Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650 Spotted Prior To India Launch

Royal Enfield has an arsenal of new bikes awaiting launch this year. After the first spy shots of the Himalayan 650 went viral yesterday, the brand’s upcoming 650 cc scrambler bike, the Interceptor Bear 650, has been spotted again. Yes, this is the second time we have spotted the bike after the Chennai-based motorcycle maker trademarked the production-spec design last week. 

The latest spy shot gives us a closer look at the equipment with which the upcoming Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650 will be launched. And since this is a scrambler model, the bike has quite the rugged appeal, too, courtesy of that MRF NYLOREX-X pattern dual-purpose tyres that are shod around 19-/17-inch spoke wheels. Additionally, we can also make out that the turn indicators from the Himalayan 450 will be carried over here, however, unlike in the ADV where it doubles up as a tail light, in the Bear 650, it will be available as turn indicators only. 

While most of the bike design remains unchanged, the spy shot confirms that the 650 cc scrambler will come with a slightly better seat with more padding. Thus, it should address one of the biggest issues with the Interceptor 650, i.e. seating comfort. For more information about that, check out our review of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 with alloy wheels below:

Beyond that, the Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650’s suspension system has also been updated. While the twin-shock absorber set-up continues, the units seem to have been carried over from the Shotgun 650s. Similarly, the front suspension has also been updated for USD fork, instead of the conventional telescopic fork that is available with the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650. The instrument cluster cannot be gauged in this spy shot; however, in the trademark design, we could figure that the Interceptor Bear 650 will get the single-pod fully digital instrument cluster that debuted with the new Himalayan 450. This new cluster supports Bluetooth connectivity, which gets you call/SMS alerts, and it also supports Google Maps on board – something that we’ve barely seen in any bike under ₹4 Lakh. 

The 2024 Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650 is expected to go on sale later this year before it makes its global debut at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, followed by an Indian launch at the brand’s annual 2024 Rider Mania biking festival in Goa. 

The current Interceptor 650 is priced between ₹3.03 lakh to ₹3.31 lakh, depending upon the colour option you choose. Given the updates the Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650 will debut with, we expect it will command a slight premium of around ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 over the INT 650.

(Source: Rushlane)