[stanjohn123]

Wow, what an awesome looking garage .

Congrats on 1 year with this awesome machine.

I would like to know about the bikes heating while riding for short distances like 10-12 Km's. Can we ride the bike with just sandals or slippers ? Will the engine heat hurt our foot

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

. Can we ride the bike with just sandals or slippers ? Will the engine heat hurt our foot

That's actually illegal in India since December so definitely not recommended especially with such a heavy bike like this.

[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I was about to comment on the bike, but then saw that garage! Oh my! Thought it was the living room first!

Exactly my reaction - How did he get a Fortuner in to the living room?

Originally Posted by bf1983

That's actually illegal in India since December so definitely not recommended especially with such a heavy bike like this.

A friend of mine was actually disqualified from a driving test in Muscat, Oman for this reason. The policeman said "You drive quite well but why did you take off your footwear to drive?"

"Sir, I drive an Ambassador in Kolkata last 30 years and this is how we drive there. You get into the driver's seat and take off your slippers!"

Cop says "Expensive mistake. I am failing you so that you remember to wear proper footwear while you drive from next time onwards!"

[Sebring]

It is disrespectful in the Middle East to show your feet. Even wearing footwear that shows your toes is frowned upon

Originally Posted by Ferruccio

Cop says "Expensive mistake. I am failing you so that you remember to wear proper footwear while you drive from next time onwards!"

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

I would like to know about the bikes heating while riding for short distances like 10-12 Km's. Can we ride the bike with just sandals or slippers ? Will the engine heat hurt our foot

Slippers definitely no no, (closed/covered) sandals yes. But you need to get used to it as for upward movement of the gear, your foot will go under the lever. So a sturdy sandal that has a good cover on top.

Disclaimer: As others' have/will suggest, shoes would definitely do better. But I have been driving so for quite a while, for the internal city/short trips. The riding gear with shoes for longer rides.

Originally Posted by bf1983

That's actually illegal in India since December so definitely not recommended especially with such a heavy bike like this.

Lol - you'd think I'd know this after 2 decades of riding a bike! Guess, it's never too late to learn the rules; even if you stick to them or not!

[saishivaj]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Wow, what an awesome looking garage .

Congrats on 1 year with this awesome machine.

I would like to know about the bikes heating while riding for short distances like 10-12 Km's. Can we ride the bike with just sandals or slippers ? Will the engine heat hurt our foot

Thank you for the kind words. Good point you raised here about heating which I should've mentioned in the review.

The engine runs in a quiet and understressed manner and does not heat excessively in any condition. In heavy traffic, while you feel some heat, it is not excessive or unbearable. Having said that, I highly recommend not riding any 2-wheeler without shoes, even for shorter runs. I am guilty of doing it during my early riding years, but now, I make it a point to ride only with shoes for any length of riding and on any 2 wheeler.

[unoczar]

Great ownership review!

I was expecting to see you on the bike in at least one of the pictures. I'm above 100+ as well and planning to purchase the baker express soon.

Please post a pic if you have.

Thank you.

[LongDrive lover]

Very detailed review and what to say of your garage! Really exceptional.
I have just one query: read somewhere that Interceptor 650 though a king on highways, is not good for off road kind of routes like spiti! You would know it better, what's your view on this?

[saishivaj]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Great ownership review!

I was expecting to see you on the bike in at least one of the pictures. I'm above 100+ as well and planning to purchase the baker express soon.

Please post a pic if you have.

Thank you.

Unfortunately, I do not have too many pics of me on the bike. Hope this one helps:

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

Very detailed review and what to say of your garage! Really exceptional.
I have just one query: read somewhere that Interceptor 650 though a king on highways, is not good for off road kind of routes like spiti! You would know it better, what's your view on this?

Thank you
While I have not taken the Interceptor to Spiti yet, I have done some trails which would challenge an adventure bike. I am not saying the INT650 is at home on such trails, but I am the kind who believes that the limitation is not the machine but the mind. I would gladly take my INT to Spiti and I am sure, with some careful and mindful riding, it can be conquered. I did Spiti last year on my CBR250R which is not exactly built for those roads.

However, if you were looking for a review on how the INT does off-road, I would say, you can manage. You will miss long travel suspension, a lighter bike and some more ground clearance, but you will be able to wade along just fine.

