality but I don’t like their shape – I prefer angular ones. There are many CNC Aluminium mirrors being sold on Alibaba. If anyone has either purchased or done research on these mirrors can you share your experience and good options available?

3. Ceramic coating: I do not like PPF coating because I’ve had a poor exp on my car esp. when they start wearing off the edges. I am keen to try ceramic coating. Does anyone have feedback on Sparkleeda in Mumbai for ceramic coating? Do you have any other suggestions on places and prices in Bombay?

4. Mobile charger: I am keen to professionally install a mobile charger on my Interceptor. Can you suggest a place in Mumbai where the people know their job well and use proper connectors and connections? (I know any mechanic will do it, but still, would prefer references..) Any suggestions on gear is also welcome

5. Indicators: Does anyone have intel on when RE plans to launch its led indicators? The pics in the catalogue look good but I have no clue about their timing

6. LED Bulbs: My headlight glass/enclosure heats up quite a bit even after an hour of running? Assuming that most of the heat actually comes from the always on bulb, will replacing the stock bulb with an LED bulb help reduce the heat? Can someone suggest a replacement LED bulb that will draw similar or lower power than the stock bulb – I do not want any load balancing issues after this installation. I do not want an after market LED headlamp assembly.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by HandfulOfHell

A few queries about the interceptor and accessories

1. Adjustable levers: I want to install (CNC aluminium) adjustable levers for the Interceptor. Has any one installed one on their bike? If yes, can you please share your experience and point me to the brand, price and place to procure

Stick with OEM, a friend and fellow enthusiast almost had his finger sliced off through a pair of Dainese gloves when he T-boned a cager making an illegal U turn.

CNC Mirrors: The stock mirrors on the Int start vibrating past 60 – 70 kmph and so are not very usable. I think the RE touring mirrors are of high quality but I don’t like their shape – I prefer angular ones. There are many CNC Aluminium mirrors being sold on Alibaba. If anyone has either purchased or done research on these mirrors can you share your experience and good options available?

Again, stick with OEM the ones from China sport plain glass mirrors and are unsafe, doesn't make sense to get run over by a cager simply because you failed to spot them on a fancy mirror you got from China.

Mobile charger: I am keen to professionally install a mobile charger on my Interceptor. Can you suggest a place in Mumbai where the people know their job well and use proper connectors and connections? (I know any mechanic will do it, but still, would prefer references..) Any suggestions on gear is also welcome

Have seen what a few bhpians have got done and sadly they're below par when it comes to workmanship, since you're taking a lead from the ignition line it would do you good to source a quality 12v socket and a Fuse/Wire tap and DIY.

The difference in quality workmanship would go a long way, especially since yours is a FI motorcycle dependent on the electricals.

If you're lazy like me than a Roots mobile charger would do for Rs.120/- plug and play and comes with indicator and switch in the unit.

Cheers,
A.P.

[adises]

Got the first service done this Saturday where they did tappet adjustment and changed the oil. Two issues cropped up immediately after:



1) The bike started behaving erratically and shutting down on my way home. I stopped at another RE workshop along the way and they diagnosed that one of the spark plug caps wasn't working. They replaced it and the bike started running fine.


2) Yesterday on my way back home from work there was a lot of traffic and it started heating up. The bike refused to rev smoothly in the 1200 - 2000 rpm range and kept shutting down / choking like it wasn't getting any air.



Going to the service centre this morning to figure out what the issue is, I think it's to do with the tappet adjustment because the bike was perfectly fine pre-service. Will update once they diagnose and figure it out.

[Biker Ram]

Originally Posted by adises

2) Yesterday on my way back home from work there was a lot of traffic and it started heating up. The bike refused to rev smoothly in the 1200 - 2000 rpm range and kept shutting down / choking like it wasn't getting any air.

I too had a problem of engine heating up right after first service. This was almost 2 months ago. It was peak of summer and more than usual traffic. To get an idea, it took me about 1 hour 10 mins to cover 12kms. I must have been in 1st gear for more than 45 minutes. Engine heated up more than I have ever noticed, and the idling RPM went up drastically. Throttle response became very erratic, it would take many seconds after I closed the throttle for it come back to acceptable idling RPM. And when I wanted to accelerate there was again couple of seconds lag before the RPM could go up. This made riding in traffic very difficult.

There was no point going back to service centre in that kind of traffic so I decided to ride home. Once home I called up the service centre and explained the problem. As per them there was no tappet opening or idle speed changes. It seems they had only adjusted throttle play, which shouldn't have caused any issues. Service manager offered to send a technician home right away. I was really happy with them being genuinely helpful, but I asked them to wait for a day because I expected bike might cool down before they arrive and it could start behaving normally. Took it for a spin that evening and things were normal. Since then I haven't ridden in such heavy and slow moving traffic, but for all the normal rides I do (including office commutes) I haven't faced the problem again.

