[no_fear]

Sweet ride!!!

Many congratulations on the new baby and yes, anything in red is always awesome to own. Be it Brit-Indian or Italian, red is the way.

First Athek and now you. Neil.Jericho really started a movement with RE ownership. I hope you get to enjoy some more rides on it before monsoon and Covid 3rd wave puts a dampener on everyone's riding plans.

Why doesn't RE have any S sized helmets? This is most curious. Usually S and M are the most common sizes.

ps. What's the background story of your missus not liking Kawasaki? Would love to hear this.

[mugen_pinaki27]

Splendid review Sir. I, too, was bowled over by the looks and performance of the 650 twins. My test ride on the Interceptor 650 was nothing less than awesome. Am eagerly waiting for the Himalayan 650 which is going to be revealed in the near future.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

I asked around in international forums and was told European and Australian 2021 models come with the snorkel. But Im still curious why some models have it and some dont.

It has to do with meeting emissions requirements. India should be heading down this road soon. NZ RE have been doing this for a while for their export motorcycles. It is a form of exhaust gas recirculation.

My 2020 Interceptor has it. I am based in New Zealand. RE dealers usually get their bikes and parts shipped from Australia. Emission rules might be similar.

From what I could make of the plumbing, the nozzle runs from the engine, down under the fuel tank (appears to run upwards and into it midway) and joins just below the fuel pump below the tank. Its an odd place to route this as ideally it should go into the air intake between the EFI module and cylinder intake. An engineer from RE can answer why they have done it this way.

Unless it is being restrictive of some kind, I don't see the point in removing it. It will also be illegal though the chances of anyone tracing that is unlikely. It may also trip a code on your ecu. Too much of a headache for something that does not hinder the operation of the vehicle.

Here's what it looks like.


Beautiful red bike you got there.

[nitinkbhaskar]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

As far as I can remember I have always loved Cafe Racers. Many years ago if someone had given me a blank cheque and told me I could buy any motorcycle I fancied, I would have picked up the Triumph Thruxton RS.

Congrats deepfreak15 for GT650.
Its a stonker of a bike. It was on top of my list when I was in market.
Also nice sets of mods there. Totally gels with the bike

Looking at your red machine, I am missing my first bike (red Honda Stunner). Bikes and red are match made in heaven

Keep her waxed up and I am sure she will always make you turn whenever you park and walk away.

Wishing you tons of mile and fun !!

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

What's your take on the handle grips? Off late I've started to dislike them and ordered the Grip puppies, yet to put them on! Trip machine is another option.

Forgot to respond to this query yesterday. I find the stock grips the perfect size for my hand. I can easily accelerate and cover the front brake lever at the same time. Any thicker and that would be a challenge. As cool as the Tripmachine grips look they need to go through a break in period and they are very slippery when new. There is no way Im going to put myself through that risk. Also I always use gloves so I am ok with the stock grips.

Originally Posted by ss11011988

Congratulations on the acquisition of Continental GT650

Got the spokes tightened up......The guy asked me to get it done every 3000 km or so, and said it's a common issue with the RE bikes.

Thank you very much and yeah I cannot see myself having to do that every 3k km. This makes the 17" conversion all the more compelling.

Originally Posted by Torino

Red looks the best in the current lineup of GT650. Must say, RE has one of the best lineup of riding gears.

Thank you very much, yup I love all their riding gear. Did try the M size in a couple of other models and they were too lose. Will see if this particular model comes on display soon and try it

Originally Posted by no_fear

anything in red is always awesome to own. Be it Brit-Indian or Italian, red is the way.

Thank you very much. You have no idea how upset I was when I was told I could get my Italian in any colour as long as it was white!

Originally Posted by no_fear

Neil.Jericho really started a movement with RE ownership...

I am a true blue RE fanboi. Grew up sitting on the tank of one to riding them so that brand always holds a special place in my heart. They can do no wrong . Heck I even got into the stock market just so I could buy their shares too. The only other motorcycle brand that can do no wrong for me is KTM. Sadly my better half sees that brand in a completely different light.

Originally Posted by no_fear

Why doesn't RE have any S sized helmets? This is most curious. Usually S and M are the most common sizes.

