An impromptu ride with my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

I covered 275 kms on this trip and my Interceptor 650 performed fine as always. It has run 17,500 kms and completed 3 years in February

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Saturday morning and I had to drop off my daughter for some classes and had couple of hours to kill. Usually I go to Baiyapanahalli rail station close by and trainspot, but the heat put that plan away and instead thought of doing a ride around, probably to Hoskote and return on the back roads.

I had done these roads few times before when exploring roads years ago and thought of re-tracing them. With all the development around, these roads look different now and I was referring to the map most of the time. Crossed Hoodi and headed on the Sarjapur road towards Malur. Thankfully the roads were not too bad except for some potholes here and there. Crossed the still under construction STRR bridge over the railway line and ended up in Malur industrial park. I still had a feeling that I could get back in time on the highway to pick up my daughter and then checked the maps and realized it was more than hour. Informed my wife that I am running late and gave myself more options to continue my ride.

Crossed over the highway and headed towards Chintamini to return via Chikkabalapur. The weather was not too hot since there were clouds gathering and most of the times it wasn't too bright especially when riding in open barren areas.
From Chintamini, I found a state highway connecting to Bagepalli on the Hyderabad highway. It is roads like these that I try to find to ride on as they are relaxing with less traffic, no heavy vehicles except for an occasional bus connecting villages. This stretch was around 50 kms and most of it was well paved and wide enough for a bus. Lots of curves and ups and downs. The only catch is that if I get a breakdown, it will be a long wait.
The return was on the Hyderabad highway back where I could increase my speed. Nearing the airport, it started pouring and it was a welcome relief from the heat and I was happy to ride in the heavy rain when everyone were finding cover.

Covered 275 kms. Bike performed fine as always. I was able to also guage the wet grip of the MRF's which was good enough on a straight road. Braking felt a bit tricky with ABS kicking and small lock ups when braking in slow speeds due to first showers effect on the roads.
The tappets get noisy at times after a hard ride but goes away the next day. On a relaxed ride like this one, there is no noise. I did notice the engine heat on my thighs this time which I haven't experienced in a while and is probably because I leaned out the mixture on the FuelX. With the stock filter and open bracket I am running, the engine runs much smoother now and throttle openings are much smoother. The other difference is when I wring the throttle open, it doesn't pick up speed as quick nor sounds as nice for obvious reasons.

Bike has run 17500 kms and completed 3 years in February. The battery still feels healthy and is my main concern now.

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