I own an Orange Crush Interceptor and completed 6,500 km till now, which includes a ride from Bangalore to Kanyakumari last January. Sadly I could not ride more after that due to the pandemic.😞 Thought I'll share my experience with the motorcycle here and start riding again..🏍️🏍️🏍️

Likes:
1. Fantastic engine - The engine is a gem! It's super smooth and brings instant smile on my face.. 😃 Vibrations are there in high revs but you don't really feel it unless you want to notice.
2. Power and torque - Many argue that the motorcycle is underpowered for a 650 engine. But I think for the Indian road conditions, it has adequate power & torque. It effortlessly pulls all day long without showing any signs of stress.
3. Clutch & gearbox - I have a classic 500 too and ridden many other RE bikes. Always found the gearbox to be clunky and clutch to be hard on RE bikes. But this one is an exception! The clutch is very light. Gearbox is smooth & precise, hardly faced any false gear issues.
4. Breaks - Breaking is good. It has good bite for sure and gives confidence to ride fast (at acceptable speed limits).
5. Fuel Efficient - I get around 22 km/ltr in Bangalore city and over 25 km/ltr when riding on highways. I have heard people claiming even higher average at 28-30 km/ltr. Happy with the average for such a good performing bike.
6. Looks - I know looks are subjective but I think this motorcycle is a good example of minimalist beauty! This is a retro classic and the fact that everything is so simple, makes it a great choice for customisation.
7. Price & maintenance - Last but not the least. In fact I never thought I will own a twin engine motorcycle. But when I saw the pricing, I couldn't resist as it was not only within my budget but I also knew that maintaining it won't be hard on my pocket.

Dislikes:
1. Seating - The stock seat is very soft and narrow. I bought the Continental GT touring seat. While it's much better in terms of cushioning, it is still narrow and I don't feel comfortable after riding it for a while. There are few broader aftermarket seats available but they spoil the look totally. The one's with better looks aren't waterproof. So my search for perfect seat continues. When I sit on my classic 500 after riding Interceptor, my buttocks feel so happy..😂
2. Front suspension - It's too soft! Doesn't give me any confidence while cornering and horrible on bad roads. So I recently installed a pre-load adjuster and it made a great difference. Now the front feels a lot more planted and doesn't hit the bottom on bad roads. Haven't tried the bike on highways yet. But from my experience so far, it definitely was a good investment.
3. Fuel gauge indicator - It's a shame RE couldn't fix the fuel indicator issue till date. Not even once it showed correct data. It's so inconvenient, I need to keep calculating the km I ride everytime.
4. Headlight - The stock bulb is of low quality. I like to ride at nights but the throw and brightness of stock bulb is below average. We need to upgrade to Osram or Philips bulbs or get a LED headlight.
5. Very uncomfortable for pillion riders.

Functional mods on my bike:
1. Installed Indimotard handlebar risers for more comfortable handlebar position
2. Mad Dog FR70 LED headlight + MADDOG Scout Auxiliary Lights + SIMTAC Hazard Flasher with LED bulbs for better night visibility
3. Bobo Jaw-Grip Mobile Holder with USB 3.0 Charger
4. Marsh Autotech pre-load adjusters for better ride quality and no more bottom out on bad roads
5. RE GT Touring Seat - a lot better than stock seat but still uncomfortable for me
6. RE Compact Engine Guard to protect the engine from damage in case of a fall
7. RE Sumpguard to protec oil filter and the engine/lower frame
8. RE Fork Gaiter to protect front suspension

Additionally installed RE Tall Flyscreen but it's more of a cosmetic mod for the looks. It doesn't protect from the wind blast..

Planning to add a backrest, get touring mirrors and alloys (whenever RE officially releases them for twins) in future. Very much tempted to add PoweRage Exhaust with DNA filters & stage 2 kit but worried about cops and fines..

