RE Bear 650 review, RE Scrambler details – Introduction

It’s hard not to get carried away when cycling the mountain roads of Southern California. Maybe the crisp, cool air of high altitude tricks you into feeling comfortable, even if the speeds aren’t great at all. We were definitely hooked on the twists and turns during our first ride on the new Royal Enfield Bear 650, and it wasn’t all about the cool mountain air. Confused? Understandable. After all, why would the cryptic version of the already heavy and not-so-sharp Interceptor tempt us into corners? It turns out the Bear is much more than just an Interceptor turned into a scrambler.

More Than It Looks

Of course, most of the changes were made to make the Bear more suitable for off-road use. You now have an upside-down fork (instead of the Interceptor’s traditional unit) that offers more travel, from 110mm to 130mm. It’s a similar story at the back; Bear continues with its dual shock absorber setup, but travel has increased from 88mm to 115mm. As a result, seat height and ground clearance have also increased, now reaching 830 mm and 184 mm respectively.

But to accommodate new suspension components and adapt the bike to its more off-road focused role, Royal Enfield had to strengthen the frame in many areas. It has the same basic frame as the Interceptor, but has now been braced in various areas to add strength and rigidity, and the subframe has also been revised. The result is a chassis that is noticeably stiffer than the Interceptor’s. Attacking corners hard, the Bear no longer feels hinged in the middle, and the kind of mid-corner bumps that would have the Interceptor wobbling and rolling all over the place are simply shrugged off.

There’s great feedback, and despite the more off-road-centric 19-inch/17-inch wheel sizes here, you really feel confident in continuing to carry more cornering speed and lean further. This is also in no small part to the excellent new tires wrapped around the wheels; It’s unlikely you’ve heard of MRF Nylorex tires before, and that’s because they’re a new, dual-purpose model developed specifically for the job. motorcycle. Despite the blocky pattern, the grip, profile and, predictably, handling were excellent and there were no complaints on asphalt.

Some of the Bear’s cornering playfulness can also be attributed to its suspension setup. The front fork strikes a nice balance between comfort and performance, but the shock absorbers are quite firm and unforgiving. This was the case with riders of different weights, even at the minimum preload setting. On the largely excellent California tarmac, this was hardly decisive, but solid superiority was palpable and rough patches were transferred to my rear end without adequate mitigation. How this setup fares on our much less perfect roads back home is something we’ll have to find out in due course.

A Numbers Game

Most of the numbers are bigger in the new Bear, and while most of them are good, one of the big numbers that has some people a little worried is the seat height. Yes, 830mm is definitely longer; I’m not very tall, I’m only 1.70 meters tall and therefore I can’t step on flat feet with either foot. However, this isn’t difficult to manage either, and with a little forward planning, you can comfortably choose both sides to flatfoot. It also helps if the footrests are a little further forward so they don’t get any more dirty on your shins. The other change in riding position is that the handlebars are wider and slightly further away from you. The wide part is nice, it gives more advantage on the bike, which I like. I don’t really like the farther part; It extends a little further forward than I’d like and if you’re short like me then this can become a point of fatigue for long periods.

On the bright side, this is now a lighter bike than the model it’s based on. Switching to this new 2-into-1 exhaust setup helped reduce some weight, but some of that was added back through suspension and chassis strengthening. However, although it is 2 kg lighter than the Interceptor, it is a rather heavy motorcycle, weighing 216 kg. You really only feel it at low speeds and when paddling, and on the move the Bear masks its weight quite well. The new exhaust did more than just reduce weight; It also allowed the RE to squeeze a bit more torque out of the engine, which now produces 56.5Nm compared to the standard 52Nm we’ve seen so far.

So while it retains the lovely, highly refined, characterful engine we’ve fallen in love with over the last 6 years, it now feels a bit more powerful. However, the new exhaust changed the sound a bit. It comes out a little closer to you and doesn’t go back as far as dual-pipe designs, which is one of the factors at play. Overall, it’s a bit grittier and raspier, unlike the nicer-sounding dual-pipe 650s. I think this suits the Bear character quite well.

When the Asphalt is Over

Now we come to the big question about off-road performance. We didn’t have much opportunity to drive the bear off-road, just a short spin up and down a fairly basic gravel track. But the feeling is that this definitely looks more like a soft roader than a hard-core off-roader. The suspension can absorb some impacts up to a point, and these new tires seem to work well off-road. Rear ABS can also be turned off. So yes, you can have some fun off-roading. But the weight makes its presence felt, and the ergos are halfway between road and off-road, so this isn’t a bike you’ll want to push too hard when the asphalt runs out. But you won’t have to come back.

Switching off the rear ABS is done via a fully digital TFT display; This is the first model in the Royal Enfield 650 to get this feature and it is the same unit you will find in the Himalayan. This means you’ll also get features like Bluetooth connectivity and Google Maps integration. It is also the first RE 650 with full LED lighting. The only other notable feature is a USB charging port, but as with all REs now, there’s an extensive accessory list covering the usual suspects like touring mirrors and touring seat, as well as more scrambler-specific items. crankcase guard and headlight grille.

summarize

The final piece of the puzzle is the price and starting from Rs 3.39 lakh and going up to Rs 3.59 lakh, the Bear sits between the Interceptor and GT at one end and the Shotgun and Super Meteor at the other. After cruising around California, it feels like the most versatile and competent RE 650 today. It can cruise, tour, commute, corner pretty hard – it’s a great road bike – and it’s also got off-road capability. But how painful the stiff suspension setup in India will be is something we can only tell you a little later. Test drives and deliveries start on November 10, so it won’t be long.