[pachchu77]

Originally Posted by pachchu77

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Accessories Fitted :

OEM Alloys (Front and rear) - ₹ 16,500

Vredestein Centauro ST Tyres (Front and rear) - ₹ 12,000

Black Deluxe Touring Dual Seat - ₹ 5,950

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Since I've installed the touring seat, I'm giving the stock bench seat away for free. Pls DM me if you are interested. Only caveat is that you will have to come pick it up yourself from Bilekahalli, off Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru. Pls note that, seat was upgraded on the day of delivery only thus making the stock seat absolutely un-used.

I held back until now because I wanted to make this offer to the guy buying my stock tubed tyres (since I also upgraded my tyres and wheels) but it so turned out that he happened to have a spare seat already. I still have the stock spoke wheels. Probably I'll put it up for sale too.

[a_chelat]

Took a test drive of the GT650 today and it was not what I expected at all. The whole front end just felt heavy - and this "heaviness" was amplified by the hard clutch and throttle. Had to put in quite some effort into wringing the throttle to get it moving through the gears. The bike only had 3500 kms on the odo. Just can't imagine a bike with such low mileage being so hard to ride.

SA said its because the test drive vehicle is the BS4 version and that the BS6 update has improved significantly. They didn't have a BS6 GT 650 for test drive but I did take out a BS6 interceptor for a spin and the difference was stark - riding it felt effortless compared to the GT. But this was brand new and had run just over a 100 kms.

Is it really down to BS4 vs BS6 or does the GT not age well? Could it just be poor maintenance? Anyone here had the chance to ride and compare the BS4 and BS6 versions?

[rajeevsulu]

Originally Posted by a_chelat

Is it really down to BS4 vs BS6 or does the GT not age well? Could it just be poor maintenance? Anyone here had the chance to ride and compare the BS4 and BS6 versions?

There is nothing to choose between the Inty and the GT regarding throttle and clutch.Agency test ride bikes age very badly.The test ride bikes I rode were so bad,if I had to make a decision based on those bikes,I would have never bought the Interceptor.See if you can find a good sample out side or see if you can find another dealer.

Cheers

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by a_chelat

Is it really down to BS4 vs BS6 or does the GT not age well? Could it just be poor maintenance? Anyone here had the chance to ride and compare the BS4 and BS6 versions?

Can only be abuse and lack of maintenance.

The front end is definitely heavy and I suspect with all the abuse, it would have felt heavier. All it takes is a busted cone set and the bike will feel off. No such thing as a hard clutch or throttle, even on my 2020 Interceptor. It is true that the BS6 generation is improved. It feels like a tighter bike, for some reason. From what I've been reading here, Fuel Economy is much improved as well. I barely get past 25kmpl whereas the newer bikes nudge 30kmpl quite easily.

I've just ticked over 30,000km on my odometer. No tell tale signs of age for sure. That said, I don't stretch my maintenance intervals so that maybe a reason.

[carmel]

I've owned my GT 650 for a year now, and it's been a pleasure to ride. I've clocked around 7,000 km so far, all within city limits. However, my front brake pads seem to be worn out and need replacing. Any suggestions on good brake pads to choose from? Also, is it normal for the brake pads to wear out at 7,000 km?

[praveen.ba]

I changed to vesrah yesterday, will be able to share update after some use, didn't find any difference between my factory fitted pads and the new ones. my brake pads lasted almost 14k kms. I could have done another 1k easily I felt

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by a_chelat

Took a test drive of the GT650 today and it was not what I expected at all. The whole front end just felt heavy - and this "heaviness" was amplified by the hard clutch and throttle. Had to put in quite some effort into wringing the throttle to get it moving through the gears. The bike only had 3500 kms on the odo. Just can't imagine a bike with such low mileage being so hard to ride.

SA said its because the test drive vehicle is the BS4 version and that the BS6 update has improved significantly. They didn't have a BS6 GT 650 for test drive but I did take out a BS6 interceptor for a spin and the difference was stark - riding it felt effortless compared to the GT. But this was brand new and had run just over a 100 kms.

Is it really down to BS4 vs BS6 or does the GT not age well? Could it just be poor maintenance? Anyone here had the chance to ride and compare the BS4 and BS6 versions?

The front heavy feel is there in all TD bikes, i have test ridden two bikes and both felt heavy, took too much effort to lean into corners, and in general difficult to ride. As far as i have understood, this issue is because of low tyre pressure and Pirelli tyres. I felt the same if i rode my bike with stock pirellis and pressure anything lower than 28-29psi. After i changed to Vredestins on my bike, there is huge improvement. Interceptor is quit easy to ride solo in the city traffic, no lethargic feeling like the TD bikes.

[a_chelat]

Thank you for all the responses. I will see if I can get another test ride with another dealer.

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

The test ride bikes I rode were so bad,if I had to make a decision based on those bikes,I would have never bought the Interceptor.

Cheers

I told them exactly the same, that anyone who rides their test ride vehicle is never going to buy one

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Can only be abuse and lack of maintenance.

I've just ticked over 30,000km on my odometer. No tell tale signs of age for sure. That said, I don't stretch my maintenance intervals so that maybe a reason.

I did initially chalk it up to poor maintenance - I have had short spins on the Interceptor and the GT 650 but it has been 2-3 years since and I couldn't quite remember the earlier feel but it was definitely not this bad. Good to know that they age well. 30,000 km is serious mileage and very reassuring. Wishing many more miles ahead.