Overall I'm very happy with the motorcycle and proud to be part of RE family...🙂👏

As per my exp, once you pay road tax, cops dont bother, even if they check the papers, but it will cost quite a lot once, but its upto you. I thought fork gaiter was statndard now. I checked the touring mirrors and they felt quite small too. Also almost all the RE mirrors will get spots like cheap mirrors do like the mirror paint has chipped off in a year or 2.. So mostly will get some cheap japanese bike mirrors, like intruder 150cc or cb 350s, when i get around to their showroom and if find them asthetically good. I would say get the large engine gaurd too. Its a heavy bike and quite forgiving, but a drop at a bit high speed, will be dengeraous to legs without engine gaurd apart from saving bikes parts to an extent.

I hope it won't be a big issue. I've been stopped many times on by KA registered FZ16, but my papers are always correct.


I was thinking once after using it in Bangalore for one year, may be I could get the necessary documents(NOC? KA road tax?) So, that the cops won't be a bother. As of now, My colleague/friend also bought his Dominar here from Kerala itself, and is planning to take it back to Bangalore once the IT companies are open. I'm not that likely to use it in the city much, as my FZ16 is still there, and been doing it's job well!

Oh, and thank you for the reply I wasn't planning on adding many accessories, except for the fork gaiter, sump guard, and may be the touring mirrors, only if necessary.

I would say buy in Karnataka, if you are planning to use there for many more years to come. Though recentely i have heard that in bengaluru, now the cops dont bother much, but still a bike is easy for them to stop for checks etc. Or may be get the registration done in KA but take delivery or drive to Kerala?

I think most of the IT companies will open by July.

Btw interceptor comes with both stands from factory. GT650, one needs to add center stand as accesesory.

My colleague is running around in Bangalore with HP(Himachal Pradesh) plates on his Elite i20 for more than 4 years now, he never got stopped nor has he paid any road tax nor ever gone back to his state.

"Everything is legal till you get caught"!

I went ahead and booked mine yesterday. I work in Bangalore, and I was thinking of getting the bike from there itself. But the WFH situation is still not resolved, and I just couldn't wait any longer. Now I'll have to fight with the Bangalore cops with a KL registration. My friend got his Silver Spectre a month ago, and he had a waiting period of 2 months; that was in Bangalore. But this showroom in Ernakulam told me they could get Baker Express (my choice of colour) in 3-4 weeks, or I could get the Orange Crush (display bike) in 4 days with all formalities done. I chose to wait instead.

Now I do have a question for the current oowners. When you took delivery, did the bike come with side/center stand as the accessories or did you have to pay for them?

Hi All,
So, I have spent a month with this bike, since I bought an old one, I could push it from day 1. .

Bike is so stable and smooth that, one reach almsot 70-80 kmph, without realizing until looks at the oddo meter. In smaller bike with all the noise and engine stress and vibrations, we can easily notice that.

Recently did almost 170 km non stop from Hyderabad to Anathagiri hils and back (No stops for even 2 mins). While returning, I pushed the bike a bit more, it seems like once the engine is hot it really revs very fast and smoothly and once Pirellis tyres are fully warmed up, they really stick very well. I could feel at certain times, tyres almost skidding, but not really skidding like our mrf hard compound tyres. Overtaking the cars doing more than 100 kmph is just so breeze and bike is really happy to go til 135-140 kmph like no ones business. (definitely it would do 160ish on smooth highways). I did not have any complain for the stock seat also, but yet to be seen, on very long rides.

Also, another thing, which I never imagined was the engine breaking to be so much, even on quite steep downward inclined road, once can slot the bike in 1st gear and bike would almost walk without having to apply any breaks, infact at 1st gear bike was so slow, that I had put the bike in 2nd gear and could easily move slowly, without having to apply the breaks.

first a few days, I could feel the front suspension was not that stable on bumpy road, but now after having a bit more experience, I like that setup for the city rides. There was one time, I hit a bit nasty small bumped up patch on a smooth road at speed of almost 70 kmph, and handle wobbled very hard for almost 2 seconds, but the other parts of the bike were rather stable. (obviously on a speed in tripple digits this could be a different story). I believe its all about learning what bike can do and learn to push it in that manner.

