Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Thank you for your inputs. I always wanted an RE and this felt the right time with the twin. I hope to learn the nuances of RE and enjoy it to the fullest. I am planning to use it for office commute in first few days and get it out to explore the wild.

One thing I would like to know is required mods. I will be using it to travel with my wife and daughter for shorter travels at times and I am planning to install a pillion rest as soon as it is available officially. Any other suggestions on mods to accommodate my wife or mom who prefer to sit sideways.

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Thank you for explaining it brother. I don't expect myself to be revving more unless I feel confident that I can handle it completely. I'll keep it under control as you suggested.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

hello bro congratulation on your booking, my experience was the same as you i have Yamaha ray z and activa and interceptor was my first bike. Would like to share some of my thoughts .

1) The weight- careful while parking and doing 180 degree turns take your time and make sure both the feet is on the ground

2) Gloves- please wear gloves always (proper riding gears are always welcome), if the bike fall, well usually people say try not to grab when bullets fall, but i had total 3 falls, two time didn't touch ground and one time hit the road and bend handle bar and brake peddle. got bruise on finger joints. it happens so fast usually end up with grabbing the bake.

3)Handling- Please don't carry your wife and kid until you complete couple of 100 km, by the time you you'll be familiar with the bike. I took almost a month , only after almost 400 km or so i think i got the hang.

4)Heat- Always wear high top boots or sneaker, right now i am on bed rest i got my ankle burned. I wore a canvas shoe because it was raining i didn't want to damage my leather boot and paid the price

5)Pillion - While riding with my brother he was sitting the gap between the grab rail and seat. Felt very heavy in the traffic , pushing the bike by leg with pillion really difficult.

6) seat and rear foot peg- Due to the foot peg height and seat design the contact area with the seat is very low this cause pillion move back and forth during acceleration and braking , they may loose balance, cause the grab rail does not provide any back support ( Zana International may have solution l)

7) Braking- This bike has really good braking system use it wisely. Since we are used to left and right hand brake on scooter, there is higher a chance to apply the same here during panic situation. As i mention the bike tumbled thrice and got my leg burn all this happened because of that, i applied left and right hand lever, and caused the rear wheel slightly skid.

And there is a nice video regarding running in period by stuart fillingham on you tube watch it before your first ride. Take your time to familiar with bike enjoy rest of your life good luck

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Also, test ride along with your wife to make sure if she is comfortable. Taking your wife and kid together is a NO on this bike, and also sitting sideways is not possible. The engine and the exhaust gets really hot during ride and care must be taken by both pillion and rider not to touch bare skin directly - so dress accordingly. I also wanted to use the INT as an all-rounder but feels it is better if you have a second bike so that you can enjoy INT purely for rides and solo runs within city, the reason why I still have my bullet Electra.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Not sure if that's possible in bumper to bumper traffic, I test rode this bike in the city during peak traffic for some decent kms.
And what a brilliant mess they have done for the foot rest placement, my left leg was gird locked between the foot rest, center stand and side stand. It was like Bermuda triangle with no getting out. Rear foot rest was in closed postilion.

I literally kept hitting my feet either to foot rest or center stand or the side stand, all meanwhile worrying about not getting my leg touching the exhaust and getting burnt by it.

If I ever get this bike the first thing I'd do is to chop off the center stand feet or remove it complexity, and/or chop of a bit from the side stands feet extension, also wrap the exhaust with exhaust heat wrap.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

I still have my NTorq and will be using it for traveling with family anyways but just wanted to know the possibility of using it. Will try to take another test drive to make sure if that is possible. Is the back rest by ZANA International good? I found only that till date for back rest for Interceptor.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Quality of Zana's accessories is good as per reports shared by other people who purchased them. Like you said, they seem to be the only one available widely right now. I am also planning to install their top rack + backrest combo.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Hey everyone!

After a rather long wait, watching multiple reviews and comparisons, I decided to book my Interceptor 650 around late March 2019. Initially I was hooked by the Mark Three variant, but soon after booking it I felt that it wasn't very appealing. It wouldn't stand out in a motorcycle crowd (the massive twin chrome exhausts will though haha). But, I was hesitant to change the color in case the waiting period increased. I couldn't wait to get my parallel twin beast!
Fast forward roughly 2.5 months, I get a call from the dealer saying that the Mark Three wasn't available but a Silver Spectre just became available as the previous person who booked it couldn't make the payment on time. This call was like the perfect thing for me. I confirmed it immediately and within a week I took the delivery of my bike on June 12th. Snaps below!
Changes I've made on the bike so far:

-Got a double layer ceramic coating done from Ceramic Pro Trivandrum onto the bike and it's done very neatly I must say!


-Replaced the stock mirrors with the Himalayan's mirrors as the stock one had very poor visibility and could not be adjusted AT ALL.


-Aluminium sump guard was fixed as well.


