[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Motul chain lube Art! All thanks to the RE service centre folks who sprayed this much-hated (for me) stupid chain lube, in spite of me telling them not to mess with it. It splattered this horrible tar-like sludge all over the rear wheel which took me 1 full hour to get rid of!

Until my next update, ciao!

We're hooked to your escapades!

I experienced the same once RE sprayed their lube, after wash they put the vehicle in 1st gear and apply it from the outside just before delivery. Second time I paid for the chain adjust & lube but stopped them from spraying that mess!

I used this product and was pretty satisfied. I'm yet to open the front sprocket cover and clean that area! Did you try that?

I'm using the Maxima Chain wax and it's decent enough, much better than Motul or RE branded one (I read somewhere it's made by Glosil)

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Hi
Nice photos karthik. Will keep the restaurant in the check list for my next trip. Bit surprised though about your comment on using your interceptor for regular city rides. I test rode interceptor in varying conditions and did not enjoy it one bit in the city traffic plus the wide turning radius makes it difficult to manoeuvre. I found Himalayan and other 500cc RE much easier to handle than interceptor. Or am I wrong about this.

I have conveyed my thoughts on Interceptor vs Himalayan for city usage on this post in the Himalayan's ownership thread :
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post4969105

My logical preference for the Interceptor (in city) follows due to the ease of riding a short and compact, low-slung (centre of gravity), more refined bike with double the power and torque (compared to classic 500 / Himalayan). Plus better brakes, lesser need to shift gears, lighter clutch, runs less hotter and offers better all-round visibility while riding in tight traffic gaps. Some of my views may be due to the fact that I am tall (6'1"+), and the nature of my city usage - some of the areas I use the bike on are filled with fast, open roads and sometimes crazy traffic jams - both extremes and everything in between.

The Himalayan is best enjoyed when out travelling. It is a simple travel-anywhere oriented motorcycle, which is where it shines, rather than commuting inside the city. Not that it cannot handle urban duties if forced to. It can. But it cannot match the Interceptor in many areas that I have listed out, and most of those strengths are prevalent in city traffic life.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

We're hooked to your escapades!

They're too short to create travelogue threads, so I decided to put posts itself on the respective vehicles' threads to save those memories

I experienced the same once RE sprayed their lube, after wash they put the vehicle in 1st gear and apply it from the outside just before delivery. Second time I paid for the chain adjust & lube but stopped them from spraying that mess!

I used this product and was pretty satisfied. I'm yet to open the front sprocket cover and clean that area! Did you try that?

Thanks for the reference, I'll try it next time around.
I am yet to get the front sprocket area cleaned. I'll do that some time. Good idea.

I'm using the Maxima Chain wax and it's decent enough, much better than Motul or RE branded one (I read somewhere it's made by Glosil)

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz

I think the RE branded lube is actually rebadged Motul chain lube. 2 years ago I had brought that RE kit home and tried it once, it produced the same tar sludge and I stopped using it on the bike after that. Managed to finish the remaining RE lube by using it on my bicycle .

Maxima chain wax and chain guard are both very nice, I have used them extensively for a long time now. For the Interceptor I was trying this new DX11 chain spray from Putoline and I seem to like it. It is colorless (unlike Maxima chain wax's gold color) and almost odourless, does not fling at all, plus lasts a bit longer than Maxima when there is a mix of weather conditions (wet + dry + dusty). Maxima chain wax is great for dry weather but seems to go away sooner when used in rains, etc (I still use it on the Ninja though, always)

[yesyeswe]

Since you have a fair amount of knowledge of chain lubrication, how was your experience of using gear oil? Many people have recommend it online, but i want a real user review. I am guessing you might have used it.

I have a RE GT 650 and i have been using my old can of motul lube and then cleaning the rim afterwards was thinking of experimenting with gear oil but your review of putoline has confused me.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

Since you have a fair amount of knowledge of chain lubrication, how was your experience of using gear oil? Many people have recommend it online, but i want a real user review. I am guessing you might have used it.

I haven't used gear oil on these three motorcycles, but I have ridden other bikes which had gear oil working as chain lube.

It will work out cheaper and do the job, but it will fling all over the rear wheel area, worse than motul's chain lube . It doesn't last too long either, needs more frequent lubing (perhaps 300-400km) because it all gets flung out soon at higher speeds I guess.

I have a RE GT 650 and i have been using my old can of motul lube and then cleaning the rim afterwards was thinking of experimenting with gear oil but your review of putoline has confused me.

