[srinath34]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

It is a good accessory for protection like you said. Thank you for reminding . When I bought the bike among the first few batches, RE didn't have that OE accessory in stock, somehow I have also kept procrastinating during my subsequent visits to the dealership(s) and forgotten during services. I'll try and remember to add it the next time I visit there.

Hope this is the bash plate you are referring to. Its a good accessory to have but ensure the RE guys install it properly and take a longish ride after installation. My friend's INT650 has a mild buzz after the installation of this bash plate. Not sure if the aftermarket options are better.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by srinath34

Hope this is the bash plate you are referring to. Its a good accessory to have but ensure the RE guys install it properly and take a longish ride after installation. My friend's INT650 has a mild buzz after the installation of this bash plate. Not sure if the aftermarket options are better.

Thanks for telling me about this Srinath
I'll definitely keep an eye out on these symptoms after installation. I'll be going only for the OE accessory in this case, not a fan of aftermarket guards and stuff unless there is no OE accessory available.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Thanks for telling me about this Srinath
.

Been using the bash plate right from Day one, simple design and does the job pretty well. Would suggest you to stick to the RE Sump Guard.

However the con is, you will need to remove the sump guard to access the Drain Bolt. In case you plan to change oils yourself keep that in mind. Apart from that minor inconvenience it meets the requirements. Plus lowering your GC by a few MM.

[bangaloreguy]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Thank you bangaloreguy, glad it helped you in some way.
Hearty congratulations on your booking, enjoy the agonizing wait now

Don't worry about the long gap, the Interceptor is a very un-intimidating motorcycle and is beginner friendly. You will enjoy the ownership and riding the bike. Happy mile munching, and do post a review of your opinions once you get it home!

I finally got my baker express yesterday. I cancelled my previous booking after waiting for 40 days. I booked again through MIY on the RE website and got it in 2 weeks. It really is very unintimidating and I felt at ease very quickly. I last owned an RD350 and it's been over 20 years since I owned a bike but the Interceptor 650 was too good to pass. I was longing to own a motorcycle again and there was no competition to RE at this price range. I installed the RE touring mirrors, seat, fly screen and sump guard and also purchased the RE jacket and helmet as I did not want to go to some other stores. The bike comes with Ceat tyres now.

Thanks again for a great review.

[AtheK]

Hey Karthik, just finished reading the entire thread in one go, this is gold level. I had been following the RE Twins from sometime, and did tail you as well in one of our meets to hear the exhaust note, but never considered it seriously.

Tables have turned by RE and they have a very competent product now, guess time approaches for me to turn the table too, and finally join the RE bandwagon, which I have personally never been a fan of. I took the test ride of the bike, but contrary to the popular opinion I found the brakes just about adequate, as a matter of fact the weakest link of the entire test ride experience. Now I know headlights are the weakest link though, couldn't test them then as I test rode in day time.

Pretty soon I plan to add one in my garage too, have been reading rumors of alloys being launched by February, not sure if we will have a model which comes factory fitted with alloys or it will only be sold as accessory. Need to wait and watch, additionally saw some new colors that might be launched, and the Gray Goose color has caught my eye, so that is another reason that might prolong the wait, or else I might go with Baker Express. Let's see when that happens, and then let's go for a ride together, it's been long we rode together.

[ManneAtWheelz]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Tables have turned by RE and they have a very competent product now

I completely agree on this, even now with the Meteor350 too

Originally Posted by AtheK

have been reading rumors of alloys being launched by February, not sure if we will have a model which comes factory fitted with alloys or it will only be sold as accessory.

I believe it will come as factory fitted and as accessory later

Originally Posted by AtheK

and the Gray Goose color has caught my eye, so that is another reason that might prolong the wait, or else I might go with Baker Express.

Spot on, +1 with the color choice of gray goose. I seriously liked this color followed by Baker Express

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by bangaloreguy

I finally got my baker express yesterday. I cancelled my previous booking after waiting for 40 days. I booked again through MIY on the RE website and got it in 2 weeks. It really is very unintimidating and I felt at ease very quickly. I last owned an RD350 and it's been over 20 years since I owned a bike but the Interceptor 650 was too good to pass. I was longing to own a motorcycle again and there was no competition to RE at this price range. I installed the RE touring mirrors, seat, fly screen and sump guard and also purchased the RE jacket and helmet as I did not want to go to some other stores. The bike comes with Ceat tyres now.