There are a few more accessories that I've ordered, will post pics once they're delivered. Apparently RE is not taking orders of certain accessories, hopefully I'll get it all *fingers crossed* !

Problems I've faced so far:

-I've booked the GT's touring seat as well because, even though I haven't been able to take the bike for a longer ride, for 20-30 minute rides in the city my butt started to hurt and it was uncomfortable. Good reviews about the touring seat, can't wait to check it out.


-The fuel gauge is an absolute mess. I've been calculating how much is left based on a fuel econ of 15-16kmpl and so far so good didn't run out of gas on the roads hehe. -On a serious note though, I hope RE will fix this like they've fixed the high-altitude issue.


-I don't use a pressure wash for my bike or cars, but a normal pressure hose. After the first two baths, water started seeping into the odo and rpm meters. Not by much, but once I ride around after a wash for 15 minutes, I can see very tiny droplets of water on the bottom 1/4ths of the circle.


I haven't reached my first service yet (only rode 330km). Will update on that too as I read in earlier posts that some owner's bikes have had negative impacts performance wise.

Looking to put in some serious miles on my first ever motorcycle. Cheers!

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Finally Got my Interceptor 650 - Silver Spectre and done close to 500 kms on it in 2 weeks. Going to take it for the first service.

My Impression about this bike -
1. The experience of riding a twin cylinder machine is just awesome. The exhaust sound is the Best part - not very loud, but not very silent either, just the sweet rumble. Shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd and turning on the gas - the sound is just sweet you will get a lot of heads to turn your ways!!!!
2. The Retro and Simple design looks great and ageless.
3. Great Value for Money Product. I have never imagined that I could afford a Twice Cylinder motorcycle in my Life, but RE has made this possible. I am sure there are may persons (mainly Middle class/ salaried class) who had this dream come true.
4. The foot peg position seems to be awkward and keeps hitting the back side of your shin. But since it is not a fixed unit, it bends backwards on the slightest touch. I personally didnt feel much of an issue with this and may be its about getting used to it.
5. Bike is quit heavy and difficult to push around on parking lots and taking a 180 degree turn. I need to get used to this,since I have being riding my Honda Unicorn 150.

Accessories fitted - Crash Guard Large (must for getting RC in Kerala), Sump Guard (out of all the accessories sold by RE now, this is the most useful and i totally recommend it), Big Visor (cosmetic purpose only) and Fork Gaiters (cosmetic purpose only).

The biggest issue i am facing is with the stock supplied seats - It is really uncomfortable for the rider as well as the pillion. For the Pillion, it is not like a flaw for the bike (as I have seen even costlier bikes were pillion seat is a joke), but for the rider it is really uncomfortable. It is too soft and narrow, that your butt will start acking after 1 hr of continuous ride.

I found there are 2 ways to get it right - either purchase the CGT 650 Touring seat or approach the custom upholstery shop. I am not sure what to do.

Has any one installed the CGT touring seat on the interceptor - Is it good for medium to long rides? Please share your thoughts.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Go for custom seat cgt is also not very helpful in this regard. Heard from may in our group. Go to a good seat maker and tell him your requirements.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Hello there,

I test drove this two weekends ago and was blown away with the acceleration and torque.

I have a CBR 250R from 2018 and also a Polo diesel . The acceleration was definitely better than CBR and the Torque, in terms of drivability & not the actual figure, comparable to the Polo.

I had a ball that half hour on the Necklace road in Hyderabad and fell in love with it. The acceleration actually pleasantly shocked me and also I think I am a big fan of low end torque engines and this is exactly what this gave me in those 30 minutes. My first impression was that I could keep coasting on this bike all day with minimal gear shifting. Of course it was a Sunday and the road was empty.

Just wanted to offer a perspective. Also I understand our expectations may not be the same.

I hope the bike grows on you with time.

Regards
Bharath

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Congratulations on the bike and a happy ownership! How much did the ceramic coating and the himalayan mirrors cost you?

From what I have understood from other owners, the touring seat isn't any better. I got a custom seat done from a seat shop (refer to Billu Biker's video on his custom seat); now I'm able to do long distance easily. Just did a 600 km return trip a few weeks ago.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin


Thank you for the wishes!

The ceramic coating cost me Rs.11,000 for a basic double layer and Rs.700 for the Himalayan's mirrors.
Also, please post some pictures of your modified seat and the cost if possible thank you

Cheers

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin


Cost 3K INR

Other details & more pics at this ownership thread.

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

bro what about the head light, i feel it is in adequate at night. abhinav bhatt has installed cyclops 3800 lumen h4 led, i am seriously considering it along with himalayan lens

Re: Interceptor 650 Twin

Try Philips Xtreme vision it is good, and on the other hand I have done highway on night without any issues with the stock headlight.
Abhinav has made it something else now it is no longer an Interceptor [emoji23][emoji23].