[Dr.Iyer]

Originally Posted by Torino

Whoa, thats a serious concern. Hope these guys do proper R&D and testing with those tubeless spoke rims before selling to anymore customers.

Update:
The motorcycle has clocked 27,300kms and went for service at Kick Start Garage. Last service and oil change was done at 19,400 kms. Bought replacement parts from the RE dealership spares counter. Initial thought was to go for Motul 7100 but Castrol Power1 Ultimate was available at an irresistible price of Rs575 per liter in Amazon. Replaced the fuel filter as per the periodic maintenance chart.

Job done:
1.Engine oil
2.Oil filter
3.Air filter
4.Fuel filter
5.Clutch cable
6.Chain adjustment
7.Throttle cable freeplay adjustment
8.Brake fluid check
9.Axle bolt torque
10.Steering stem nut torque

Chain sprocket set needs replacement since the axle adjustment is at its max limit. Rolon brass chain & sprocket kits looks like a good option, not sure how much the DID will cost, must get the spark plugs changed as well.

Got the parts from local RE dealership spares counter
Attachment 2342281

Used 3 liters of Castrol and 100ml of Total for that 3.1L capacity
Attachment 2342282

Hi. I'm from Hyderabad and i own an Interceptor. I'm actually looking to purchase the fuel filter. Here in hyderabad, they say its not available as a separate part but it comes along with the fuel pump kit, which costs about 8k or so. I would like to know if you had purchased the fuel filter part separately? I have my folks in chennai , so i can ask them to courier it. Thanks.

[Torino]

Originally Posted by Dr.Iyer

Hi. I'm from Hyderabad and i own an Interceptor. I'm actually looking to purchase the fuel filter. Here in hyderabad, they say its not available as a separate part but it comes along with the fuel pump kit, which costs about 8k or so. I would like to know if you had purchased the fuel filter part separately? I have my folks in chennai , so i can ask them to courier it. Thanks.

I bought it separately for Rs108, as you can see from the image. You can get it from any RE service center's spares counter. May be you can show the part number at your service center at Hyderabad.

[Torino]

Quick Update:

Current ODO reads 34,560km and the Interceptor goes about doing its weekend breakfast rides and occasional office commute duty. Got the service done in Kick Start Garage at around 34,500kms and as usual I carried the engine oil & oil filter with me. Got the Castrol Power 1 Ultimate 10W50 since it was the cheapest oil at 699/L I could get in Amazon. Engine oil was last changed at 27,300kms. Job done include oil & oil filter replacement, chain slack & clutch play adjustment and paid Rs350 as labor charge. All that’s left is I need to replace the air filter. Plan to do the next oil change at around 40,000 kms.

My weekend breakfast rides have shifted from highway rides to off-road exploration rides. Its great fun riding off the road and exploring new off-beat dirt paths. The current 17 inch wheels set up is doing fine and makes the Interceptor handle like a fat Duke 390. With roads getting worse due to ongoing metro rail construction and my new liking towards dirt road riding I felt a larger front wheel can reduce the shocks transmitted to the handlebar. A 19 inch front sounds interesting but I still have the stock 18 inch wheels lying around so I was thinking of fixing 18 inch rim at the front along with the 17 inch rear and make the Interceptor into a wannabe scrambler. But the 17 inch Ceat Zoom XL at the front still has nearly half its thread life even after 15,000 kms.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=w0WUFWQ-vMk?feature=share

https://youtube.com/watch?v=q2ZSJftRUy4?feature=share

[Torino]

Last Sunday morning was spent exploring new trails along with my buddy who is back into motorcycles after a long gap with his Meteor 350. We were lucky to find a partially dried lake and decided to ride across it over its slippery surface and some shallow water crossings. Apart from getting fresh air there is a lot more happening in these short trail rides. Trail rides are helping me to learn and build my skills in controlling the heavy Interceptor over tricky situations and of course a lot of fun while doing it.

[neoonwheels]

If I remember correctly, you got the Inty lowered using the shocks lowering kit, rt? How is it holding up with this mod? Any issues with respect to handling?

