[glvenubt11]

Originally Posted by Turbojc

Unfortunately, I don't think that will be possible. That space on the Bear is now occupied by the new 2x1 exhaust system. Fixing a puncture on this is certainly going to be an unbearable experience.

Attachment 2681649

Attachment 2681650

Cheers!

Bit surprised that the exhaust goes underbelly too. I thought they merged the pipes in the front and it goes as a regular exhaust from there.

[Eleanor_Shelby]

Test rode the the bear yesterday. I'm 6' and I thought the riding height was pretty comfortable. I could plant my feet. The bike is heavy when stationary or when pushing it but that just all RE bikes. I've had a dessert storm and this felt lighter than that for some reason.

Riding it was fun. The growl was appropriate for a bike named bear. Handling was great. The thighs are nicely tucked along the tank. It's heavy yet felt nimble esp compared to the meteor 650 ( that felt like driving a Contessa, although more comfortable but not really my style). The riding position I felt was just a tad forward leaning, my wrists started aching after a short ride ( probably also because I haven't ridden in a while). The handle bars are nice and wide. The bench seat was comfortable albeit it was only a short test ride. The gear shifts were smooth. The brakes were braking. I personally can't think of anything that would reason me out of wanting it.

I like the yellow and blue color. Quite distinctive than anything on the road. Got a few looks of admiration as well.

So overall I was happy - the heart wanted it, the brain reasoned for it it and the ego demanded it.

[DieselAnna]

Went through some videos of the Bear to understand the general feedback. Sharing the same here.

https://youtu.be/h0CD2O2pDyU?si=deux0KutUHSTdEOB

https://youtu.be/v6BsZ5YUHVA?si=99DiqeGV4i7ASveh

[maskebail]

Just went through the new Goan classic 350 launch - pretty weird bike; but the only part that interested me was the tubeless spoke rims - 19 inch front and the 16 inch rear.
19 inch front tubeless spoke rim - that is what the bear 650 needed along with 17 inch ones on the rear like the himalayan 450 : Royal Enfield could have easily done this, they clearly have a way to source these rims but made a conscious decision not to do it for bear 650, arguably the best and most practical 650? This is ridiculous.
Anybody think we can use the 19 inch tubeless spoke rim from the Goan 350 and 17 inch rear tubeless spoke rims from Himalayan 450 on the bear 650 ? It already gets the tyres.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by maskebail

Anybody think we can use the 19 inch tubeless spoke rim from the Goan 350 and 17 inch rear tubeless spoke rims from Himalayan 450 on the bear 650 ? It already gets the tyres.

You might have issues with the brakes. The front brake is on the left side for the Bear and the disc is bigger iirc. The disc mounts should match as well. These wheels might be a perfect swap for current Meteor 350 (the retro variants with spokes) and Classic 350 users.

[neil.jericho]

At the end of a short spin on the Interceptor Bear 650, I was grinning from ear to ear! A few thoughts
+ The bike looks really attractive, especially in this Wild Honey paint scheme! Im not the biggest fan of that exhaust but from a styling perspective, everything else is absolutely on point.
+ Royal Enfield has found the almost perfect formula, to build around the masterpiece that is their 650 cc engine.
+ The rider triangle is so much more naturally accommodating than any of the other 650 cc offerings from Royal Enfield. I was instantly comfortable with the riding position, despite the seat being a bit taller than I expected.
+ Is it a hardcore scrambler? Probably not but standing and riding is a piece of sumptuous cake.
+ While the Interceptor 650 nudges that you have fun when the road opens up and the GT 650 encourages you to adopt a calm riding style, the Bear 650 seemingly wants you to be a bit hooliganish even if you arent the types to indulge in such motorcycling mischief.
+ It didnt take me more than a few hundred meters of riding, to realize that this is a bike that I would love to have in my garage.
+ The crisp and clear digital screen should make its way into the other 650cc offerings in 2025.
+ Where the Interceptor and GT 650 make you well aware of their 210 odd kilogram weight on the move, the Bear 650 disguises it so well that it feels like the lightest 210 + kg motorcycle that you have ridden.