Our resident RE expert (Neil) seems to think RE might have to pay extra to stock S as it might have a different shell size than M. By the way I thought I was in the rare group of S and always assumed M was the most common. Glad to hear im part of a larger group.

Originally Posted by no_fear

ps. What's the background story of your missus not liking Kawasaki? Would love to hear this.

The day I find out I will definitely let you know. KTM I know because it has its roots embedded in the hooligan crowd or "chapri"in our part of the world. Kawasaki I havent figured it out, but hey I consider myself really blessed that if I grab the car keys the Mrs insists we go riding so if the home minister says no Kawasaki , no Kawasaki it is! But I really need to figure out what to do if KTM decides to launch the 1290 Super duke in India.

Originally Posted by mugen_pinaki27

Splendid review Himalayan 650 which is going to be revealed in the near future.

Thank you very much, I wouldnt hold my breath on RE launching a 650 Himalayan but there is always hope.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

It has to do with meeting emissions requirements. India should be heading down this road soon.
Unless it is being restrictive of some kind, I don't see the point in removing it.

You are right, however only yesterday I learnt the Austrian EU5 bikes dont get this either. So I am guessing RE has found an alternate solution. There is no performance gain to be had by removing it. Some say it helps reduce the pops and crackles on the over runs but I live for that noise. The only reason I considered it was because of three words: Lockdown, Online Shopping!

Originally Posted by nitinkbhaskar

Congrats deepfreak15 for GT650.
Its a stonker of a bike.

Thank you very much for your kind words.

[neil.jericho]

Here is a picture of deepfreak15 trying on my Continental GT 535 for size, when we met in 2019.

The spark was already lit by then! The Continental GT 650 was inevitable. The only question was the colour. And after all the trials and tribulations with the initial booking, deepfreak15 ended up with the best colour scheme on the Continental GT 650. The Man Up There works in mysterious ways.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Though Im not the biggest fan of some of the new colours that we launched, Royal Enfield has absolutely nailed it, with this red.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

I always suspected there was a vested interest, this just proved it!

I saw the mistake after I typed it and had half a mind to login and report my post to the mods for a correction. But then I remembered that its best not to let the truth get in the way of a good story and I left it as is!

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

This is interesting, what does professor Neil has to say about it?

It baffled me but sandeepmohan's explanation makes sense. I didnt know that Australia has a different set of emissions regulations. This is something to read up on in my spare time.

Originally Posted by Sudarshan42

Yet another reason why we need alloys (that are also aesthetically pleasing)! RE, are you listening? (pretty sure they're not, or something else is stopping them from introducing it as an accessory)

Sadly, a lot of us are sitting on our fixed deposits and pulling out grey hairs while wondering when Royal Enfield will pull the trigger and offer alloys for the 650 twins. It has been in the pipeline for so long that its become annoying.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

The day I find out I will definitely let you know. KTM I know because it has its roots embedded in the hooligan crowd or "chapri"in our part of the world.

Sounds about right.

[KarthikK]

From watching you rave about cafe racers and drooling at every continental GT which passed by, to that customary picture of yourself sitting on one in the RE brand store in Goa, it was pretty evident you would end up with one sooner or later Congratulations and wishing you lovely smiles while you munch miles with your own Cafe racer!

Brilliant thread and really lovely color to complement the character of this bike. You should shoot both the Multi 950 and the red continental side by side sometime, it will make for a lovely picture.

Looking forward to all the tasteful modifications you have planned for your 650 and drooling at the lovely list of modifications already done on the bike. This would be one 650 modification thread to watch out for!

[deepfreak15]

Got the Booster plug after it spent a week at customs. Installation is a 2 minute job. I havent ridden anywhere yet but the exhaust note sounds crisper and when revving from idle the response "seems" quicker. All this could be just my imagination but previously with just the filter and exhaust set up there was a distinct burnt/unburnt smell in the exhaust gases and that has disappeared.

Unplug the stock connection and plug in the respective lines from the Booster plug

Would have loved to mount the sensor under the headlight and the line might be long enough but wasnt in the mood to remove the tank and try.

There is enough room above the airbox to place the plug, will stick it in place with 2 way tape shortly.