From my experience, I would recommend Putoline or Maxima any day if you want to see the rear wheel area clean and get some decent lubing mileage along with that. Eventually, any of these will work but the preference just boils down to the aftermath / mess needing clean up, which I personally hate seeing and cleaning when there is a better way out

[dinu2506]

Interestingly, I've never faced this problem with Motul Chain lube on my Bonnie since last 5 years. Of course, my rides are mostly within city, but never had the kind of splattering you have shown in the photo. Curious as to why

[neil.jericho]

Lovely ride update KarthikK. It reminded me of the day long rides that I used to go for when I was in Bangalore. With adjustable suspension, your Interceptor will become even more fun in the twisties.

I wonder which bike will be wheeled out for this weekend's adventures!

Originally Posted by dinu2506

Interestingly, I've never faced this problem with Motul Chain lube on my Bonnie since last 5 years. Of course, my rides are mostly within city, but never had the kind of splattering you have shown in the photo. Curious as to why

Motul's chain lube is pretty (in)famous for such artistic designs on the rear wheel. Ive been using it for a decade or so and I've always suffered from it. One way out is to clean and lube the bike at least a day in advance of a long ride and to leave it standing for 24 hours. That might reduce some of the splatter on the rear wheel. Im experimenting with Motul's chain paste right now. It avoids all the mess but its tough to apply as you have to use a lot of force to get it onto the chain.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I am yet to get the front sprocket area cleaned. I'll do that some time. Good idea.

Bringing this up in your thread, as we wait for the tyre issue to settle on the 650 twin thread.

Pretext: One year of ownership was completed for my INT650 and the odo has more than 6,500 kms on it. Furthermore, with the increase in Covid cases in MH-12 (Pune) and the increase in ambient temperatures, weekend rides took a backseat. Let's clean the front sprocket area this Sunday!

All set and when I sat in front of the gear lever, realized that I don't have an 8mm open spanner to loosen the pinch bolt. Can't use the socket heads here, as the silencer down pipe obstructs it. Luckily got one from the building security!

Rest was simple, systematic and messy. I'll just add some tips and let the pictures show the process & results,
- mark the gear lever pinch bolt or measure reference or take pictures before removing it
- use gloves as it gets messy
- try to save the parking
- spray the cleaner/de-greaser and wait
- cover the silencer down pipe when cleaning
- keep some rags that you don't mind discarding after cleaning the mess


Let's do it. You need 5 mm allen key/socket head to open the cover's 3 bolts. If you use a rachet handle, you'll need an extender for the lower bolts. I've a Taparia 1/4" Rachet Tool set. For allen keys (from the bike's toolkit) you may need something longer to leverage if the bolts are stuck.


The dot marks the slot. Use a marker but be careful with all the cleaner around, you might wipe out your marking (I wiped it out!)


Welcome inside, not that bad. Sprocket much cleaner than anticipated.


This is dirty, scrape off the lumps and then clean the fine particles.


Work in progress. RE could have found a better way to route these pipes and wiring!


The cleaner, you can use kerosene or any chain cleaner.


Clean


Cleaned and wiped dry

Took almost an hour, plus 30 minutes dry cleaning the bike. This should be done after 6 months or after monsoons depending on your riding. Not worth any time sooner.

When you clean such places the respect for lubing minimal increases. I just showed the lube spray can to the chain
Remember less is more, don't go crazy with the lube next time.

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz

[ManneAtWheelz]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Pretext: One year of ownership was completed for my INT650 and the odo has more than 6,500 kms on it

Looking at the engine this close, I felt it like a Old gen 350 bullet
Coming to the cleaning, it looks fantastic now post the work. A thorough work and job done neat and clean I say

[KarthikK]

Ownership update at 33 months / 13,000 km up!

It's been a while since I updated this thread, thanks to the second wave induced lockdowns and the somewhat lesser number of rides on the Interceptor due to the other two garage siblings hogging most of the highway duties after travel opened up in July.

While it was being used in the city for urban errands every now and then, highway miles were mostly limited to breakfast rides on weekends that we weren't travelling on proper trips. In other news, blow to the usage patterns, my workplace has made work from home permanent for the foreseeable future. This means I will no longer be able to use this bike for office commutes going forward. I will have to find opportunities to use the Interceptor only on highway solo trips, breakfast rides and single day trips going ahead.

Moving on to the maintenance front, it was time for the annual routine service for the Interceptor, I scheduled it for earlier this month and got the oil and oil filter change done. Plus, I got the air filter and clutch cable replaced preventively. It turned out the air filter was quite clogged in 8000+ km of usage. There were no other new niggles in this one year of ownership, but for one minor issue with the taillight bulb (not the brake light) which used to flicker intermittently at times. This bulb was also replaced.