Weight is no problem at all, and infact I like it much better than the my unicorn now, even in low traffic etc. (except when you have to push the bike back in outside shops parking space, with your legs muscle power and there is small bump behind the rare tyre), I could push the unicorn back even over a brick, while seating on it, but impossible on this one. I'm doing almost 2 rides a day, with an excuse to buy something, which is not really needed at home. Even going in morning, for almost 4-5 kms away for a DOSA. I feel that if a rider with 5'10" or more height, gives enough time to this bike, then at-least bikes ergonomics and weight etc will not be an issue.

This brings me to the its Fuel economy, I'm getting an avg of 20kmpl in city. So, its both the problem, as it needs frequent visits to Petrol pump and also feeling a bit heavy on the pocket as every 4-5 days, need to fill up the tank for almost 800-900 Rs . But, when I did the Anathgiri trip, that time, bike gave almost an avg of 23-24 kmpl.). (Note: Even on my unicorn, I never got more than 35kmpl in city in last 14 years).

Accessory wise, have only the sump guard/Engine guard, Zana luggage carrier with backrest (2100 rs + 800 rs for back rest). Will install a cheap small plastic box at rare for now for daily usage, as I don't want a big box, interfering with the riding dynamics, and will mostly buy the Givi's top case for the long ride (there is shop in Kukatpally, which sells these boxes for approx 6.2k). Also, mostly will get to those big foot rests available on amazon to save the pillion's shoes and as well as the exhaust pipe. No foot peg re-locator as of now, as I'm yet to do long rides with my pillions get the feedback.

Almost bought the Carbon racing wind screen, but then I did not really find the wind to that interfering even at high speed, and I feel like the large screen may hamper the bikes riding dynamics. Better to first invest in a good helmet for the long rides, which blocks the wind noise better.

Congrats on the your REI, used or new doesn't matter, if it brings a smile on your face while riding at the end of the day and you look back on her after you park the bike and walk away, nothing else matters!

ii) I had almost dropped my friends REI during the first joy ride, all thanks to pathetic design from RE. My leg got caught between the LH footrest, Center stand and hot exhaust area during a slow traffic signal left turn. There was noway I could untangle my leg from that mess, thankfully my upper body had enough strength to pull back on the bike using the handlebars even with such heavy bike.

From that day onwards I always re-check my foot positioning while riding the Interceptor, hope the tip helps.

Happy riding!

More updates on the riding experience so far -

i) The Coin size scratches on Silencer and 1 inch long scratch on the headlight has been taken care off with the Nippon heat resistance silver spray paint. It does not look like new, but one will notice only after careful eyes.

ii) I'm quite used to its weight now(for example while taking a U turn on unpaved road with loads of stones). But reversing the bike is difficult, if the surface is having bumps and stone behind the wheels. Even when I'm almost 5'11, my foot sets on the ground properly, but no room left to try and push the bike further (especially backward). I will need to learn and pay attention to it.

iii) At 2 times, on a single day, on road bumps, it felt like my bottoms have hit the metal plate and one time quite hard. (i. e the foam is quite soft). Definitely needs to change after sometime, but I will work with the stock seat for a lot more time, as it will teach me, when/where I should been careful.

iv) Tyre's still have atleast 5k km life left, so just hoping that RE officially launches the alloys for it. So, that , when the time comes for tyre change, I can switch to Alloys(this was the major drawback and probably the only thing, which was pushing me towards the Honda CB350, but then heard of the news from RE that by Feb21, they may launch it the Alloys for RE interceptor, which really helped a lot and again one of my justification to pick a bit old bike instead of a new one, so that all that money could be better spent in these upgrades).

For now just trying to ride it 30-40 kms a day in the outer city roads.I already had all the riding gears, except riding paints and tank bag, which also already bought 2 days back.