[Torino]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

If I remember correctly, you got the Inty lowered using the shocks lowering kit, rt? How is it holding up with this mod? Any issues with respect to handling?

You're right! Its been exactly 2 years and ~19,000kms now since I installed the rear suspension lowering kit on the Interceptor. The kit serves its purpose very well that is helping me to flat foot on both feet and there is no issues with handling, ride comfort and material quality. Honestly there isn't anything to complain against he lowering kit.

Excuse the dirt from the off-road trail ride last Sunday.

[Torino]

Off late, trail riding has become my newfound Sunday morning breakfast ride agenda. Well for starters, it’s actually a mild trial riding as the trails are short and the motorcycles we use are built for the street. It’s a small riding group of old friends who are not into serious motorcycle riding anymore. There is a point in every trail ride where I drop the bike at slow speeds while encountering tricky slippery surface especially with the on-off rains here. SOP is to have a good laugh, check for damage and continue riding. While replacing parts may be passable, lifting the Interceptor is a test of physical strength. During the last ride, after dropping the bike while crossing a rut, I asked myself if I should get a used Hero Xpulse and reduce my learning curve and care less about dropping it. But the major blockage right now is lack of parking space for another motorcycle and the Xpulse will not replace my Interceptor or the RX135 and with that I’ve decided to continue trial riding with the Interceptor, for now.

How the usual Sunday breakfast ride looks like.





Fun part of every trail ride.


Some recently replaced parts.


The lever bolt broke and had to get a new component.


Got these inexpensive brake pads from Amazon. Yet to try them.


Size reference with stock Brembo.

[Mannvvs]

Originally Posted by Torino

I’ve shortlisted Shield FUR, Bikeratti Matador and RE's Burnish.

I'm in a similar situation. Which gloves did you buy?

I'm confused whether I should buy short gloves (below 3k) like RE Vamos, Shield fur, Viaterra fender, Korda short leather, Korda street, Bikeratti matador or should I invest in mid-range (below 4k) full gauntlets like Korda track full, Tarmac Rapid, etc.

I will be using gloves only for touring.

[Torino]

Originally Posted by Mannvvs

I'm in a similar situation. Which gloves did you buy?

I'm confused whether I should buy short gloves (below 3k) like RE Vamos, Shield fur, Viaterra fender, Korda short leather, Korda street, Bikeratti matador or should I invest in mid-range (below 4k) full gauntlets like Korda track full, Tarmac Rapid, etc.

I will be using gloves only for touring.

Hi. I got the Shield Fur and its in post #252 in this thread. Its been just over a year/~8,000 kms with the Shield Fur and except for the worn out synthetic palm grip patch the rest of the leather glove is pretty solid with no physical wear or tear. They are super comfortable and offer a sung fit and the perforated built offer some amount of ventilation during city rides. For touring the full gauntlets are the way to go.

[HowDifferent?]

Agree with Torino on the Shield gloves. I have this for the last 18 months and is holding up well. Have heard similar feedback on the Shield full gauntlets also. Good value for money in my opinion.

[Mannvvs]

Originally Posted by Torino

Hi. I got the Shield Fur and its in post #252 in this thread. Its been just over a year/~8,000 kms with the Shield Fur and except for the worn out synthetic palm grip patch the rest of the leather glove is pretty solid with no physical wear or tear. They are super comfortable and offer a sung fit and the perforated built offer some amount of ventilation during city rides. For touring the full gauntlets are the way to go.

Attachment 2516163

These gloves look amazing brother! I like old-school & simple designs.

Actually Bikeratti are going for as low as 1.8k(too hard to resist) but the finishing seems better on these. I went to Shield's official website, unfortunately there's no size chart for reference.
Which size is this, I usually wear M/L(20cms circumference below knuckles) in RE?

[Gooney]

Originally Posted by Torino

Off late, trail riding has become my newfound Sunday morning breakfast ride agenda.