Due to some mistake by the RE service centre the last time I got the brake pads replaced at the rear end, they mistakenly used up a service coupon that time although it was not a service per se. They noticed this themselves and charged me for the fourth free service coupon reinstatement, and claimed it would cost much lesser than going for a paid service this time around. The invoice looks like this for the fourth service



After the fourth service, the maintenance timeline looks like this now



That is all I have on the maintenance front for now. The front brake pads should last me another 2000 km or so, and the tyres will soon be up for replacement. Due to the spiralling costs of imported tyre brands, I'd most likely be going for Ceat Zoom Cruz tyres when replacement comes up in the next 2000 km or so.


Daytrip Ride to Yercaud for Mirchi Bajjis

September is a wonderful time to ride, the places are all green, rains stop intermittently, water bodies are all recharged and the weather is often sunny and bright. On one of the last weekends in September, I ventured out with BHPians deepfreak15 and ebmrajesh for a 650 twins ride to Yercaud with no other intention than to ride up the hill and savour some piping hot Mirchi Bajjis next to Yercaud lake. Of course, we also had some fun riding through the 32km loop road, enjoyed some fresh air and pastries in the open air Cauvery Peak Cafe before returning. We were up and down the hill in a few hours and back to Bangalore well before dusk. Since I am a self proclaimed foodie, I will spam some pictures of the ride and the food during this ride before ending this post.

Stopping for breakfast buffet at CJ Pallazio hotel, Salem





Ascending Yercaud



The Interceptor stopping for a break at one of the hairpins halfway up



ebmrajesh trying his hand at the committed posture of deepfreak15's Continental GT 650



The whole purpose of the ride - the roadside stalls next to Yercaud lake which are famous for the Mirchi Bajjis





Yercaud Loop road - narrow but enjoyable with an agile bike





Rider's point of view



Group shots







Bike individual shots - ebmrajesh's silver Interceptor, deepfreak15's continental GT and my own Interceptor







Cauvery peak cafe's open air and rustic ambience





Mint cheese sandwiches with brownie and chocolate caramel cake anyone?







On the return journey we skipped lunch and stopped just once at Saravana Bhavan, Krishnagiri for an evening snack of lovely Dosas and Vada





It was a fantastic daytrip ride and fortunately we didn't encounter any rains on that day. We were home in under 11 hours with ~500 km on the clock.



More trips lined up in the days to come. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

[Mr.Ogre]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Ownership update at 33 months / 13,000 km up!

!

Just wow!! I love blogs with lots of food pictures. I was in Bangalore from 2009 - 2012 and I have pleasant memories of my rides. Good job mate. Hoping to see and read more of your experiences.

[KarthikK]

Daytrip Ride to Charmadi ghat via Mudigere, a.k.a Neer Dosa Ride (late October)

Updating this thread with a couple of rides I have managed to do in the recent days - Largely relegated to occasional highway duty now (thanks to permanent WFH), the Interceptor has been clocking at least one long highway trip every month for the past few months; Whenever I went solo I chose the Interceptor. In late October, fellow Interceptor riders ebmrajesh and his friend joined me while we rode to the beautiful mountain range of Charmadi ghat to admire the beauty of the post-monsoon sights and sounds of this part of the western ghats. Of course, we had to also savour delicious Neer Dosa at Ibbani cafe, quite a ritual for me whenever I pass through the Mudigere - Banakal zone. Leaving this thread with a few pictures from this ride

Waiting at Nice road exit for the other two to catch up



Stopping for a break amidst coffee estates near Mudigere



The beautiful silly smooth and scenic roads of Charmadi ghat - a delight to ride on!





The breathtaking sights of the western ghats on both sides of Charmadi ghat road





My Interceptor enjoying the roads of Charmadi





The full trio









We stopped at Ibbani cafe, Banakal for their famous Neer dosa. This turned out to be a makeshift lunch meal too since it was some awkward early noon time that we reached there.



The bikes at Ibbani cafe



The return ride was a complete washout, with heavy rains all the way from Channarayapatna to Nelamangala. We needed complete rain gear for this return journey and took a short break at Empire / Vegetarea in Kunigal before attacking the rain-logged roads again to make our way home.



Piping hot Bonda-soup in the heavy rains



This enjoyable daytrip ride clocked around 650km in just under 12 hours of riding, doorstep to doorstep.



Ride to Chikmagalur (late November)

In late November, a couple of my childhood friends and their families, not BHPians, were planning a trip to Chikmagalur for an overnight weekend stay. I wanted to take the Ninja for this ride, but my better half had a ton of office work all through November and had to drop out of all the November and December trip plans. Since the equation changed to a solo trip, I decided to give the Interceptor some exercise in November and took this one instead.