I feel the throttle play was lesser and better before the service. Now there is that extra mm of twist required, and an extra fractional second of wait before the bike pulls of.

[kesh4munni]

I have the exact same issue. The problem creeps up only when the engine is hot in stop and go traffic and there is excessive clutch usage - The bike seems to stutter and lag until 2000rpm.

Has anyone found a Permanent solution to it?

[adises]

Originally Posted by Biker Ram

I too had a problem of engine heating up right after first service. This was almost 2 months ago. It was peak of summer and more than usual traffic. To get an idea, it took me about 1 hour 10 mins to cover 12kms. I must have been in 1st gear for more than 45 minutes. Engine heated up more than I have ever noticed, and the idling RPM went up drastically. Throttle response became very erratic, it would take many seconds after I closed the throttle for it come back to acceptable idling RPM. And when I wanted to accelerate there was again couple of seconds lag before the RPM could go up. This made riding in traffic very difficult.

I've left the bike with them for observation and asked them to take a spin in traffic/overheat the engine to trigger the issue. In my case the tappets were adjusted during the first service. I'll get an update later today. RE has definitely been very responsive to issues and I'm quite happy with the level of support I've been getting.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by greenoval

Got these pictures as WhatsApp forward which shows an interceptor with Timsum tyres. The cost mentioned was 11k for 2 tyres

The thread pattern and design look similar to Michelin M45 tyres.

I think the Pirelli's too cost in the same range for the Interceptor.

[mh09ad5578]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Bulu Biker claims 50k maintenance costs on the Interceptor 650, for 20k kms of running! Most expensive parts being tyres and brake pads -

Surprised - because that's similar to what I've spent on the Versys 650 till 20k kms. Still would be cheaper than most other 650s (Honda guys might have something to say though), but sharing so that owners realise the potential costs upfront.

Good video but for cost conscious riders there will always be vfm options for tyres and break pads from other vendors. Also Royal Enfield charges premium for parts sold at showroom. Just an example the rear tire pirelli 130 section for the continental gt535 is rs 12000 at the showroom but can be brought for rs 4000 on Amazon. Same tire. Same goes for the other parts. I know this because I maintain a Harley superlow 883 and use the research to save up on maintenance costs. Love the bike but not from a typical Harley owner financial bracket. Still a great video

[Rob UK]

Originally Posted by kesh4munni

I have the exact same issue. The problem creeps up only when the engine is hot in stop and go traffic and there is excessive clutch usage - The bike seems to stutter and lag until 2000rpm.

Has anyone found a Permanent solution to it?

Have you all checked the oil level carefully?

As it's oil cooled it will probably be sensitive to oil levels and may have been under filled at the dealer service.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Biker Ram

I too had a problem of engine heating up

Rather than oil levels I'd say this is textbook symptoms of a motor running lean from an air leak.


To list the symptoms;


1. Idle becoming erratic and climbing as the motor gets hotter.
2. Rev's floating when you chop the throttle.
3. Sluggish low-down throttle response and stalling.


The issues worsen the more hotter the machine gets.


But then that was with carburetted machines, this might simply be the FI system goofing up, on our carburetted machines we do a WD40 test by raising idle and spraying WD40 around the manifolds, if idle picks up then we confirm its a leak and change the respective part/s.

[adises]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Rather than oil levels I'd say this is textbook symptoms of a motor running lean from an air leak.

The response from the bike feels exactly like it's struggling to breathe between 1.2 - 2k rpm when overheated. But once it goes past 2K it runs like there is absolutely nothing wrong.


They checked all the sensor readings yesterday and nothing strange popped up.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by HandfulOfHell

4. Mobile charger: I am keen to professionally install a mobile charger on my Interceptor. Can you suggest a place in Mumbai where the people know their job well and use proper connectors and connections? (I know any mechanic will do it, but still, would prefer references..) Any suggestions on gear is also welcome

You can try HDT customs (please search on Youtube), pretty decent guy, got the engine guards, saddle stays and mobile charger (Bolt Brand) installed from him on my Himalayan.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by HandfulOfHell

4. Mobile charger: I am keen to professionally install a mobile charger on my Interceptor. Can you suggest a place in Mumbai where the people know their job well and use proper connectors and connections? (I know any mechanic will do it, but still, would prefer references..) Any suggestions on gear is also welcome

I can recommend the Chevik mobile holder; been using it for nearly ~1600 kms now and it works extremely well over short and long distances. It has a battery backup too; with wires that can be connected to the bike's wiring for battery backup and charging (I am not using it)

Details & pics here - post (My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership).