Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Now the rear end is more appealing

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Is it the REH tail light ?

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

It definitely is! Please do post a picture when its "lit"

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

I had the privilege of riding the INT 650 on Saturday morning and here are my 2 cents.

As I've talked about the bike aesthetic, quality and Ergos in the previous post. Here, I'll focus on the test drive experience alone.

I got to the starting point of the test drive spot located on the outskirt of the city near the highway pretty early, they were setting up the tent. The RE brand champs really were nice they greeted us I had my girlfriend accompany me for the ride. They explained the features of the bike. The procedure, protocols in case of an issue and the test drive route and for the first time I really felt like the employees had some knowledge about the product and care about the customers. We started off the test drive after 45 minutes.

The ride

We had an overcast climate and luckily we had almost no traffic. So, was able to test the bike confidently. The route was around 27Km up and down. I had a fair bit of road to play with I only drove the INT650 as I had booked it and the Gt was occupied for the day. Ok, without further ado lets, get to the fun part.


Weight

The first thing I felt after I got the bike off the stand was the weight. There is no getting around the fact that this is a heavy machine. Unless you're well built you will struggle to move it around parking and getting it on the center stand. Another unexpected thing I felt was the fact that the weight is well balanced (weight distribution) on the bike unlike the other models in the RE line up I felt that the mass is concentrated more on the bottom of the bike dare I say something similar to the likes of a KTM but once I got it moving all that weight just vanished!


Engine NVH

I know I've said this before but let me say it again this is the smoothest engine ever on a Royal Enfield and I'll even go a step further put my neck out and say it's as good as a Kawasaki Ninja 300. I redlined it on the 5th gear and I only could tell when the rev limiter cut in that's how smooth it was! but don't take my word for it. Go take a test drive you will certainly agree with me. I was wearing jeans and was moving mostly above 60KMPH even after the test drive I couldn't feel any heat that's worth mentioning. I need to test it in the city at slow speeds to comment more on it. But as I previously mentioned I feel that it definitely won't bother you as long as you're wearing shoes, jeans and moving.


Gearbox

Another section where the INT surpassed my expectations was with the gearbox. It was one of the smoothest I've operated. It really is as good if not better than Japanese machines. The clutch pull was light and I never had any false shifts even when aggressively downshifting to check the pickup.


Exhaust note

The rumble is pleasing and doesn't tire you as you rack up the miles it gets throatier as you climb the revs, definitely sounded better when it was moving! another unique thing I noticed was a whistling sound from the engine when I was slowing down and rev matching in a force of habit. I'm not sure if it was the air intake noise or something(Auto Gurus shed some light on this please!) but it was really really cool.


Power and pick up.

It is a 200+kg bike with 47 horses 52NM of torque the numbers might not really be all that exciting but let me tell you, It doesn't feel underpowered. The torque is really the star of the show. Even when being gentle but generous with the throttle I could really feel myself and my better half sliding back on the seat. Oh yeah, this thing can pull! the torque really kicks in early and stays consistent throughout the rev range this definitely will be a boon in traffic and also cruising lazily on the highway.
120KMPH at 6th gear comes at just a smidge under 5K RPM where the engine is relaxed. (as a classic 500 owner, this truly is something) I'm not really big on top speed but I did reach a speedo indicated 160KMPH without ducking and with a pillion.


Handling

I didn't have any expectations on handling for an RE but the INT650 definitely holds it's own. It's not telepathic like the 390 nor it's bad as a classic it's somewhere in between. Its certainly flickable in traffic the Pirelli tires provided enough feedback and confidence but as the route assigned to me didn't have any corners I wasn't able to check out the cornering capacity but the input required was fairly low and had a unique fun factor to it too. I'm pretty sure you can have some fun with this if you have the right amount of expectations.


Braking

This was one of the areas where I was quite impressed. The brakes are really potent after checking for vehicles and warning my pillion I did some sharp stops at 60-0KMPH, 80-0KMPH, 120-0KMPH the bike stopped amicably and abs only intervened late which was quite unexpected and the ABS kickback was also quite mature it was a smooth buzz rather that tak-tak -ish feel which I experienced once with a first gen 390 (haven't done the test on the newer 390 model so can't comment on that) The front end has good bite and progression the rear was good too but lacked bite compared to the front.


Stability and windblast

Special mention. The stability on this thing is really good since it's heavy it really holds its line very well even when I got passed by some heavy trucks the bike didn't even flinch (Like a BOSS) really felt secure even the crosswinds I faced when I passed upon a bridge didn't affect the bike. windblast, on the other hand, is something that felt severe even with the windshield accessory post 120. At 160 however, I and my pillion even being a bit heavy ourselves were clinging onto the bike. So, its best to stay below 120 if you want a comfortable not to mention safer experience.


Some smaller things I noticed.

1. The foot peg issue I previously mentioned took a turn as I quickly got used to the peg position and by the time I finished the ride it became second nature to place my foot before the pegs to avoid stumbling I no longer think this will be an issue for people who purchase the INT650.
2. (not sure if this is a one-off) There seems to be some issue with the heat shield(located below your heel near the foot pegs) on both the silencers. They were almost ready to fall off on my test drive bike, I also came across a Spanish review video on YouTube with the same issue. I'll post separately as I'm facing some issues with the post editor
3. The foot pegs for the pillion are really close to the exhaust pipes so if he/she is not careful they might burn their feet and they also have position their feet at an angle to avoid melting the heel of their footwear. The test drive bike already had some footwear burnt marks on the exhaust.
4. The seat needs cover the material was slippery me and my pillion were constantly pushed back every time I opened the throttle.

In conclusion
The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 is a solid product well worthy of the price tag. It might lack some features and have some ergonomic issues but if you look past that and willing to gamble on the reliability factor with the first initial batches may have, It really is a well-rounded machine and I can't wait to get my Ravishing Red delivered. let the sleepless nights begin!

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Sorry for chain posting. I couldn't add the YouTube link in the previous post as it kept messing up the format for some unknown reason. Mods, please do look into this.
This is the Youtube Video which I came across having the same faulty heat shield.
(the video is in Spanish and the issue mentioned at 10.10 Min.sec mark)
Link: https://youtu.be/OQfExsaehc8?t=609

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Yes, I booked my Interceptor from the very same store on 19th November. Yet to get any sort of updates from them on either the bike's delivery or the proposed test ride.

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Oh man really? I'm really surprised that they didn't call you. Call your SA and ask him. They are arranging test drives for everyone, Even those who didn't book are getting test drives.

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Lights on

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Wow, looks really smart! was it a direct fit? or did it take some fabricating to fit on the frame?

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Little bit of fabrication required and lots of thinking, whether it will fit or I will loose 1600/-

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

How's the bike doing? Any observations good/bad?

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Any advice for prospective buyers?

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

A T-bhp member is reporting that RE is checking the first batch customers bikes for "rough gear shift and false neutrals issues" kinda getting worried :-/ any owners here got a call?

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Nothing to worry. Infact one should be delighted with RE that based on feedback of just a few owners ( assuming, as no one has shared such problem online ) RE is going out and checking with most owners with bike from same batch while they can as the numbers are low now.

When last did one hear about such practise in the RE world. It's was always "itna to bullet mein hota hai"

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

it would be better to wait for some time.

Re: Royal Enfield 650 Twin Engine Unveiled. Prices out too!

Things are going to get a bit more exciting just saw RaceDynamics working on a GT 650 on their Instagram story.