Author Topic: US Interceptor (Read 8823 times)

GSS · **on:** May 04, 2019, 08:10:14 pm

I just picked up an Interceptor from Marty in Minneapolis off the first dealer shipment. He had a silver and an orange Interceptor along with a nice white GT. Hauled it home and took it for a 10 mile spin. Truly a very nice bike with excellent fit, finish and ride. I was very happy to see a 7 inch headlight and not the ugly 5 inch ones we got on the previous US bound GTs and C5s. The turn signals are once again the little round DOT marked ones they used on the US GT535s.

The reviews were correct as it does have great handling, and feels very light and well balanced. Most importantly it feels like a refined Royal Enfield, and not what some reviewers had called a sewing machine-like smoothness similar to a Suzuki or Honda engine. The engine is very responsive and has a nice vibration, and the stock sound on the open road is great as well.

BRG-BIRD · **Reply #1 on:** May 05, 2019, 01:02:01 am

Man you are making it tough to wait for the chrome model I have money down on! Thanks for the posting and information!

Narada · **Reply #2 on:** May 05, 2019, 01:13:10 am

Sounds great...Yeah!

BRG-BIRD · **Reply #3 on:** May 05, 2019, 01:19:19 am

What is the break in process for the engine?

GSS · **Reply #4 on:** May 05, 2019, 04:20:05 pm

Narada, the decision was made for me by our very short Minnesota riding season. I picked up a nice Orange as it was available immediately and did not want to wait 1-2 months for the chrome. I will likely replace the tank in a year or two with a Chrome tank and get the same end result

BRG, the engine hits 4K rpm almost immediately in each gear. This feels like a very modern engine that will not need more than a couple of hundred miles to break in. I plan to keep my rpms no higher than 4-5K and speed no higher than 55-60 mph and will likely put in Amsoil at around 500 miles and will consider it broken-in

GSS · **Reply #5 on:** May 05, 2019, 08:03:43 pm

Another observation....the headlight is also different. It is a 7" with a clear front and a multi-surface reflector. There is also a LED parking light inside a little rectangular segment in the lower part. It looks pretty good overall and looks fine with the round, orange turn signals.

Mofa1952 · **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2019, 05:35:29 pm

Does anyone feel that the roll out of bikes to the us and Canadian dealers was botched a bit in that not enough bikes shipped and lots of dealers still waiting for bikes??

Canadian dealers still don't have the 650s yet and the Toronto (ACTON ONTARIO) introduction is June 2nd. AND what about the accessories? Hope the maintenance parts are here.

Waiting for my orange interceptor

We have a short riding season as well.

Dr Mayhem · **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2019, 05:45:29 pm

I was told back in Dec I think by RE USA that bikes wouldn't be available here till late spring - early summer.

And last week RE USA told me that dealers here can't order parts till after the 15th of this month.

I don't recall if I was given an exact date. A call thereafter to India confirmed what they said.

There will be a shortage for a while longer I think. The whole world seems to be wanting these twins asap.

Also, was just the first week of April when RE inquired of it's dealers for what they had taken deposits on.

They would attempt to ship those pre-orders first but indicated they didn't have a sufficient bikes for all

ace.cafe · **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2019, 06:29:17 pm

I have seen a few articles from India that said the twins were thousands of bikes behind schedule for production.

BRG-BIRD · **Reply #9 on:** May 13, 2019, 02:00:44 am

I think two strikes hurt the delivery. I feel bad for the dealers especially up here in the upper Midwest. Other than the four they were shipped and the bikes that were preordered the others will be tough to sell in September and if that happens it will make it even tougher on dealers that have old stock sitting from even last year. Tough times to be a dealer in this market.

GSS · **Reply #10 on:** May 13, 2019, 02:48:19 am

Hopefully RE is savvy enough to prioritize US shipments to capitalize on the initial interest generated by an intelligent marketing campaign and positive reviews. I am seriously considering replacing my GT535 with a second 650 twin and would have done so this weekend if I could have had my choice of colors available within a month.