This had dislodged itself on my last ride and I found it nestled in my rider footpeg holding Wasnt easy putting it back in, so one thing to keep an eye out on every ride now typical RE

[elitei20]

Hi can you please tell how much you paid to customs? i’m planning to order few stuff from UK for my GT 650..

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by elitei20

Hi can you please tell how much you paid to customs? i’m planning to order few stuff from UK for my GT 650..

If this helps.. I paid 4887(Customs)+30(This was added by the post office as some fee)

[silentstorm]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

These are just early days of ownership with the second lockdown having put a stop to most of the riding season

Congratulations! That looks smashing. Enjoyed reading your posts as much as the photography. I see what you did there with the GT behind bars. ; ) Welcome to the club.

[deepfreak15]

After installing the booster plug and completing the trifecta (Fuel, Inlet air and exhaust) mods I thought Id ride for a while before I updated the thread with my experience so far however I have only done a couple of city runs and thats not much to go by. Throttle response seems to have improved and the bike does not get bogged down if I whack the throttle open from 3K rpm at a higher gear (3rd and 4th). On a disappointing note the dead spot when rev matching still exists and its intermittent so not sure what gives.

Originally Posted by silentstorm

Congratulations! That looks smashing. Enjoyed reading your posts as much as the photography. I see what you did there with the GT behind bars.

Thank you very much indeed! Its a good club to be in

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

After installing the booster plug and completing the trifecta (Fuel, Inlet air and exhaust) mods I thought Id ride for a while before I updated the thread with my experience so far however I have only done a couple of city runs and thats not much to go by. Throttle response seems to have improved and the bike does not get bogged down if I whack the throttle open from 3K rpm at a higher gear (3rd and 4th). On a disappointing note the dead spot when rev matching still exists and its intermittent so not sure what gives.

Hookup an OBD Reader and have a look at your trim values, both short and long term.

Regards,
A.P.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Hookup an OBD Reader and have a look at your trim values, both short and long term.

Regards,
A.P.

Sir, too technical for me, I'm a "by the seat of pants" guy. But when the borders do open up (whenever that is) will drop by your neck of the woods and hopefully you can help me with those readings. But something tells me, if I do end up looking at those numbers the use case for the S&S camshaft will make itself known and thats an expense I cant afford right now

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Sir, too technical for me, I'm a "by the seat of pants" guy. But when the borders do open up (whenever that is) will drop by your neck of the woods and hopefully you can help me with those readings. But something tells me, if I do end up looking at those numbers the use case for the S&S camshaft will make itself known and thats an expense I cant afford right now

Think of it as insurance or rather reassurance, anyways spending big bucks in mods so this would at least give you an idea of whether they're actually working well or not.

If you're coming by then I'd be glad to help, I have a RE Adapted and Reader that I've set up to work on the Bullet, since it's from the same brand it would work on the 650 as well.

Though coming to cost a reader would cost you 1k for a good one and you don't really need an adapter, you can get jumper cables from Amazon that would get the job done.

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/settin...an-motorcycles

Your trim values show the compensation of fueling to reach optimal AFR. So if a value is too much off then you would know that something is amiss and you can add/remove parts as required to reach optimum.

Also another line of thought would be to compare the Injector of the 650 to that of the Himalayan, just for the heck of it, cause the 650's injectors fuel a 325cc cylinder whereas the Himalayans fuels a 411cc cylinder.

Saying cause I recall the dude from NCR plonked in a Himalayans injector in his 350cc TB which had a EFI system from another RE and the thing started spitting water which denotes a perfect burn, something which many of us are yet to see on our stock bikes, even with the Bullet I would have to finger the exhaust to feel some kind of wetness.

In spite of saying all that, I'd recommend you'd slow down a bit. Else it would be hard to figure out what is causing what and you'd eventually end up with a very expensive motorcycle that doesn't run right.

And since you're anyways importing parts why not import a Colortune Plug, it is as rudimentary and hands-on as it gets when it comes to determining state of tune, though I'd reiterate an OBD Reader and Adaptor would be much cheaper and easier to use not to mention easier to procure as it's available on Amazon.

Regards,
A.P.