The Best Royal Enfield 650 Yet

The Bear 650 is an example of what can be achieved with the Interceptor platform

- Joshua Varghese

THE LAUNCH OF THE ROYAL ENFIELD Interceptor 650 was a significant milestone in the motorcycle history of India. It also gained considerable popularity globally, including the so called developed markets such as the United Kingdom. As good as it is, this motorcycle is devoid of off-road ability, though all along having the potential to form an able base for a scrambler. Royal Enfield not only identified this potential, they also found a way to add some of their heritage to it. The Interceptor Bear 650 is the result of that combination.

I am glad to have written this piece during the month of January because 16-year-old Eddie "Fast Eddie" Mulder won the famous Big Bear Run in January 1960. Eddie was astride a Royal Enfield when he earned his place in history by emerging victorious in America's most important motorcycle race at the time. This Interceptor Bear 650 is Royal Enfield's way of tipping their hats to the boy champion and it cannot be dismissed as another marketing stunt because, regardless of what this motorcycle is called, it is a genuinely good product.

The resemblance to the Interceptor is evident from almost every angle but the modifications are extensive enough to give the Bear its own identity. Its stance is different, thanks to the 17-inch wheel at the rear and the 19-inch one at the front while the long-travel suspension aids this motorcycle in towering above other 650s. There is not much in the way of bodywork and Royal Enfield's new colour schemes add to the Bear's visual appeal. It is a handsome motorcycle and the two-into-one exhaust system rounds off the "ready for anything" look.