[ac 427]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

Interceptor's closest competitor purely in terms of styling and performance is the Bonneville T100. The price difference is 3 times. Go figure. Even before the pricing was announced it was a hit. At this price point Interceptor is going to smash the Indian touring bike market.

Truth is no other bike manufacturer will be able to produce a similar twin at this price point. To top it all it looks absolutely gorgeous and has the go to match it. RE has won this war even before they've sold their first bike.

I have a t100, and would be able to comment on the bike once I ride it.

Also about the comparisons, I have few friends that already have KTMs and have booked the Conti

[r0ckstar.1]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

The interceptor is a head turner for sure but the moment I sat on it, all my dreams of owning it were shattered. I am 5'10" and no way I think I can ride it comfortably. Interesting to see someone with a similar height finding it comfortable. Goes on to show why one needs to ride/drive a vehicle instead of relying on online reviews.

Hmmm..Interesting that you found it uncomfortable. I am guessing here that you were not able to get your foot flat on the ground in stopping conditions. Or is it something else? Infact, I went to the showroom again yesterday to confirm two things - First, the leg support at stops and second, the seat comfort between the INterceptor and Conti GT. I found the leg support is adequate on both models (more on Conti GT) and the seat is firm in Conti GT and INterceptor is a bit on the softer side.

On another note, I understand that it's raining bookings here in Bangalore showrooms. Believe that they are now booking for the third wave of deliveries probably for the month of April/May. If you change your mind to book a different model (ex: Conti GT to Interceptor) , you have to cancel the existing booking and re-book. However, if you want to change the color, it's possible without cancellation. So, be sure about the model you opt for.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

On another note, I understand that it's raining bookings here in Bangalore showrooms. Believe that they are now booking for the third wave of deliveries probably for the month of April/May.

Sounds like showrooms are exaggerating the delivery time. A six month waiting period already doesn't sound right and I am sure RE would not want their prospective 650 customers to wait that long. Back when the Classics and TB had long waiting period, they had two plants churning out bikes.Now it is three and I think the latest one is dedicated for the twins with a lot of automation in their product lines and they would for sure ramp up their production as per the bookings.

[Pankaj_Ahlawat]

I took the test drive of the interceptor. Here are my 2 cents :

Positives:
1. Fantastic acceleration, the pillion sales chap had tough time holding on to his seat the moment I twisted the throttle.
2. Comfortably goes up to 100-120 without a shudder.
3. No vibrations at all at any speed.

Concerns:
1. Ok so it’s got ABS, but I had a feeling while I was applying hard brakes that the front tire would slip away under, difficult to explain but imagine the nose wheel of the aircraft VS the rest of the landing gear, somehow the front tire doesn’t inspire confidence, maybe it needs to be broader or what, dunno.

2. It ain’t feel like an RE ! There is no macho presence or that thumping aura that one wears while riding a bullet. I get that its a different product, but then why do I need to look at an RE, why not a ninja or a KTM etc around the price bracket ( or slightly more).

3. The handle bar was a bit further for me (I’m 5.8”), maybe that can be adjusted for an armchair comfort and all.

4. Now the biggest grouse, the bike came from the workshop, they said they did the PDI so it took long and made me wait for 40 minutes, now that’s not much of a concern, the concern is that after riding it over a long flyover and then wading through the traffic, doing around 100 kmph mostly, the bike became a frying pan !! The engine was so HOT !! that I could feel the heat seething my legs on a Delhi winter evening. Even the pillion said he was feeling the blaze coming to his legs, while I was picking up speed.
The absence of liquid cooling for a 650 cc is to blame I reckon. Now how will it be say on a summer afternoon, wading through bumper to bumper traffic or on a long stretch to the hills.
Well, I would rather wait and watch than doling out my cash even for booking, even though the SA eager to scribble on the booking form, insisted its already 3600 bookings and counting with delivery expected to be as early as March.
Conclusively, lust that I garnered while watching videos fizzled away upon test drive , don’t believe it till you see it !

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

It includes accessories pricing as well.

