Royal Enfield Bear 650 First Ride: The Better And Rugged Interceptor?

Its been 6 years since the introduction of Royal Enfield’s 650 cc platform and in the past six years, the family has grown from 2 to 6 with the latest member being the new Bear 650 that we are riding today. It is a scrambler derivative of the Interceptor 650, but one that has a heritage more deep rooted than the roadster itself. And if you have seen our recent comparison between the Interceptor 650 and the BSA Gold Star 650, we found the Interceptor to have lost its charm. Does the Bear bring it back? Is it the better pick for the urban buyer?

Bear Down On You

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? In essence, yes, it has the aura of the Interceptor 650. However, Royal Enfield is a very heritage driven company and the original Interceptor had scrambling roots. In fact the name Bear 650 comes from the company’s victory at the gruelling 1960s Bear Run competition held quite close to where we are right now in the outskirts of Los Angeles. 

However, the scrambler-ness of the Bear comes out with the revised side panels, the 60s and 70s racing inspired liveries, the narrower subframe area and the scrambler-style bench seat. There are 5 colour options on offer of which my favourite is the Wild Honey, as it goes with the desert racer vibe nicely. I suspect a lot of Indian buyers might find the Golden Shadow more appealing due to the golden finished USD fork, which I find confusing as to why Royal Enfield did that only for a particular colourway but heck that’s what it is.

There is a bit of fancy tech on board, some of it borrowed from the Himalayan, like the TFT console, and some of it a first for the 650cc family, that is LED turn indicators. I did find the joy cube to be a bit lacking when it comes to tactile feel and our grouse with the rotary switches continues but it seems that we would have to accept that all RE bikes will get it going forwards.

Since this is the oldest platform in the Royal Enfield portfolio, it shows that the quality levels aren’t exactly like the new Sherpa 450 series bikes or even the 650 cc cruisers. However, it still has neat wiring and a clean look to it with brilliant paint finishing. We wish the weld finishes, especially in the fortified areas of the chassis, see an improvement.

Bear-like Posture?

So a lot has been changed from the Interceptor and it can be felt as soon as you hop on to the Bear. For starters, it feels heavier to pick it off the stand, despite it being 2 kilos lighter. That’s because Royal Enfield has jacked up the frame but the side stand length remains the same. The seat is definitely taller and at 830 mm, managing this 216 kg motorcycle will take some getting used to. I find it best to have one foot on the pegs and push the bike around it with the other. And no worries of hurting your shins here as Royal Enfield has pushed the footpegs forwards with a new mounting bracket.

The scrambler-style bench seat was very effective. Even after spending countless hours in the saddle, you didn't feel fatigued or your tailbone didn’t end up hurting. Plus, the bars are wider, raised and you get this sense of a commanding and attacking posture, which is great because you've got a lot more grunt with the Bear.

Smells Blood

Powering the Bear is the same engine making a bit more power but noticeably more torque. The new exhaust system has allowed them to achieve the improvements. The internal gear ratios remain the same but the sprocketing is different. It bears a rear sprocket that has 3 teeth more than the Interceptor. However, with the larger rolling circumference, the final drive is more or less the same.

Thanks to the performance gains, it is evident that the Bear 650 is the liveliest member of the Royal Enfield 650cc family. The Bear pounces off the line as if it has smelled blood, reaching triple digit speeds rather rapidly. Out on the wide, endlessly straight Californian highways, it manages to sustain 120-130 kmph very easily, with enough oomph in reserve to go even faster. 

And yet, it never felt buzzy. The same smooth light buzz that the engine is known for is present here as well, albeit the exhaust note has become rather braapy, almost to the tune of an off-roader. Clutch action still remains a little on the heavier side, something that we wish was made lighter in due course. We couldn't test out the engine heat during our shoot because how cool the riding conditions were throughout the day. And even though we were doing some serious speeds, the fuel efficiency readout on the onboard computer was showing 18-19 kmpl which should be great. 

Jacked Up Desert Runner?

While the frame remains the same, it has been fortified in a lot more places to take on the extra forces that the light scrambling that the bike can be subjected to. It is running on similar Showa units as the Super Meteor 650 and the Shotgun 650 but with revised lengths and tuning for better bump absorption. There is a 19-/17-inch spoke wheel setup with specially developed MRF Nylorex tyres for the Bear 650, which have a Pirelli Scorpion STR vibe to them. While the braking specifications remain more or less the same as the Interceptor, the feel and characteristics have been modified to suit the Bear. And lastly, you do get switchable ABS for better confidence over the dusty stuff.

The Bear 650 happens to be the most agile and liveliest member of the 650cc family. It handles cornering thrills quite neatly. You can hook it into a corner, chase down apexes, carry your lines and it will do so without breaking a sweat. And that's a big improvement because on the Interceptor, we found that the front end was a bit vague. Plus, the far from ideal tyres failed to provide the right amount of grip that one hopes when engaging in such activities. The stopping performance seemed very solid, just like the Interceptor, or in fact slightly better. This still feels like a very solid handling package.

We didn't find a lot of bad roads during our ride but it still felt a bit on the firmer side. We are expecting the suspension to feel firm on our Indian roads but the balance is certainly going to be better than the Interceptor. Hence you might not feel wishy washiness like you do on the roadster but thuds and bumps would be felt.

Worth The Extra ₹40,000?

Has the Bear 650 brought back the charm that was seemingly missing from the Interceptor. Why, yes! Because this bike is far more rewarding and far more joyous than what the Interceptor currently is. It has the extra poke to delight the rider, it has the right foundations for when you want to have fun and it doesn’t have the same stability issues that one found on with Interceptor. Yes, the firmness of the suspension might turn out to a bother on Indian roads, which is something to watch out for soon. You will have to shell out ₹3.39 lakh (ex-showroom India), which is ₹40,000 more than the roadster. But the ₹40,000 are well justified for the kind of riding experience that you're getting with this scrambler. And to Royal Enfield’s credit, this Bear would turn out to be a great urban runabout too.