Hi Brothers and Sisters, after a long time back to writing in this forum, im a regular visitor.. Obviously got a new ride for me (on olx though). Will post some pics etc soon. Picked 5k km on odo chrome version interceptor for 2.5 lacs 1 week back. I could have gone for a new one, but in case of fairly new used bike, i don't really see much issue, as long as its non accidental. Got the inspection done with sump guard fitting(bought separately) and wash and switch button assembly changed for total 1010 Rs.. Money saved here will goto buy a New car a few months down the line(as my wife always wanted a new car at home). Bike has a coin size scratch on silencer and a 1 inch long line scratch on headlight casing, which i can live with(ordered a hi temp resistance silver paint to take care of rust). Ignition Switch had a small crack because of the same fall, and is already replaced. As per owner, bike fell , while tanking U turn, by his younger brother. Owner(Elder brother) does not live in Hyderabad, so bike was lying ideal for 2 months almost).

Now coming to the riding, i had tried this bike before for short duration, its good in the sense, that it takes a bit more time to pickup(comparing to power figures), unless one is on high rpm.
Sound is dope. In my younger days, always thought about 4 cylinders inline, and used Benelli 600 was a viable option, but this bike seemed to be much easier to live with it.

Honestly saying, i was really in quite a doubt, whether to buy Honda cb350, after owning Honda unicorn for almost 14 years, which was fairly pushed most of the time at high rpm, that bike is really too much reliable even after 70k km on odo, even chain is still original and Even when i have not serviced her for almost 1.5 years. But at the end, all i could think off, if not this time, then I will be too old, by the time i will get another bike. So it had to be interceptor(if this bike did not exists, then Duke 390 was certain, as that is probably more suited for my riding style in city), but Interceptor has its own charm and Off-course the sound.

more on the riding experience, i will post later.

I can vouch for CEAT tyres over MRF's, Apollos, Birla, Ralco etc etc over any Indian manufacturers in all 2 wheelers tyre segments!
They offer better grip than MRF's any given day on all kinds of surfaces(atleast for my riding style), be it a 12inch scooter tyre or 100/90-17 commuter bike tyre or 150/60-17 power cruiser/sport tyre.

Remember this witty CEAT TVC, their TVC is spot on and really represents the true real world performance. #ItHelps


Only drawback they dont long last as long as MRF's, once the wear level reaches 70-80% the tyre becomes a dud, but to compensate that they do cost less equally by 10-15% when compared to similar MRF's.

I'm all in for Made-in-India and Indian brands.

Apart from all the import duties and retape, which are very much a dissing factor, there is a positive aspect to it.

In a way this is good, and here's why. Firstly, the cost per fitment is comparatively lesser than the Pirellis, and secondly, over time, this can be made available at any CEAT retailer, and thirdly, the "ghost wobble" the Interceptors are quite susceptible seems to have arisen from worn out Pirellis, or at least that's what we've been hearing from owners and troubleshooting diagnoses. In a way, if these CEATs might have solved that inherent "death wobble" at a lesser price, that's a plus. Secondly, to what extent the grippiness has been sacrificed in lieu of the Pirelli's is yet to be seen.

But either way, it's a win-win for the average customer, unless one is keen on improving the performance characteristics of the bike, which he can opt for personally as an upgrade. But I don't see, nothing wrong with a switch.

Cheers!
VJ

This is only temporary, there is a whole imported Tyre shortage situation going on in the entire county for all imported brands Pirelli, Metz, Michelin etc. Government increased the import duty for non-Made in India tyres. Either they should manufacture it in India or some deal to be arrived between Government and Tyre makers to resolve import duty issues, expect this continue till then.

Budget 2020: Govt Mulls Increasing Import Duty On Tyres
https://www.tyreplex.com/news/govern...duty-on-tyres/
"For new pneumatic tyres of rubber specifically, it has recommended a hike in customs duty from 10-15% to 40%. "

The same reason why 2021 KTM D390/RC390 are now coming with MRF's instead of Metz tyres. You can find the same discussion on 2017 Duke 390 thread.

KTM 390 Duke, RC 390 being dispatched with MRF tyres
https://www.autocarindia.com/bike-ne...f-tyres-418784

This is good or bad? I always thought pirelli > ceat because of brand name. Atleast there are more options now for replacement.