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Why new motorcycle?
- My two wheeler journey started with an icon the Yamaha RX100. I am thankful to Hero Honda CBZ which caught an attention of my brother and I got his RX100 during my school days. I felt like a superstar every time I rode my bike. I took really good care of it and customised few stickers to make it unique. I eventually took my RX100 along with me to my hostel during my college days in Pune, every one in my hostel envied me for my priced possession. I consider my self lucky because golden time of my life in college was also an era of Karizma, Pulsar, Apache, Unicorn, R15 and FZ series. I rode and experienced all new and fantastic motorcycles but my love for RX never faded. I never felt like buying a new bike.
- On one unfortunate day my RX got stolen from hostel parking during Diwali holidays. I was heart broken and went through a very tough time as Yamaha’s product lineup was not good enough to choose from. Eventually, I read the news regarding FZ 16 and R15 in our hostel common room and I felt happiness after a long time. The moment I sat on the FZ for a test ride, I made up my mind that this is the bike for me. FZ and R15 were the bikes which offered us a completely new experience which was more than what we could ask for. Finally I bought the bike in 2009 and using it till date. I fell the same level of excitement every time I ride my bike as I am riding it for the first time even after clocking more than 175000 Kms on it.
- Well, the obvious question, why new motorcycle and why Interceptor? I was not actively searching for a new bike to replace my FZ but I was open to a new experience. I was always very curious about the smoothness and experience of riding a twin cylinder or four cylinder motorcycle. The best option I could think of was Yamaha R3 in my budget and while also being loyal towards my love for Yamaha. Royal Enfield was nowhere in my list despite knowing about the launch of 650 twins because of reliability issues associated with the RE, but as far as looks are concerned, Interceptor was a love at first site.
- I was happily touring and enjoying short day rides on my FZ and going about my life till I got the news about R3 being discontinued in India, even though I had no plan of buying it in near future but in my mind, it was my next bike whenever it happens. I tuned 35 and Bharat Stage(BS) rules were also ageing and evolving with time to become more stricter, also the EV sector was gaining traction. In my mind somewhere deep down I was worried about the future of Internal combustion engines and questions were arising like, what If I never get a chance to own and experience higher CC multiple cylinder bike? Will I be able to enjoy long rides after turning 40 and more? Will my situation even allow me to ride later in my life? All of my thought and insecurities added up and I decided to buy a new bike and started to wait for a re launch of R3.
- On one very fine Sunday my cousin decided to take a test ride of the Interceptor from the showroom located across the road to his new apartment as he had time to kill. He was mind blown and could not stop talking about the smooth gear shift, feeling of Torque and sound of the bike. He was literally possessed by the soul of 650 twin, despite being not a RE fan and quiet opposite to it. It inspired me to read and research about the new 650 twins. I came to the conclusion that engine is way more refined compared to chassis and other essential parts like shock absorbers, sits, headlight, and the wobble issue at 80 kmph. Despite many drawbacks, good articles and praise about its engine on internet, persuaded me to take a test ride, and Ohh boy !!! I was never convinced so fast about anything in my life than owning an Interceptor. I booked my 650 immediately after the test ride.
- My heart was pounding because of excitement, as the sales person at the dealership asked me to wait while he was getting my Interceptor ready for delivery after signing final papers. It was a beautiful sight when I saw my bike for the first time in the parking lot. My mom performed pooja along with my dad. I rode it back to home behind my family car as I did not want to cross 80 kmph on new bike.
- Handling :- I live near the Dang region in Gujarat which offers beautiful roads in mountains with lots of twists and turns. I am also lucky enough to enjoy highways as Mumbai Ahmedabad highway is our main route for travelling between major cities.
- In the mountains :- Well, I miss my FZ in the mountains. It is as simple as that. Interceptor is a great motorcycle but If you have ever rode the FZ in hilly areas, you will definitely find the interceptor bit hard to manage for initial couple of hundred kilometers. There is definetely a learning curve involved to manage interceptor in tight corners for every rider from my era of beautifully built 150 cc motorcycles. I had to learn the difference of power to weight ratio between the FZ and the Inti. Also, Counter leaning is the key to success for taming the beast in tight corners of the hills. Interceptor has a very narrow bench seat, on which you have to adjust you position bit backward and lean forward to manage turns unlike just leaning forward will provide more control on FZ. In conclusion, I would say that you can have thrilling fun on Interceptor after you learn, understand and respect the power of the bike, unlike FZ. A rider can turn and lean the FZ just by thinking about the next move, FZ somehow feels connected to the mind while a rider have to make an effort in order to lean and turn the bike. Interceptor will put a smile on your face while exiting the corner due to its ability to gain momentum thanks to its power and FZ will do the same while entering and during the corner thanks to its easy handling.