The list of accessories including their photos, are made available online

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Pankaj_Ahlawat

It ain’t feel like an RE ! There is no macho presence or that thumping aura that one wears while riding a bullet. I get that its a different product, but then why do I need to look at an RE, why not a ninja or a KTM etc around the price bracket ( or slightly more)

I disagree that the twins lack macho presence. Come on, the twins are the most beautiful of the Enfields ever built. And have a ton of presence, a true classical presence!
Honestly, anyone who still believes in "thump" of current day Enfields, doesn't know what real thump is.
What current day 350 & 500 have is just clatter. Thump ended with Cast Iron era.

A refined Enfield with a decent exhaust note(yes, I mean the twin's) is such a right step in the right direction.

Who needs to buy RE 650 twins? - People who want a beautiful looking classic bike that also has the go to match the show, people who are tourers who want a comfortable reliable refined bike that can do 120 kmph all day without feeling strained.

Now Ninja can fit the latter while KTM 390 won't even fit either. And the ninja is more expensive (300) while the Ninja 400 is priced absurdly.

A lot of people complained about KTM 390's heating issues after test ride. Even reviewers pointed the fact. But none of the reviewers have pointed it out with the 650 twins. I really hope it doesn't heat up like old KTMs. Even if it does, I won't mind. I just got used to it.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Pankaj_Ahlawat

Now the biggest grouse, the bike came from the workshop, they said they did the PDI so it took long and made me wait for 40 minutes, now that’s not much of a concern, the concern is that after riding it over a long flyover and then wading through the traffic, doing around 100 kmph mostly, the bike became a frying pan !! The engine was so HOT !! that I could feel the heat seething my legs on a Delhi winter evening. Even the pillion said he was feeling the blaze coming to his legs, while I was picking up speed.
The absence of liquid cooling for a 650 cc is to blame I reckon. Now how will it be say on a summer afternoon, wading through bumper to bumper traffic or on a long stretch to the hills.
Well, I would rather wait and watch than doling out my cash even for booking, even though the SA eager to scribble on the booking form, insisted its already 3600 bookings and counting with delivery expected to be as early as March.
Conclusively, lust that I garnered while watching videos fizzled away upon test drive , don’t believe it till you see it !

Thanks for the update Pankaj.

This is very concerning and strange as none of the reviews/reviewers mentioned heating issues at all. In fact most of them mentioned the bike does not have heating issues at all.

Hopefully in this case the PDI was not done correctly. Maybe they forgot to check the engine oil and it was not filled as per specification.

Like you mention, it's better to wait for a few months and let the owner reviews come out.

Cheers

[abeerbagul]

One elephant in the room which all reviews have not mentioned is service support.
We all have experienced the legendary quality of Royal Enfield service centers (or the lack of it)

With simple bikes such as classic and Himalayan they make mistakes.
Repairs are not diagnosed properly. The major spares and tyres take a long time to get.

The tire on 650 twins is 18" so it is non standard.
It will be difficult to procure in after market and save money there.

How competent are the service guys to cater to this technically advanced engine?

Honda has dedicated service bays and service techs for their 650cc and above bikes.

Is RE going to do the same with their flagship model? The customer who buys and rides 650 RE is going to demand extra care and attention.

When you have 500 classic 350 bikes a month for service and only 5 or 10 of the 650 twins, what will the service centers give priority to?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

Honda has dedicated service bays and service techs for their 650cc and above bikes.

Is RE going to do the same with their flagship model? The customer who buys and rides 650 RE is going to demand extra care and attention.

I find this a bit interesting -

The difference between a Honda CBR 650F and their bread and butter model (Activa 5G) is about 10 times the onroad the price!

The difference between the RE 650s and their bread and butter models (Classic 350) is about 2 times the onroad price, even a bit less.

I agree that Royal Enfield service HAS to improve, as a whole, and absolutely no doubts on that! But I don't get it why the RE 650 customer deserves special treatment compared to a Classic 350 customer!

[abeerbagul]

Is the Triumph Street Twin already feeling the heat of the RE 650 twins launch?
Accessories worth 170000 also free with this.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by drmadhuks

Hi Jaguar. Could you please explain why /what felt uncomfortable. I am of same height and am planning to buy one. Couldn't ride one till now. Test drive not available yet.

Even I didn't get the TD. Just that when sitting I couldn't comfortably get my legs to the foot pegs and felt my knees would found with the handle bars on tight turns. Only a proper TD would tell the truth.