Apologies for the late reply, hearty congratulations on the delivery and wish you many miles of happy ownership and riding with your Interceptor. You're right - it is really unintimidating for new riders and puts one at ease as soon as you start riding it.

Thanks again for a great review.

Pleasure is mine sir. Glad to know it helped in some way.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Hey Karthik, just finished reading the entire thread in one go, this is gold level. I had been following the RE Twins from sometime, and did tail you as well in one of our meets to hear the exhaust note, but never considered it seriously.

Thanks a lot for your kind words AtheK

Tables have turned by RE and they have a very competent product now, guess time approaches for me to turn the table too, and finally join the RE bandwagon, which I have personally never been a fan of.

Reminds me of me after I took a test ride on the Int after a decade of hating the older REs due to their substandard riding experience(s) (no offense meant to purists).

I took the test ride of the bike, but contrary to the popular opinion I found the brakes just about adequate, as a matter of fact the weakest link of the entire test ride experience. Now I know headlights are the weakest link though, couldn't test them then as I test rode in day time.

Oh that is very strange. The brakes are in general, quite powerful and the bite force is more than adequate. Possible that the demo vehicle wasn't maintained properly?

Pretty soon I plan to add one in my garage too, have been reading rumors of alloys being launched by February, not sure if we will have a model which comes factory fitted with alloys or it will only be sold as accessory. Need to wait and watch, additionally saw some new colors that might be launched, and the Gray Goose color has caught my eye, so that is another reason that might prolong the wait, or else I might go with Baker Express. Let's see when that happens, and then let's go for a ride together, it's been long we rode together.

The alloy wheels rumour has been going on since more than a year now
I don't have much hope on that, if it comes we can consider it for the puncture situation advantages. Depends on how it will look though, some alloys can ruin the retro design symphony.

I wasn't aware of the Gray Goose color, do you have a picture of it that you can share here? Nice idea to choose that if it is something different from the existing models on the road.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Oh that is very strange. The brakes are in general, quite powerful and the bite force is more than adequate. Possible that the demo vehicle wasn't maintained properly?

I wasn't aware of the Gray Goose color, do you have a picture of it that you can share here? Nice idea to choose that if it is something different from the existing models on the road.

Probably the demo bike, but it was just 1500 kms old, have a few interceptor in apartment, few guys know me well, will probably try few kms on one of those bikes.

Attached are the new colors that are supposed to be launched, to be taken with pinch of salt, but seems to be very well rendered. If there is smoke, then there is generally a fire. Also as you rightly said a new color will help bike stand out for few months.

[bpapache]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Helmet: AGV K3 SV - in plain black gloss mono-colour pattern. Somehow I preferred a plain bald black helmet in glossy texture to go with the rest of the gear for this. I swapped the plain visor and use a dark smoke tinted visor for the daytime. For unearthly hours, I carry the clear visor in the tailbag and swap it out if needed.

Hi Karthik,

Fantastic review of a fantastic bike.
I loved all the three bike reviews you have written so far. Amazing write ups and specatcular photos.

Your gararge is a candy land for me

With respect to the helmet, I would like to know where you purchased it from. I'm from Bangalore too. Can you please share the shop name or the website? It would be very helpful.

PS: I searched the thread for this detail. I couldn't find it.

Thanks. Happy riding.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by bpapache

Hi Karthik,

Fantastic review of a fantastic bike.
I loved all the three bike reviews you have written so far. Amazing write ups and specatcular photos.

Your gararge is a candy land for me

Thanks. Happy riding.

Thank you for your kind words, glad you liked the reviews

With respect to the helmet, I would like to know where you purchased it from. I'm from Bangalore too. Can you please share the shop name or the website? It would be very helpful.

PS: I searched the thread for this detail. I couldn't find it.