- On the Highway :- Interceptor feels at home on highway, the feeling of torque and available power even at 130 kmph is mind blowing. It is addictive, I am not joking. Every time I feel sad on my way back when I am near my exit on highway, I deliberately miss it to keep riding till next 10-15 kilometers. You will not miss any other bike even if you have experienced litre class bikes, as Interceptor has its own character on highways. The never tiring engine, smooth gear box, tall ratio, linear acceleration and available torque above 100 Kmph is unreal. The soundtrack of 270 degree firing order during acceleration and even while cruising will makes you feel that heaven is real. It is not as fast as litre class sports bike, for that matter even yamaha R3 and KTM 390 will catch up with Inti on highways, but it is enough powerful to handle Indian highway conditions in very graceful manner. The Inti will cruise at 120 without stressing at all. Experienced riders(who can handle wind blast) who loves to cover 120-140 kilometers non stop will love the Inti. More you ride the 650 twin, the more hotter and more smoother it gets. In my opinion, after first 60-70 Kms the engines enters in happy state, It delivers more power in smoother way and the soundtrack becomes more noticeable on stock exhaust as well.
- In city traffic :- If you like the attention and head turns, then 650 twins family motorcycles are for you. Apart from attention, my Inti delivered great amount of heat and casual knocks in my shin bones with the foot peg. It’s a win win situation for everyone as on lookers will envy your 650 engine combined with retro design and you will be missing the agility and convenience 150 cc motorcycle in city traffic. I am lucky enough to enjoy the best of both the world as my FZ is still in great condition. I would not recommend Interceptor to someone looking for a daily commuter bike, there are plenty of other options.
- Fit and Finish :- It can be best described with the word “Satisfactory”. There are not many body panels on the Interceptor due to its retro design. It has two plastic side panels to cover air filter and battery. Plastic quality is good, it’s reasonably thick and fits perfectly in its place without any play. Tank is well built and mounted with precision. Although I have read about scum formation inside the tank, I haven’t face this issue. Switch gears are not practical but the material used for production is top notch. I love the mount of front fender. The assembly to hold the front fender is well made and adds a classic look to the bike. Suspension setup is basic. In front I got basic telescopic suspension and rear ones are gas filled spring couple. Whole setup of suspension is basic proven technology, there is nothing to boast about it, although the built quality is inline with what I paid for it. I would like to complain about the quality of chrome on side lights. It started showing scratches, also the plastic quality is very poor. Other poor part is the foot peg. They are very thin, not ideal for long rides It could have been better. Apart from mentioned poor parts other things are well build and fitted properly. I understood one thing that 80% of what I paid is for the beautiful engine and parts around engine to make the whole motorcycles are not advanced but neither of poor quality. There is a lot of room for improvement, which provides a very good opportunity of customisation. I look at it as a bright side. I haven’t change even a single screw on my FZ as everything works well and beyond my expectation even today so I didn’t personalise or modify it…
- What I absolutely hate :- The seat is the most hate worthy part on the Interceptor. I opted for the touring seat and even that is very very painful after an hour of riding on long hauls. There should be an option to by a motorcycle without company fitted seat. The second part which I hate the most is the headlight. I think the headlight’s function on Inti is to indicate the presence of a vehicle to an on coming traffic in the dark and nothing more than that. I tried different angles for better visibility but tilt it lower and you are blind, tilt it higher and the oncoming traffic is blind, but in any case as a rider, I was not able to see the road clearly and ride with confidence in the dark. Other part apart from the seat and the headlight is the left hand side switch gear, toggling between lower and upper beam is very tedious job. Every time I have to use a pass switch, I wonder, what made them to integrate the pass switch in same switch as upper and lower switch. It was perfect and same as FZ on models till 2022. These issues are not related to the price tag. Every mentioned pain point could have been better for what I have paid for. I am not asking for usd forks, superior tyres, better fuel gauge because I understand that I am getting a 650CC motorcycle under 4 lacks and I have to settle for basic functioning parts apart from beautiful engine.
- Distance covered faster :- No, I am not talking about reaching from A to B faster. Compared to FZ on the Interceptor there is a weird experience of closing the gap faster between my bike and the vehicle in front of me. Generally on highways, weaving through the traffic, I check my mirrors and look over my shoulders to check the blind spot before deciding whether to overtake or not. Taking my eyes off the road to check my mirrors and blind spot takes fraction of second but the distance covered is more on interceptor because what seems like a normal speed (when the engine is not in stress) on FZ is 80/90 Kmph while on interceptor it is 100/110. So my muscle memory from FZ differed on Interceptor when the vehicle in front seems more closer than usual. It was bit frightening in the beginning.
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