[saishivaj]

Update

Simba (As I would like to call my INT) has not seen a lot of miles lately for obvious reason. Staying home and safe. The odo is hovering around the 11k km mark and I wanted to make it a little more touring friendly since I do plan some extremely long endurance rides when we see better days. So I got the following mods done:

1. Zana Saddle Stays and Rynox Nomad Saddle bag:

Since I removed my saree guard, grab rail and rear mudguard, I thought Zana saddle stays would be a good investment to load the luggage securely. Purchased them from the Zana website and the same was duly shipped. The quality of the saddle stays is pretty good. I did get rid of the Zana branding label since I found them loud for my taste :P

Due to the upswept exhaust, I had a limited selection of saddle bags and after trying out a couple, I finalised on the Rynox Nomad V2.1 Saddle Bags. Initial impressions is that, they sit well on the bike and hold up well at speeds. They have ample luggage space for my needs (<15 days of touring) and when combined with the tank bag, it is more than sufficient for my needs.

Here's some pictures of how they look. I really love the look of the bike now with the saddle stays

2. Tubeless tire conversion

One of my biggest gripes with the INT was the tube tires and have been waiting for RE to launch alloys. With no certain news on the that, I invested in the Way2Speed tubeless conversion kit. I ordered the kit directly from Melvin from Way2Speed on whatsapp. The sale was pretty straight forward and Melvin was very responsive to my repeated inquiries on the shipment despite lockdown. I got the kit installed in Bangalore at TopGear Thumpers who are trained by Way2Speed. Bhushan, a fellow INT owner installed the kit and I must point out the dedication and passion that Bhushan works with. He definitely went above and beyond to ensure I am satisfied with the conversion.

I do not have pictures of the installation but Bhushan was kind enough to send me some pictures during the conversion process.

While it is too early to comment on the success of the conversion, here are some thoughts:
a. Will have to continuously monitor for a few days to check for leaks.
b. Call it placebo, but I can definitely feel more of the tires now and hence can corner harder.
c. This conversion was primarily done for the peace of mind that comes with not having to deal with removing the tube in case of punctures when I am out in remote locations with limited access to resources. Also, many a puncture shops find it hard to remove the rear tyre which can be quite a challenge.

3. USB charger for phone

For those long endurance rides, I got a USB charger installed on the handlebar for 900 bucks. The charger seems to be of decent quality. Installation was pretty simply too and the charger works with the Ignition and engine kill switch.

Total cost of accessories/modifications:

Zana Saddle Stays: Rs. 1700
Rynox Nomad Saddle bags: Rs. 4900
Tubeless Conversion kit and Labour: Rs 5000 + Rs 1950
USB Charger: Rs. 900

I believe Simba is now fully ready for 1000+ km a day tours which I love doing.

I also clicked the rear suspension 3 notches up and now the bike feels absolutely wonderful even with a pillion. When I reported in my initial post about the rear bottoming out with a pillion, I was still on the factory settings. However, now with the adjustment, Simba is just so eager and sharp for lane changes and cornering.


Issues so far with Simba:

Wobbling: The handle bar wobbles vigorously between 80-100 kmph. Bhushan is on a relentless pursuit to sort this issue for me. This has been reported on multiple INT650s but the key issue couldn't be identified. We tried swapping rims and tires, balancing the wheels, adjusting the forks. Nothing has improved the situation. While it doesn't affect the riding dynamics too much, the wobble occurs only while decelerating and you will notice it only if you let go of the handlebar. Not advocating this, but we did this to check the magnitude of the wobble.

Apart from this, Simba has been super reliable and smooth despite my heavy hand on the throttle and not so gentle handling as well. Even with the unforeseen lockdowns, the battery didn't give up unlike my Classic 500 :P

[Captain Slow]

Hope you and the bike do well on your upcoming Sunday ride

[adwaith]

Thank you so much for this! This will be pretty helpful in understanding what's in store for me. It's just been 2 days since I began riding mine around.

I have a question regarding weight. I have ridden the Classic 350, Thunderbird and Dominar before, but primarily my Dad's Splendor. Do you get used to it? It scares me a bit during hairpin bends and I have the most trouble when moving very slowly on downward slopes. It has resulted in me dropping the bike thrice in two days.

Thanks!

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by adwaith

Do you get used to it? It scares me a bit during hairpin bends and I have the most trouble when moving very slowly on downward slopes. It has resulted in me dropping the bike thrice in two days.

Thanks!

Man you are thinking too much, i have been riding the GT 650 for one year, have covered around 4500 kms and i haven't felt the weight not a single time apart from when i have to push it myself. I'm 5'7 and weigh 61 kg, i'm slim and lean, and i don't find any issues.

Just enjoy riding the bike, don't think about it too much, on U turns make a long turn instead of a short one, don't apply sudden front brakes bike while making the turn as well.

[adwaith]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

Man you are thinking too much, i have been riding the GT 650 for one year, have covered around 4500 kms and i haven't felt the weight not a single time apart from when i have to push it myself. I'm 5'7 and weigh 61 kg, i'm slim and lean, and i don't find any issues.