Originally Posted by R-Six

Well, I’m 5.7 and ride a GT 535 almost every day to work. On slow speed, you will find some weight on the handlebar but apart from that, it is pretty easy to work through the traffic. On the open road, the weight or the height have never really mattered.

Brother, 3" matter a lot

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

Interesting that you found it uncomfortable. I am guessing here that you were not able to get your foot flat on the ground in stopping conditions. Or is it something else? Infact, I went to the showroom again yesterday to confirm two things - First, the leg support at stops and second, the seat comfort between the INterceptor and Conti GT.

I have no issues in firmly planting my feet on the ground when stopping. My concern is about the long term confort and managing stop go traffic. Anyways, I have a 3 month old Thunderbird X and I can't think of an upgrade for the next couple of years unless RE comes up with an offer I can't refuse. So I have enough time to do a proper long TD and see real life reviews.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

Is the Triumph Street Twin already feeling the heat of the RE 650 twins launch?
Accessories worth 170000 also free with this.

Attachment 1821194

This offer has been on for a couple of months now at Triumph Pune. But yes, if the RE Twins turn out to be reliable, Triumph will have to do something really radical with pricing.

Cheers,

Jay

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

Is the Triumph Street Twin already feeling the heat of the RE 650 twins launch?

Perhaps, yes. This is shortsightedness at Triumph/BUB. They should be playing at their strengths, everyone knows who benefited in the end in Bajaj Dominar Vs RE advert battle.

Accessories worth 170000 also free with this.

This offer isn't that old.


They should clear current stock of street twin to make it easier for 2019 street twin which has more power & more refined engine.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

One elephant in the room which all reviews have not mentioned is service support.
We all have experienced the legendary quality of Royal Enfield service centers (or the lack of it)

With simple bikes such as classic and Himalayan they make mistakes.
Repairs are not diagnosed properly. The major spares and tyres take a long time to get.

The tire on 650 twins is 18" so it is non standard.
It will be difficult to procure in after market and save money there.

How competent are the service guys to cater to this technically advanced engine?

Honda has dedicated service bays and service techs for their 650cc and above bikes.

Is RE going to do the same with their flagship model? The customer who buys and rides 650 RE is going to demand extra care and attention.

When you have 500 classic 350 bikes a month for service and only 5 or 10 of the 650 twins, what will the service centers give priority to?

Over 4 years of owning the Continental GT 535 in Bangalore, Ive had good service experiences with most services being done at the company SVC. That said, my current service experience in Cochin (documented on my thread) is not that stellar. Ive seen that the technicians / mechanics who work on the bikes are good and almost all the service advisors (probably bar one that I can remember) were good middlemen between the technician and the customer, effectively communicating any findings or changes to the work done. I doubt that RE will have challenges with up-skilling the workforce. However I wonder if they can manage the volumes, the current SVCs get a ton (Ive had the SVC security guys tell me there are days they take over 100 bikes easily) of bikes and the 650s will only add to the count.


Tires I agree were a sore point with the OEM Pirelli Sport Demon tires being priced atrociously highly (~ Rs 11,000 each) through Royal Enfield while the same tires were available for around Rs 5,000 each or so for new stock in the open market. But there was also a clear lack of support by Pirelli (not RE) as the company didnt see the volumes in the Indian market and didnt bother importing enough tires to supply to its dealers. Their brief tie up with Ceat raised the spark of interest but there werent too many PSDs in the market even after that. Hence many GT 535 owners moved to MRF, Ceat and Ralco options. Given that the 650 twins are already a sales success, I am sure the situation wont repeat with the Phantoms.


The question of priority is a tricky one. Do you openly give premium service and prioritization to a 650 owning customer over a 350 owning one? I can see the arguments for and against. I will say this, Ive always found the RE service advisors to be very welcoming and flexible even if I have dropped in late and needed something to be checked or replaced. Is it because I owned a GT535? Probably.

[vikramvicky1984]

Related question:
Is RE going to come out with new line of riding gear with the twins?
I guess I had read about it somewhere but cannot find now.

The darcha (made with Rev'it) cannot be found any longer.
I believe all 650 buyers are being sent discount offers on riding gear (I got one on email, coupon code will come on delivery). 25% is a lot of discount and if the gear is good, we may not look elsewhere