Ah yes I seem to have missed putting up the source for this purchase.
I picked this helmet up at Orion riding store, Koramagala (opposite Forum mall). You can try there, and you can also look at the Dainese-AGV riding store on Lavelle road. They have some discounts on their helmet portfolio running currently.

[KarthikK]

Maintenance update at ~12,000 km / 24 months: Rear brake pad replacement + Front brake fluid flush

The actual oil and filter change service was done in September last year, and as per the service schedule, now just an inspection service was due in 6 months. I didn't have any major issues or surprise niggles as such, the bike has been doing some highway rides and breakfast rides and performed as expected so far.

However, one thing I started noticing of late was the front brake lever started progressively feeling a bit spongy. I attributed this to either the brake fluid age and getting dirty, or else when they serviced the bike last time they have silently done some 'topup' work and introduced air into the system.

The inspection service (once in 6 months which I normally skip) was anyway due this month, so I took the opportunity to do a quick visit to set things right on the front brake front. Meanwhile the last time around, the service rep had told me the rear brake pads were on their way out in ~1000 km, so I attended to that also.

Spongy front brakes since the past few months



They have replaced the brake fluid and bled to ensure there is no air inside. The lever feel feedback is back to old normal now



All new brake pads at the rear! They cost around 2250 now for a pair





The trivial tasks were handled very quickly by the RE brand store service centre, and both the issues are sorted now. They also said they cleaned the T-Stem after noticing a lot of dirt there. Here's a copy of the invoice:



The total bill amount was ~INR 2675. What I wasn't happy about was the unnecessary charges added for things I had not asked for - chain clean and lube (I do this myself at home obviously) and some irrelevant rust cleaner nonsense . This was not a routine service, so they ought to have asked me before adding their 'routine services' checklist to this job card. Since they had already done those tasks, I just gave them an earful and left it at that.

Another reason is I hate the Motul chain lube they use, which is a dirty chain lube, spraying all over the rear wheel and later attracts dust during rides to form a thick tar-like sludge all over the rear wheel over time! Due to this ocd, I actually removed it and re-sprayed my preferred non-fling putoline chain spray after returning home

The updated maintenance log sheet looks like this now. All set for some more thousands of maintenance-free kilometres of riding now.



The Interceptor has a few nice long rides coming up, starting with this weekend. Until my next update, ciao!

[KarthikK]

Daytrip ride to the Nilgiris (05.02.21):

A ride to the Nilgiris was on the cards ever since TN eased restrictions on their hill stations for visiting travellers. Single day trips to Ooty were a regular affair for us up until the pandemic struck, with us frequently visiting Ooty, savouring some delicious continental food, picking up some fresh veggies and dairy (cheese) and returning home by night. This was almost always by car though.

This time around, I decided to take the bike and was doing it solo (without pillion) on a weekday. Since the elder sibling Ninja just had its share of highway trips over the past two weeks, and because my office commutes are still yet to start, I decided to give the Interceptor this exercise. BHPians ebmrajesh and rbp decided to join me on their Ninja 1000 and Ninja 650 respectively.

The original plan was to use Mysore road for onward journey and Mettupalyam - Mettur - Thoppur single lane highway to reach home. Unfortunately we got delayed owing to traffic in the hills when descending, and so we decided to take the Avinashi - Salem expressway to make up for lost time with higher average speeds. The road was good for most part after Mysore. Bangalore - Mysore road is in tatters and is extremely annoying to ride on. I won't be hitting that highway anytime soon, thanks to the authorities for the condition it is in now!

Route map



Waiting for ebmrajesh to sync-up at 4.30am on a chilly winter morning, before we headed out to join rbp who was waiting at Mysore road



Stopping at Kamat Madhuvan, Mysore for some steaming hot Idlis and Vadas in the morning cold





Another short break at CCD, Gundlupet after some lovely single lane roads



Mid-day snack - we carried along a Chocolate Hazelnut cake loaf to add some sweetness to the ride, literally!



Stopping for a break after the Bandipur - Mudumalai forest checkpost. For those of you wondering if we need an E-Pass to enter TN via the Masinagudi route to Ooty, the short answer is yes. We were asked for the E-Pass and asked to sign at the border checkpost register with the E-Pass details. There is no mobile network in the forest so don't try to rely on ad-hoc E-pass applications at the border. It just takes two minutes on the phone and it is better to keep that document ready while approaching this border. I had fortunately taken a printout along.