- While applying the rear brake, I found my riding boot being a little too close to the engine casing.
- It feels like Royal Enfield approved the flimsy joystick only on the premise that it will last until the final day of the company warranty. Whoever signed off on the joystick was serving his / her notice period while doing so.
- As much as I loved the Bear 650, the current absence of tubeless spoked wheels, means that it is a hard motorcycle for me to recommend to anyone in late 2024.

Overall, the Bear 650 is a prime example of not living by the numbers on a spec sheet. All the little changes that Royal Enfield has made, simply seem to work. As long as Royal Enfield doesnt launch tubeless spoked wheels for the motorcycle, my bank balance is safe! Overall, I was paw-sitively impressed by the Bear 650.

[kkSolo]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

- As much as I loved the Bear 650, the current absence of tubeless spoked wheels, means that it is a hard motorcycle for me to recommend to anyone in late 2024.

.

Im still curious as to what's stopping them from offering the tubeless spoke rims. They managed to offer it on the Goan Classic. Now that its already launched and there was no mention of it at the launch, it might turn out to be like the interceptor alloys fiasco, launching after 5 years.

[MohanRajP]

Picked up the Bear 650 today.





This is my third Enfield in 12 years, previously owned a classic 350(2012-2015), Bullet Std 500(2017 - till date) and Bear 650 ( 2024 - )

Picked up the vehicle from CVS, Sadashivnagar, Bangalore. Booked the bike on the 8th of Nov.
Pleasant experience with them, Madan was the sales executive.

Quick observations coming from a bullet 500.
* I am 6ft tall and i could flat foot both my feet, shorter people might find it tough to move it in an out of tight spots at low speeds.
* The riding position is a bit sporty/aggressive. Thanks to the handle bar and the rider triangle being so. The rider foot pegs dont hit your shins.
* This bike is heavy at 216Kgs, but the weight is not a concern as soon as u get moving.
* The bike is pretty agile and at least in my case begs to be ridden hard. The rider sits pretty tight with the vehicle, your knees are very close to the tank.
* The power and torque is a step up initially but once you get used to it, its easy to handle. One needs to keep in mind the torque is available from a very low rev band so it can be bit much.
* This bike is very tractable in the city and overtakes are a breeze.
* The exhaust has a super sweet note, it sounds raspier and has good amount of bass. Combined with the intake whistle this is something I can hear all day long .
*I thought the rear brake lever would be a problem in the test ride, according to me it was small and too close to the engine, but I was also wearing crocs then. But with canvas shoes today I felt no such thing.
* There is too much bite in the brakes, that could be because of 2 possible reasons. One it is a new bike and the brakes will take a while to smoothen out. Two coming from the Bullet 500, this might be too much brake power for me.
* The TFT instrument cluster is crisp and clear, although the joystick is a joke at the price point for this bike.
* The engine heat is a bit much, even with Bangalore temperates being cold and breezy today, I could still feel the massive heat coming in from the engine in b2b traffic, of course once you find an open road none of this matters.
* The instrument cluster keeps changing between dark mode and light mode depending environment, this can be a problem in winters or cloudy days, not a major problem, but this can be distracting initially.
* Having no center stand is a big miss, my parking space is a bit narrow and parking on side stand would been the handle would touch the walls, apparently some fix might come later.
* RE provides 1 helmet with this bike a half faced helmet, meant for pillion, I found that a bit flimsy, they could definitely provide a better one by charging extra. or atleast allow an upgrade.

I got a SMK Retro helmet that matches with the bike colors for city use :


* The inner lining is super smooth and comfortable.
* The double D lock and the pinlock are sturdy and very useful respectively.
* While there are inlets for ventilation there are no outlets, this would have helped in better circulation.
* Looks super cool and is great color options available.
* It is ISI, DOT and ECE 22.05 certified. 22.06 is the latest, but 22.06 stock is not available.
* Slightly on the heavier side at 1650gms but manageable (atleast in my case).
* For the highways I have a LS 2 Storm 2 with ece 22.06 registration.


