I took test rides of all the 650s, other than the Royal Enfield Classic 650 and Shotgun.
BHPian Growler86 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Greetings fellow BHPians!
So I finally went with the Royal Enfield Bear 650. Took delivery of the Wild Honey trim a couple of weeks back.
I extend my sincere thanks to all those in this forum who helped me with their valuable advice while choosing between the Interceptor and Bear.
I went ahead and took test rides of all the 650s, other than the Shotgun (Classic 650 too!).
Why I chose the Royal Enfield Bear 650 over the Interceptor 650
Seating Position
The Inty seating position felt cramped and a bit committed. Of course not as much as GT, but combined with the narrower handlebar, it altogether felt like a smaller bike in front of the Bear that made my whole stance crouching rather than open chested as on the Bear. And pillion seating on the Inty is a disaster. The upswept exhausts make the rear footpegs just too high for comfort. This was probably the biggest dealbreaker for me with the Inty, as 80% of my rides will be with my better half.
On the other hand, the wide handlebars give a very commanding stance on the Bear. I am 178 cm tall and can easily flat-foot on both sides. So the raised seating height isn’t an issue for me. The pillion footpegs are placed to give a very neutral stance to the person on the back.
Looks
The Interceptor is a classic machine with a timeless design. But standing next to the Bear, it feels like a much smaller bike. The Bear is a beautiful-looking piece of machine. The longer wheelbase and 19”-17” wheels combination give it a pretty badboy scrambler look. In fact, it reminds me of the legendary RD350.
Suspension
The internet is abuzz with reviewers calling out the stiff rear suspension of the Bear. In fact, I read some owners even went as far as replacing the rear shocks with those of Inty’s. But for me, this was not a dealbreaker. Yes, the rear is stiff. But it is not unmanageable. With a pillion, it behaves slightly better, actually. For a person upgrading from a CI Bullet 350, this feels rather solid. The bike feels very planted at high speeds and handles confidently on the twisties.
On the flipside, the suspension on the Interceptor felt a bit all over the place for me. And after about 1K km on the Bear, either I’m getting more accustomed to the stiffness or they are loosening up (or both).
Seat
I don’t think I’ve much to add on this. The seat of the Bear is leagues apart from the Inty’s. I’ve done multiple rides of 3-4 hours and have nothing to complain about. The response on longer tours is yet to be seen.
Tubed tires are a big miss, though, and I sincerely hope RE brings out a tubeless option soon. As of now, I am just doing weekend breakfast runs on the Shimla highway and Himachal roads. For longer tours, I will definitely look up for tubeless conversion kit options.
The switchgear positions are a bit uncomfortable for me and the joystick is a joke. The tripper dash is also practically useless, as you need to keep the phone screen on all the time. I hope they bring out a patch update on the app, too. The USB-C charging works fine, though.
To sum up, out of all the other RE twin offerings, this one feels faster and more eager than the other RE 650s. I might even take the liberty to say that this is the best RE has to offer to date.
I am happy with this acquisition. The motorcycle just makes me smile every time I take her out. And the looks! Again! I just keep staring back at her.
Sharing some pics:
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