It was too chilly for a long ride today, but the bike continues to handle really well at city speeds. The front footpegs irritant reported by shorter riders is real. Even at 6 feet tall, I find the location problematic while trying to push this back or forth. The overall riding position of the footpegs is otherwise quite comfortable and I am sure that the aftermarket manufacturers will come up with a mild relocation option for those who like a classic RE riding position.

Tire pressure will need some tweaking as the recommended 32 and 39 psi is fine around town, but the front end felt harsh and lumpy today at 55 mph on a smaller county highway, and was definitely stiff while crossing a railroad line. Interestingly the GT535 (slightly lighter bike) with identical size tires has 22 and 32 psi as recommended pressures. I am likely going to try 28 and 35 and see if things improve.

Overall very happy with this purchase.

Bilgemaster · **Reply #11 on:** May 13, 2019, 04:10:52 am

For sure the strikes hurt their strategic timeline for rollout in the West, what with our inconveniently pronounced seasonality for motorcycle purchases over here. And even though the 650s were clearly designed and intended to make inroads on our faster-paced western roadways, I imagine Enfield must also have to do a balancing act with their just shy of a thousand domestic dealerships in India, who must be howling at the 4 month waiting times for the shiny new 650s yonder too. I read somewhere that Enfield is taking a page from the Triumph playbook and looking to put up a factory in Thailand. Maybe it's just to better service their growing Southeast Asian markets, maybe to get the upper whip hand over their "uppity" domestic workforce. Maybe both? Whatever the case, it may serve as a buffer against future supply glitches well down the road.

Remember that most people in the States, even "avid motorcyclists", have never yet even heard of Royal Enfield, and I'll bet that at least 4 out of 5 might guess it has something to do with cutlery or maybe teapots. That said, with interest such as it is focused on the new 650s, I reckon as Fall nears there will be fine deals to be had in the dealerships on the "old hat" Bullets and Conti singles--maybe even the Himalayans, if rumors continue among those at all knowledgeable of the breed who haven't already bought one about some larger-engined Himi in the wings. Then, if those 650s do start rolling out of the containers in big numbers only as the leaves turn, there might be a window for modest winter bargains there, once those eager beaver waiting list folks are appeased.

I for one, look forward to spotting my first 650 in the wild in much the same way as a bird watcher or teenage boy might yearn to see a fine pair of dancing boobies. But if I ever do get my hands on one, it'll be long after the hoopla and "scarcity" (whether engineered or not) have backed off several notches. I think I'd also like to see the dealership price of their nothing special spin-on oil filters come down a bit from its present 50-something bucks and maybe real printed workshop manuals and parts catalogs made available to the owners. The dealerships' happiness and profitability is not MY main concern, particularly if it comes at my expense.

How Dancing Boobies Might Appear

ROVERMAN · **Reply #12 on:** May 13, 2019, 02:09:38 pm

Detroit Iron in White Lake MI got their first shipment last week.
Roverman.

Dr Mayhem · **Reply #13 on:** May 14, 2019, 09:26:19 pm

Dealers out west have received their 1 Continental GT and their 3 Interceptors now, but as of today still no custom paint Conti GTs at the US warehouse. I was told mine will be

in the first bunch to arrive, hopefully with the shock and disc upgrades already. I'm not itching to ride it because I plan to go part way into the motor first anyway, and some

mods also, but really itching to just look at it

Mofa1952 · **Reply #14 on:** May 25, 2019, 12:17:52 am

Quote from: Dr Mayhem on May 12, 2019, 05:45:29 pm

I was told back in Dec I think by RE USA that bikes wouldn't be available here till late spring - early summer.

And last week RE USA told me that dealers here can't order parts till after the 15th of this month.

Well look what followed me home today. Bike is brilliant.