Will post a detailed review once a complete the run in and a few rides on.

I think this was the first Bear 650 to be delivered from this showroom, something that wife was super happy about, no idea why

[rajeevsulu]

Congratulations.

The bike looks beautiful. We still don't have a test ride bike here where I live. I am eagerly waiting for one. This paint scheme is the best, according to me. Enjoy your bike.

Cheers

[kkSolo]

Originally Posted by maskebail

Royal Enfield could have easily done this, they clearly have a way to source these rims but made a conscious decision not to do it for bear 650, arguably the best and most practical 650? This is ridiculous.

This latest episode on the Goan classic by Motorinc sheds some light on the tubeless rims situation. In short, the rims are being imported and the govt allows only a limited set of these rims in specific sizes to be imported. Good to know if there is any more info on this. There is also mention of other manufacturers following suite, so us customers can expect more options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCclgTkN9yQ

[VijayAnand1]

Heartiest congratulations taming the Bear. Everything about the bear is a revelation from the 500, be it brakes, be it torque, be it handling. Take it easy with the brakes, coming from the 500's disc/drum things can be aplenty when getting used to the stopping power. More saddle time and the bike will perfectly augment where it matters.

Ride safe, have fun!

Cheers!
VJ

[MohanRajP]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Heartiest congratulations taming the Bear.

Cheers!
VJ

Thank you VJ, Yup being very careful with the bike especially with the rains in Bangalore.

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

Congratulations.

The bike looks beautiful. We still don't have a test ride bike here where I live. I am eagerly waiting for one. This paint scheme is the best, according to me. Enjoy your bike.

Cheers

Thank you Rajeev. oh damn! that is such a bummer to not have a test ride vehicle. Yup i thought the yellow would be too much when i saw them on youtube, but it actually is pretty neat. Turns heads everywhere.

Not been able to get much saddle time, owing to the rains and I haven't received the HSRP number plates yet, the showroom has asked for 8 working days for it to come in.

Also the accessories have not yet come into the showrooms from RE, waiting for them .

Need to add the bash plate and crash guards .

Been enquiring with a few third party vendors like advtribe and autoengina.
But they haven't got one yet.

Also checked for the paddock stand with 66bhp and they still have to test it with a bear650 and since none of them seem to have a store in bangalore I cant go to test them yet, any suggestions for the same are welcome .

Lets wait for some dry weather till then.

[kkSolo]

Originally Posted by MohanRajP

Also checked for the paddock stand with 66bhp and they still have to test it with a bear650 and since none of them seem to have a store in bangalore I cant go to test them yet, any suggestions for the same are welcome .

Lets wait for some dry weather till then.

Congrats on the bike! Wish you a lot of happy KMs on the bear!

With regard to the bike stands, are you sure the other 650 models stands are not a fit on the Bear? I believe the center stand mount points are still there on the frame, but, the concern is the height of the bike and if a stand is installed,if it will hit the exhaust underneath.

if youre looking only for paddocks, options like Grandpitstop paddock stands are available on amazon as well. Explore automotive is another option that makes paddocks, but compatibilty with the Bear would need to be confirmed.

[Abeer]

Congrats.
Would anybody know if the rear disc brake system can be fitted on Interceptor 650 as I find Interceptor 650 brakes to be good

[tharian]

I rode the Bear for few kms couple of days ago. Was surprised at how different the same engine felt on it compared to my 2022 Interceptor. The throttle response was instant and the pick up through the gears made it feel like the bike was lighter.
The riding position was more lean forward and with the wide handlebar, it was a fun bike to ride through traffic.

One down side I noticed was that I just could not get a proper feel of the rear brake pedal. With the foot pegs moved forward compared to the Interceptor, the brake pedal was now right below the bulge of the clutch casing and I had to search for it with my foot to use it. The claws on it helped.
The exhaust note surprisingly was good on this compared to the other 650's and it suits the bike as well. Makes me want to look at a 2x1 option for my Interceptor as well for the improved acceleration this has.