Just enjoy riding the bike, don't think about it too much, on U turns make a long turn instead of a short one, don't apply sudden front brakes bike while making the turn as well.

Thank you for your reply! I have a follow up if you don't mind. There is a beeping noise that is coming from the bike mid journey. Initially I thought it was electronic but now I'm inclined to think it's mechanical. It isn't there throughout but comes and goes here and there.

There is only 50km on the odo but the vehicle had run 400km prior to delivery owing to issus with delivery during the lockdown and the lack of availability of the Baker Express colour in dealerships nearby. The dealeship told me that the first service can be done after 500km on the odo.

My friends tell me not to worry too much and to check the oil and of any lights are on the console and things seems fine. I'm not as familiar with bikes as I'm with cars and therefore any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by saishivaj

Buying Experience:

A new sense of enthusiasm sprighted in me and the first thing I did after arriving back home was to get the loan procedure started. I went with the showroom’s finance partner, IDFC. While the loan approval and all was hassle free, the finances were in no way transparent and to this day, I feel like I’ve been taken for a ride. This being my first big buy with my salary, I was naive and take this as a learning.

All the formalities were completed and the day arrived for me to receive the bike. March 15th 2019. My father, mother, sister, granddads and I arrived at the showroom at 3 PM, the time that they called us at. Once we arrived, we called for the sales advisor who asked us to be seated to get the delivery procedure started. The clock struck 4 PM and there was still no sign of the bike. At 4:15 PM when I asked the sales manager for updates, he told me there is an issue. He told me that some of the accessories that I asked for are missing and would arrive later. I obliged and said I have no issues with that and would take them later. During this, my eyes fell on the accessories list for my bike and I realised it was not the same list that I signed. Infact, different accessories were marked and my signature was forged. I immediately brought this to the manager’s notice who lashed at me saying this is what I chose. I then took the picture of the sheet as evidence and decided to take it up later since I didn’t want to ruin my experience. The bike arrived by 4:30 PM with some of the accessories. After some customary pictures, I started the bike only to realise that the Check Engine light was on. Again, I immediately brought it to the showroom’s notice who called for their technician.

The technician who arrived didn’t even take a look at the bike and asked me to come the next day. Feeling helpless, I rode the bike slowly to the temple, completed the customary pooja and parked it at home.

The next day, I arrived at the showroom at 11 AM to get that rectified. They directed me to the service center. The service center folks, after 3 hours of waiting, diagnosed the issue to a faulty O2 sensor. They said they have to replace the entire wiring harness under warranty. I agreed and asked them to do it in front of me and also give me an acknowledgement for the same, both of which they did not do. They forced me to leave saying it will take at least 6 hours to replace it. Regarding the acknowledgement, they first agreed to give and later backed out on their word.
At 6 PM that evening, they called me to collect the bike and didn’t show me the old harness and neither did they give the acknowledgement that I requested.

After giving them an earful, feeling helpless, I emailed RE who responded, although immediately, with their standard reply.
Anyways, since the check engine light was not showing anymore, I decided to skip the issue and continue with the ownership. It has been 10k km so far and I have not faced any issues with the bike.
In all, this has been the worst buying experience and would advise people against choosing Accelerate Motors, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore.

I must add that my delivery experience with Chamundi Enfield, Salem has been wonderful. They tracked down the bike from another dealership owing to issues with availability within two days and delivered within another two. Thereafter they have been frequently following up and have obliged to my every request. I would recommend to those near Salem that they go to Chamundi for their RE needs. I hear they have a Maruti Suzuki dealership too.

I will unfortunately not be able to solicit their services for vehicle maintenance and service since they are located at about 200km from where I currently am.

[nitinkbhaskar]

Originally Posted by saishivaj

However, I have gotten so used to the linearity and the tractability of the engine that I wish I had a couple of more horses between my legs. I wish it accelerated quicker like the Japanese/Italian/British twins. I wish it attained higher top speed with more ease. I didn’t have this feeling on my CBR250 or C500, both vastly slower than the INT650. Now all this, I associate to how easy the 47 horses felt to tame in the first place. The CBR and C500 while slower, the very fact that they had such less power, kept me wringing the throttle and keeping the engine on boil to keep pace and this diverted my attention from the actual performance to keeping the pace.

Congrats saishivaj on your beauty. My heart is really set on continental GT, but my wallet says otherwise
Anyways, I am now looking out for a pre-owned CBR and was enthralled reading the quoted part. Can you please elaborate a bit more on this and share your views on riding a ceeber vs a RE twin.