The Viaterra Raptor tailbag which has been faithfully serving me since ~3 years now, first as an office bag and later as a daytrip / breakfast ride tailbag, now proves its worth by being handy even for short overnight trips. The expandable storage compartments are useful to stretch the storage capacity and all of one night's luggage + camera and gopro kit easily fitted into one tailbag, neat product and nicely integrated bungee cord setup saves a ton of time when mounting and unmounting the bag. This is one product which I really feel is fantastic and served multiple purposes and is very durable too.



Stopping for a break near Belur



Some random sights from a hillock near the homestay where we went for a short hike







The Interceptor in the front porch outside Coffee valley homestay, Chikmagalur





This short weekend trip clocked around 575 km to round up November's riding

[KarthikK]

End of an Era - February 2022

It is with mixed feelings that I have to write this post to inform about the sale / upgrade / swap of my Interceptor 650 Swiss army knife, to a somewhat better Swiss army knife in the market .

All along I was happy with the three bike garage model at home - the Ninja 1000 for those thrilling long weekend trips, the Interceptor 650 for urban duties + commuting and occasional solo rides and of course the Himalayan took care of leisurely weekend rides and off-the-beaten-path routes.

Post-covid, my urban usage of the bikes reduced to almost zero, and my workplace as well as a side hustle both don't need me to commute to the workplace anymore. I had mentioned in some of the earlier posts too that I was having to find excuses to keep using the Interceptor at least once a month. Meanwhile I had absolutely no complaint on the Himalayan and that bike was easily clocking miles on weekend trips (considering I mostly tour 2-up).

Some pictures from recent breakfast rides on the Interceptor 650





I used to always say over the past year of reduced usage, if there could ever exist a Himalayan 650, then maybe this Interceptor's role might get redundant and I could consolidate the two bike roles into a single bike to do better justice and kill both birds with one stone. So in essence this purchase is more of a consolidation of the two RE bikes into one single bike rather than seeking an outright upgrade.

That brings me to the next part of this update - I did find one bike which can take on both the Interceptor and Himalayan and beat or match both on almost all significant factors and better them both on some other counts too! I had briefly considered the bike when it launched in early 2021 but it was so prohibitively expensive that I couldn't even venture near the showroom for a test ride. Come January, I took a test ride with my better half in tow and both of us were blown away by the sheer simplicity and perfection of the bike on almost every factor which the two REs were satisfying. And it was even more refined, even more comfortable, even more reliable and an internationally proven product to boot.

In February there was a price correction for this product and so we finally bit the bullet. The consolidation plan eventually happened - we sold both the Interceptor and the Himalayan, clubbed the two and bought a Honda Himalayan with the power of an Interceptor, the reliability and refinement of a Japanese bike and a reputation of being one of the best entry level adventure tourers in the world.

Yours truly and my better half welcoming home the very capable adventure tourer to help us do more enjoyable trips and rides - the Honda CB500X in Grand Prix Red!



The red Jap joins another Jap missile to complete our touring oriented garage for a long time to come



Sharing garage space with the Japanese elder sibling from Kawasaki





Just a day before the RE siblings departed, this was the last picture of the trio before they were separated .



Just to put my entire consolidation thoughts into a tangible form as to why I traded both the REs and got myself a Honda CB500X, here is a table with different aspects and how the Honda simply shines in almost every aspect, building on the weaknesses of the other two and therefore proves itself to be a better Swiss army knife (multi-purpose weapon).



I'll bring out a separate ownership thread on the Honda CB500X after a few thousand kilometres of usage as I always take time to observe and pen down my experiences over a slightly longer duration of usage, rather than post a review in a hurry immediately after purchase and risk missing out on some important aspects.


For now, I end this thread with this lovely picture shot by BHPian and friend deepfreak15, thereby thanking the Interceptor 650 for 3 years of lovely memories, enjoyable rides and trouble-free ownership experience through and through. This bike will definitely be missed!

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

[i][b]Yours truly and my better half welcoming home the very capable adventure tourer to help us do more enjoyable trips and rides - the Honda CB500X in Grand Prix Red!
Attachment 2277219

Congratulations on the HONDA!! Looking forward to your dictionary on the CB500X.

[Sebring]

Congrats on a very capable bike there. Look forward to your ownership review

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Yours truly and my better half welcoming home the very capable adventure tourer to help us do more enjoyable trips and rides - the Honda CB500X in Grand Prix Red!