The Interceptor is a retro cruiser. It's not meant for trails. If it's trails and offroading that you want to do, get a Himalayan or the XPulse as you said you should get.

[Mannvvs]

Originally Posted by Torino

I just can't get enough of my Panzer jacket!
Attachment 2287528

Lovely jacket & gloves(I'm assuming these are bbg snell/Yamaha gloves)!

Just like an old Jeep or a motorcycle, which would need some attention, may not even provide the best performance or safety of but unmatched character!

[Torino]

Had an incident during the Sunday morning trail ride couple of weeks back. The plan was to ride to a lake located 20 kms away from home and explore new trails surrounding it. We have already been to this lake couple of times during the last 6 months so it wasn’t a completely new place. Got to the bike to see my scooter’s seat being ripped by street dogs. Not sure if that’s a sign to what’s about to happen. Started at 6am and was joined by my friend in his Meteor 350 at the meeting spot. With a tea break in between we reached the entrance to the lake. There was cloud burst kind of rain couple of days back and water level on the stream at the lake’s entrance was higher than usual. I somehow felt that the water level will be manageable in our bikes. My friend suggested that we may have to walk down and do level check. With few minutes of eyeball measurement, I went ahead to cross the water on the bike. Soon after 10-15 feet of getting into the water I could see the water level reaching almost the fuel tank and the engine died. I was stuck with the water level well over the exhaust.

Turned the ignition off and pulled the bike out of the water. Pushed the bike on a steep incline to see the water flushing out of both the exhausts. There is a tiny hole at the bottom of the silencer pipes just below the engine. This appears to be the lowest part of the silencer pipe and could see the last bit of water pouring out of these holes when the bike is placed on the main stand. At this point seeing the water out of the silencers, I thought the worst was over until we laid the bike on the left side to see water dripping out of the air filter box. I feared of water entering the combustion chamber through the airfilter and mixing with the engine oil. Removed, cleaned and dried the battery, relays, fuses, airfilter and the spark plugs under the sun at the lake. Pushed the bike in gear from top of an incline and could see water droplets spraying out of the spark plug holes so tried pushing the bike few more times to get the water out. The engine oil looked fine through the inspection window. After letting the bike dry for nearly an hour we reassembled the parts and the bike started in the first crank. Let the bike idle for couple of minutes and rode back home at a steady pace. The bike behaved fine all the way back home. Once back home, checked the inspection window again only to face my worst fear, water has mixed with the oil and the engine oil looked white in color.

Left the bike to dry and went to get new engine oil, unfortunately the two-wheeler spares shops nearby did not have any engine oil close to the recommended grade so ordered 3L of Candice 20W50 & 15W50 since it had faster delivery and cheap since I wanted to flush the old oil. In the meantime, also got couple of oil filters and air filters from RE spares. Replaced the oil, oil filter and air filter and rode the bike for ~20 kms. Replaced the oil again with 15W50 and rode ~50kms and then replaced with Motul 10W50. The bike sounds and performs normally but I’m sure the engine would have taken a beating. Visited RE OMR service center and the service advisor rode the bike and found everything to be normal and advised to continue riding since I’ve changed the oil multiple times. I guess for now its only time to see how the engine behaves and prepare for come what may. Learning point here is to make sure to check the water level. That said will continue to ride trails with the Interceptor until I get an Xpulse.

Morning sight just before starting the ride. Street dogs gone rogue.


All the water coming out of the bike.


Noticed water dripping out of the airfiter cover.


Fortunately the Meteor 350's tool kit had the sparkplug deep wrench tool.


This sent chills down my spine.


State of the oil filter.


Thats how the oil came down at the start of the drain.


Thats how the oil was at the midway and towards the end.


Ordered these for the first oil change.


Second oil change after riding ~20kms.


Third oil change after riding ~50kms.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Torino

Had an incident during the Sunday morning trail ride couple of weeks back.

That's quite an ordeal and the way you handled it shows your technical competence, Kudos for that.
This incident is similar to RE Himalayan incident described by Nasirkaka (Triumph Scrambler 400 X Review)