Ninja guru ebmrajesh and his widely travelled Ninja 1000



rbp's immaculately maintained Ninja 650 which is almost a decade old now!





The Interceptor reiterated on this ride once again, on why it is such an enjoyable motorcycle to ride no matter what the riding conditions are. It is so simple, compact, chuckable and agile in the twisties with tons and tons of low end grunt for all those hooligan overtakes, and the wind-in-the-face feeling just plasters a smile on the face after every ride. It is an epitome of simple, retro, unadulterated motorcycling sans too many complexities. Of course, I cannot say this bike is the best tool for long distance expressway cruising at very high speeds and for long durations, owing to the wind blast, the bouncy rear suspension and the narrow seat which take away a bit of fun, but it is still so much of a fun bike for 90% of use cases one can put the bike through, and come out on top. Coincidentally this weekend the Interceptor completed 2 fun-filled years in my garage, with many more to come.



Stopping at a picturesque point en route to Coonoor





We stopped for lunch as planned, at The Culinarium, a place famous for some incredibly tasty continental food and gourmet desserts. Since it was a weekday, we were the only ones at the place. We must have spent a good 2 hours here! This picture was from the parking lot though.



The tables here have such a pretty view of the valley



The view from the table



If you look closely, our three bikes can be seen from the table as well, lol!



Being a hardcore foodie, I'm going to spam some pictures of the lovely food as well, on this post







Their signature pot-pies were to die for





Desserts anyone? These were addictively delicious too!





After a sumptuous lunch, we descended the Nilgiris onto the Mettupalyam - Annur - Avinashi single lane road and then took the Coimbatore - Bangalore expressway to hit home by 9pm almost. It was a warm afternoon / evening after the hills were over and didn't even feel like winter.


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!



A closer look at Motul’s chain lube Art!



Motul chain lube versus Turtle wax quick detailer!



A wash and wax session later, followed by a chain lube with Putoline's DX11 non-fling chain spray fixed the rear wheel mess, plus brought the bike back to original shine levels. Ready for the next ride!



710 km of riding on a mix of bad roads, single lane highways, twisties in the hills and flat out expressways, in under 16 hours, including 3-4 breaks. With the narrow seat and the excessive wind blast of a short naked bike, this was pretty neat to pull off and I wasn't even cramping too much at the end of it. I also got to test the Maddog LED headlights very well this time on the highway return journey, and I am impressed with how easily I am able to keep good speeds in excess of a ton thanks to the improved visibility in the night. More riding to follow in the weeks to come.



Until my next update, ciao!

[ManneAtWheelz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Daytrip ride to the Nilgiris (05.02.21):

This time around, I decided to take the bike and was doing it solo (without pillion) on a weekday.

Nice pics Karthikk including the food pics, loved them all. Why not taking a ride on your recent priced possesion Himalayan? I know you enjoyed the trip on INT650 but is it just because you are doing the trip as Solo?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by ManneAtWheelz

Nice pics Karthikk including the food pics, loved them all.

Thanks a lot for the kind words

Why not taking a ride on your recent priced possesion Himalayan? I know you enjoyed the trip on INT650 but is it just because you are doing the trip as Solo?

Three reasons:

- The Himalayan is getting its own share of proper 2-up trips in the coming weekends, and a bigger multi-day tour planned in the near future. That thread will see a lot of trip updates too, in the days to come, lol!

- The interceptor was primarily a city bike for me, and because of the forced work from home now, I am having to try and give it some exercise every now and then, by sharing highway workload with the Ninja, at least until office opens up. Rides like these where the better half didn’t join, are good use cases for the Interceptor to take over and add some variety to the riding experiences it brings in.

- The other two riders joining me for this ride had big displacement Ninjas and I for sure wouldn’t have been able to keep up with them on a Himalayan on such a long distance of 700+ km, with its limited highway speeds The interceptor can easily keep up with the big boys if need be.

[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.