Got the first one in Ottawa Ontario Canada.

I don't recall if I was given an exact date. A call thereafter to India confirmed what they said.

There will be a shortage for a while longer I think. The whole world seems to be wanting these twins asap.

Also, was just the first week of April when RE inquired of it's dealers for what they had taken deposits on.

They would attempt to ship those pre-orders first but indicated they didn't have a sufficient bikes for all

chuychacon · **Reply #15 on:** May 25, 2019, 03:08:22 pm

I am holding out for a 50th anniversary Easy Rider chopper tribute 650 bike with USA flag tank , minus the cocaine in it!

Dr Mayhem · **Reply #16 on:** May 25, 2019, 03:38:42 pm

The white Conti GT at Euro Cycle was offered to me this past Tuesday but I wasn't interested, anyway, wouldn't I then need to change my login to "ice queen" LoL

I was hesitant to go look at them because I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold out for the paint I really wanted

Damn nice bike!! but my wife thought I shouldn't get it either. I'm so impressed with them that waiting a bit longer isn't a problem

My wife kept coming back and telling me about this or that BMW, Ducati, Triumph etc. but I wasn't even a little interested

CenterTree · **Reply #17 on:** June 26, 2019, 04:10:40 pm

Quote from: Dr Mayhem on May 14, 2019, 09:26:19 pm

.... I was told mine will be

in the first bunch to arrive, hopefully with the shock and disc upgrades already. I'm not itching to ride it because I plan to go part way into the motor first anyway, and some

mods also, but really itching to just look at it

Can you elaborate on these upgrades you mention?

I haven't heard of those.

I have heard about the altitude software (bikes after June) and round indicator lights (for USA models) from factory.

GlennF · **Reply #18 on:** June 27, 2019, 05:42:30 am

Quote from: CenterTree on June 26, 2019, 04:10:40 pm

Can you elaborate on these upgrades you mention? I haven't heard of those.

I have heard about the altitude software (bikes after June) and round indicator lights (for USA models) from factory.

The first batches were missing a rubber bumper on the rear shocks, whether by manufacturing oversight or poor design is not clear. They apparently can be replaced free of charge, but the issue was not serious enough for a recall.

There has been a recall for an ECU software issue as apparently the bikes lose the plot badly mixture wise at altitudes over 5000 feet.

I am not sure what the brake issue is. There have been some minor complaints about lack of stopping power in emergencies compared to modern twin disk designs but it is a heavy bike for just a single front disk so it is what it is. (Some reports indicate the GT may suffer from this more which is odd as both bikes have the same front brake).

With the brakes, it is more likely people are getting confused with a recall on several of the 350 and 500 bullet models which had a brake-capillary bolt issue, this recall did not effect the 650s at all.

Jako · **Reply #19 on:** June 27, 2019, 07:21:45 am

Might be this https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,27186.0.html

GlennF · **Reply #20 on:** June 28, 2019, 12:24:38 am

Quote from: Jako on June 27, 2019, 07:21:45 am

Might be this https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,27186.0.html

ah ... that makes sense.

Narada · **Reply #21 on:** July 10, 2019, 10:07:07 pm

Just thought I'd mention, I was at Seattle RE (NW Moto / Seattle Triumph) yesterday for some Bonnie brake pads, and they had about 8 Interceptors in many colors (no chrome of course).

Most are sold, but many are not. A few Red, Black, silver, orange...

Who knows, might even be able to test ride one?

GSS · **Reply #22 on:** July 12, 2019, 03:50:19 am

You should test ride one all the way home

Narada · **Reply #23 on:** July 13, 2019, 01:13:00 am

We'll see what happens when I swing a leg over chrome... Some people need more cowbell, I need more chrome!

BRG-BIRD · **Reply #24 on:** August 08, 2019, 04:52:00 am

Talked to my dealer today and apparently the INT650 in chrome that is reserved for me is in the states and should be to the dealer in a week or so.