Originally Posted by carmel

Also, is it normal for the brake pads to wear out at 7,000 km?

Depend on the individual use but seems par for the course. I had to change them at 8000 kms on my adv 390.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by carmel

Any suggestions on good brake pads to choose from? Also, is it normal for the brake pads to wear out at 7,000 km?

The stock brakes and brake pads are pretty good. I don't see the point of going after market.

Thats definitely early wear but maybe you pound the brakes harder than most.

[rajeevsulu]

Originally Posted by carmel

I've owned my GT 650 for a year now, and it's been a pleasure to ride. I've clocked around 7,000 km so far, all within city limits. However, my front brake pads seem to be worn out and need replacing. Any suggestions on good brake pads to choose from? Also, is it normal for the brake pads to wear out at 7,000 km?

I own an Inty 650.It is a year and 18,500 kms old.The front brakes are still as good as new.Brake pad life is very good on the twins.

Cheers

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

I own an Inty 650.It is a year and 18,500 kms old.The front brakes are still as good as new.Brake pad life is very good on the twins.

Cheers

Same here, at 18K km, I am still on my stock brake pads. But since I had been using the Interceptor for highway duties, brake usage might be lesser than average. But 7k km wear doesn't seem right.

[raiuday]

Originally Posted by raiuday

I’ve always been eyeing on the recently launched touring screen as part of RE’s GMA catalogue for the Interceptor.

Wind protection: I’m 5’ 9” for reference and when I sit on the bike, windscreen doesn’t interrupt the vision and a good 4-5 inches below the field of view. I did go on a night run of about 50 kms and tested the wind protection but disappointed with the amount of resistance at the front and buffeting on the helmet. The frontend felt like a swaying shield against wind while accelerating moderately or at constant speeds between 90-120 kmph. Didn’t really feel confident to maintain these speeds continuously due to above factors.
Attachment 2603936

Sharing a quick update to the mod I’ve done to my touring screen. I had options to either get the screen off completely and would have to be discarded and go for something aftermarket. But I’m pretty sure, my family will soon kick me out if I keep spending on windscreens.

So, sat with the bike, took a marker and jarted lines in such a way that, cutting the screen in those places mean, the air would get deflection points.

Sides: I had pics with me on the bike and got the windscreen cut in such a way that the wind now flows over my arms and sideways.

Top: Got it cut such that the tip of the screen is 3 inches below my collar bone or at the top of a shirt pocket level. This allowed wind to deflect over my shoulders and neck but not on my helmet. Helmet does get little wind but it’s very less and just there and deflects easily. No buffeting and no issues moving my head to the sides at speeds above 100.

Bottom: I didn’t want to cut the bottom 3-4 inches as I wanted that to be a curve somewhat acting like a sport touring bike’s front dome/ assembly which guides the wind onto the screen deflection points.

I happened to approach a fabrication shop who deal with welding and cutting. Most were reluctant as they’re pretty sure they’d spoil the screen in the process. One of them was okay to but warned me that the edges would not be finished like factory. I gave a go ahead and asked them to cut through the markings I’ve done. End result was as expected with rough edges.
Cost? INR 100/-

Wanted to hide the edges and went to a nearby roadside shop to get the screen wrapped as I didn’t want to see unfinished edges on a new bike. It was a wrong call and the screen just looks ugly and there’s no two ways about it. Should have just wrapped the edges for 2-3 mm in hindsight.

Wind protection: This is the perfect setup for me. I did push the bike to do the trials to 120 first and speeds I do not wish to mention and would not recommend either, and there was no resistance at the screen. I could feel the wind gliding from above my shoulders, not struggling at the helmet, nor on the chest.

Do I recommend doing all this? Not really! Get an aftermarket one which was tried and tested instead. If you’ve the touring screen already and doesn’t work for you, you may try this but don’t wrap the screen at the end! It looks ugly.

P.S: I didn’t add the windscreen extenders as I didn’t want to spend another 2.5-3k, nor did I feel confident of them reducing the resistance of such a tall and wide non-inclined screen.

Sharing the pictures below for reference! Apologies! Had to over expose the pics in my basement due to lighting issues.







Another update is on the mirrors. Got the Avenger street mirrors installed and they do a very good job than the stock mirrors. They look okay on the bike and I’m not much worried as long as they display what’s happening at the behind legibly.

[V0rtex]

Is a flyscreen windshield by Royal Enfield actually useful beyond aesthetics? Does it improve performance (acceleration) or is it purely cosmetic?

[V0rtex]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Can only be abuse and lack of maintenance.
From what I've been reading here, Fuel Economy is much improved as well. I barely get past 25kmpl whereas the newer bikes nudge 30kmpl quite easily.

I've just ticked over 30,000km on my odometer. No tell tale signs of age for sure. That said, I don't stretch my maintenance intervals so that maybe a reason.

Well that's quite interesting that the newer bikes are getting such a significantly higher fuel efficiency and that too effortless. Usually what I've heard is that the newer E-20 bikes are having less fuel efficiency than the non E-20 bikes.

[Wageabond]

Originally Posted by V0rtex

Is a flyscreen windshield by Royal Enfield actually useful beyond aesthetics? Does it improve performance (acceleration) or is it purely cosmetic?

My one year of usage tells me that it is purely cosmetic.