Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

[luludog]

My buddy Rick and I put a few miles on our bikes this past summer. One of our stops was the Royal Enfield dealer in Elkhart, Indiana. They were hosting a demo day. We had ridden older RE’s, so our expectations weren’t real high. We came away impressed with the Interceptor 650’s. Good power & torque, handled well, brakes were excellent and the bike had that classic look that drew us in.
About a month later, Rick finds a used 2022 with less than 300 miles, and negotiates a price.

Here’s Rick’s on a stop at a country side fire station that had some junk cars (practice, and show the HS kids)

IMG_6374.jpeg

Rick found another one on the east side of the state. 2021 model with 108 miles, two owners. First owner drove it only 80 miles in two years. The second owner only put 28 miles and parked the bike in a garage/barn when she found out she was expecting. It had a couple of mouse nests, squirrels had stored some walnuts in it and the birds made their deposits. Negotiated a price, and brought it home.
We both didn’t like how quiet the engine/bike was. You’d find yourself over-reving. New aftermarket mufflers were installed. Huge difference. Air filter was trashed by the mice, so a K&N filter was installed.

Photo after much cleaning (with side cover off, waiting for air filter).

IMG_6506.jpeg

For those not familiar with the 650’s. It’s a two cylinder, OHC, 4 valves/cylinder, fuel injected, six speed transmission.

[CYBORG]

nice

[Rat]

Like the retro chrome tank … not sure I’d still like riding in the bright sun …

Gord(kinda retro myself)

[dontwantapickle]

They look like fun bikes.
I like the retro look.
Not a whole lot of padding on those seats though. (my old flat, skinny, boney ass would surely complain)

[luludog]

Like the retro chrome tank … not sure I’d still like riding in the bright sun …

Gord(kinda retro myself)

So far haven’t heard any complaints from Rick. The tank does have a Red center section.

[luludog]

They look like fun bikes.
I like the retro look.
Not a whole lot of padding on those seats though. (my old flat, skinny, boney ass would surely complain)

The seat isn’t a LazyBoy, but seems Okay. We’ve got a factory touring seat which sits you a bit higher and also feels like it’s got gel in it. It is more comfortable, but would take some getting use to with my shorty legs.

[luludog]

There’s a couple quirks some have reported. There’s four relays, and the factory used some sort of white lithium grease in the connectors (lots of grease). Cleaning the connectors and put a very small amount of dielectric grease cures the problem.
The other potential problem is the regulator/rectifier is located on the back of the engine. The “fix” some do is to relocate the R/R up front on the lower triple tree or under the oil cooler. Some of the 2025 models have the R/R under the cooler. I put it under the oil cooler.

IMG_6609.jpeg

Short video taken today to check the R/R

https://youtube.com/shorts/e_0Jiwia8Rc?feature=shared

[luludog]

Rummaging through parts; found a small voltmeter, and thought it would be good to have it on the RE.

IMG_6768.jpeg

Short video. There’s a 12v auxiliary power source in the headlight bucket. Made a bracket, held in place with the bolt securing the handlebars. Used a washer on the other side, same thickness as the bracket.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hQoBHeDo1ec?feature=shared

[Rat]

Thanks for the report … nice to see an 'old' bike renewed

Gord