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Old 28th March 2020, 18:22   #31
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Re: My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership

Congratulations on reaching Mumbai safely, with all these things happening around the world with COVID19, you were lucky to reach on time. Things have gone pretty bad at the state and city borders now.

Looking at the mileage seems you were doing good speeds, damn I envy you but in a good way, you got such empty roads. Even I am trying to get hold of better bulbs for the bike but before trying it out I have tilted the headlight a bit to see if it makes a difference or no.

I would advise you to change the rear settings to a stiffer level when riding on highways, makes a noticeable difference.

Enjoy your stay in Mumbai mate and stay safe
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Old 13th April 2020, 15:35   #32
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Short rides around Bangalore - Hogenakkal falls

Note: This is a dated post of a trip done back during March first week.

Bangalore lies in that small set of metros that has a decent number of tourist spots in a range of 100 - 200 kms in any direction you head out. Places that make for a decent one day trip. I'd been pushing friends since ages to hit the Hogenakkal falls since last year's rainy season. But to no avail, as plans kept getting derailed. So on a lazy weekend with nothing much to do, I decided to just head out myself.

Hogenekkal falls being in the vicinity of multiple cities (Bangalore, Erode, Salem, Mysore) sees a LOT of traffic. The place is a dream for families of all ages and sizes; doesn't require much effort in walking/hiking and has a large network of public and private transport options available right to the falls that originate from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Add to that a large number of private vehicles (2, 4 wheelers) and the 'picnic' buses that bring tourists in hoards; rest assured - any day of the week, you'll see tens of thousands visiting this place.

So the solution to this problem is? Leave very early.

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-1hogenekkal.jpg
The route

Thankfully, I decided to buck that spread and left way early from Bangalore in the wee hours. There are two routes to reach the falls - the longer but faster highway route that passes through Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri to enter Hogenekkal from the east, or to take the more scenic and state/local highway (2 lane, no divider) based route to enter Hogenekkal from the north. The latter option does have bad patches of road as it passes through forest regions, but the scenery makes it up completely; especially the Kaveri river that runs parallel to the road for the last ~5-6 kms.

Took the latter option with a ride for about 2.5 hours to reach the small townish setup outside the falls. The roads were practically empty with hardly any other vehicles seen till I reached the destination. With about 10 - 20 food stalls and a few basic-level hotels, this place had got the maximum possible commercial setup that can be gained out of the falls, keeping in consideration the segment of the population that dominates the crowd here.

A few idlis and dosas in, I headed to the falls which is probably the biggest adda (read:nest) of oil massage services - there are literally hundreds of guys ready to give oil massages to guys (mostly - didn't see any females giving or getting massages). Not sure if there was a religious or health realted spin to this service, but the modus operandi was to get a full body oil massage and then take a bath in the falls. Neither of which I had any plans to do, thankfully. So I had to convey to the disappointment of the 10+ guys who kept asking me if I wanted a massage

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20200308_081922.jpg
Pics taken from a hanging bridge right over the falls

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20200308_081744.jpg

With the onset of summer, the water current had gone down, but still had enough force to put a good display for the crowd that was assembling. Boat services offer a round trip for 15-30 minutes; one can choose to book an entire boat for themselves or join/form a boat group right there.

Spent about half an hour around the falls, and with the crowd increasing in droves as the morning progressed, I decided to head back home via the same route I had taken in the morning. This time I could see a lot of vehicles heading in the opposite direction; couples and families in all kinds of vehicles - cars, motorbikes, activas and the likes. With about 3 hours of riding, I reached back home by 12 for lunch; to the surprise of some of my friends who were just waking up on a lazy Sunday!
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Old 20th March 2022, 20:22   #33
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Re: My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership

Man! This is really the idiot's guide for sure! Two years and no update on this thread. There are so much that has happened over the past 24 months, here's a brief snapshot summary of it
  • 2nd, 3rd & 4th service done (all at different outlets/cities)
  • A few punctures (dang!), a few non-wear&tear parts changed (handle bar, rear view mirrors, footstands, top box, etc.)
  • Trips to Konkan beaches, (across) Gujarat, Nashik/Igatpuri, Bangalore & Chennai
  • and so much more...

One of these days I need to go through my log and update this thread with all the necessary details. Till then a parting shot of the bike in its current state

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20220320_165859.jpg

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20220320_165925.jpg
In it's full glory after the 4th service
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Old 26th May 2022, 21:11   #34
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Re: My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership

Bangalore is littered with small towns in the vicinity of 100 kms radius with hidden temples of kingdoms that were long gone. So when a friend suggested a morning breakfast + sightseeing drive, I jumped on it with a caveat - to take the bike along instead, while they traveled in their car

Destination was Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Rangasthala, some 30 kms after the Bangalore airport. Thankfully the rain gods weren't around, so we had a delightful morning, windy and chilly as a Bangalore morning could be.

The temple is a simple premise in the middle of fields, and a few temple pools there were not in great shape. With nothing much to do, we decided to call it a day and head back home, much before lunch time.

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20220522_091506.jpg

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20220522_093317.jpg

My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership-20220522_091721.jpg
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Old 11th October 2022, 11:40   #35
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Re: My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership

It's been 3.5 years with the bike with the odometer under 15k kms; the battery had started showing signs of the aging for a while. And last week it finally gave up with the bike not able to start at all. And with the confidence of RSA I had really never worried about it so far. Turned out to be the opposite as I realized over the weekend that I had only renewed my extended warranty for year 4 & 5 but hadn't opted for RSA for the same period.

With no RSA and no other option in sight to get the bike running, the next step was to dismantle the battery setup and get it replaced on foot. Googling support ensured this was an easy 30 mins hack at most and with a new Amaron battery, the bike was back in running condition in less than an hour. I'm generally not the guy who gets hands-on with my vehicles but it did give a bit of pleasure to get the 'repair' done on my own.

Next set of works on plan
- 5th servicing (paid)
- Tires to be replaced (plan to do this by this year end)
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Old 8th May 2023, 15:02   #36
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Re: My Orange Crush Interceptor 650: The idiot's guide to Royal Enfield ownership

Great thread Ninjatalli, which rear rack and box are you using and how has that affected your ride ? An update on the bike would be great too
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