Topic: Royal Enfield 650

[Stev-o]

I think I read the BT46 was designed to overcome the flaws of the BT45..

I replaced the worn out BT-45's on my K4 with the updated BT-46's and am happy so far... 

[Terry in Australia]

I haven’t noticed any stability issues on Tim’s bike Alan, and have ridden the test bikes (both variants) at close to “The Ton” so I’m wondering what this issue is? Correct tyre pressure is important, I see lots of guys on FB complain about various bikes that they’ve just bought and when you ask that question they either didn’t know, or didn’t check.

Harris Performance in England spent a lot of time designing a frame that doesn’t flex, and Pirelli phantoms were so I’m interested to see what issues people are talking about?

[Alan F.]

I think upping the tire sizes is a response to R.E. choosing tire size by price point for the masses.
The stock sizes aren't the minnimum that the rims would fit, but they are on the lower end. The sizes I'm going for are above mid-range for the rim widths, but they're not pushing the limits by any means. R.E. chose 2.5 front and 3.5 rear so we could upgrade if we want to. They chose aluminum rims with stainless spokes and nipples so the wheels would have a long lifespan in a variety of climates.

Honestly I think it'd be interesting to pick up a high mileage Interceptor in the future, ditch the 18s for 17s, ditch the FI for carbs, ditch the ABS, ditch the ECU & go with a custom wiring harness, small light battery, LEDs everywhere and all of the other lightweight bits. That could be fun.

[Alan F.]

Grip Puppies are on. These grips were very skinny & my hands were cramping up. I'll be out for a ride later on tonight.

[grcamna2]

Grip Puppies are on. These grips were very skinny & my hands were cramping up. I'll be out for a ride later on tonight.

Reminds me of the Grab On foam grips.
The foam dense or soft ?

[Alan F.]

It's dense, like the grips 10-speed bicycles got in the 80s. I rode 2 hours of quick back roads with them tonight, they can stay. I've read some talking about how they're SO COMFY...no but they help.
The larger diameter helps for sure, and the vibration damping helps too.  Now that seat is the first thing to cause me pain, followed closely by the distance from seat to the foot pegs causing hip pain. I've got some extended pegs from Amazon that I'll try soon, they're for Yamaha bikes and will require some filing to fit perfectly. They'll be my next step, at 1/3 the cost of the closest bike-specific off the shelf solution too.

[RAFster122s]

Are you camping out for their event in 3 days to see the new announcements and release?

https://www.rideapart.com/news/630892/enfield-super-meteor-650-livestream/

[Alan F.]

I didn't know about that, thanks for the link.
But no I'm not on pins and needles waiting my turn to get a peek. I've seen several on youtube, the 650 Meteor seems a little Sportster-ish from what I've watched.

[C317414]

Interesting thread....

My wife had a 2013 Triumph T100, but did not like it too much.  She felt it was top heavy and was not comfortable maneuvering it a low speeds or moving it around the garage.  Following a friend's recommendation, she test rode a Royal Enfield INT650 at a local dealer, and fell in love with it.  She's had it now for two years, and enjoys riding it very much.  I've ridden it as well, and like it.  If I were to describe the feel, it is like riding a modernized Triumph T140, that has very little vibration. 

Photo of my wife's INT650 and my Thruxton R:

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, the RE 650’s crap all over the Triumph Bonneville. When we bought my sons Continental GT in 2019 we were chatting to an old guy who’d test ridden a new Bonny before he test rode the RE Interceptor and said that the Triumph was much heavier, and over here, cost almost twice as much. I’m currently flogging around on a poorly maintained RE 350 Classic and I’m impressed with how much abuse they can take, if the 650’s prove to be as tough, they will kill the Bonneville market.

[MauiK3]

They almost have a Norton Command look in the photo.

[Terry in Australia]

They’re a “reversed image” replica of the Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor of the late 60’s engine, not sure why they did that, but regardless they’re a good looking engine that in years to come will probably be popular with chopper builders because they look very “British”. Definitely not a powerhouse unless you pony up the dough for the S&S big bore kit, cams, etc, but a nice smooth engine for comfortable cruising.

[Alan F.]

I'd like to build a chopper from one of these.

[Alan F.]

I like the lines of this '68 but I don't think I'd want a hardtail.

[C317414]

I'd like to build a chopper from one of these.

You'd be better off starting out with the new Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650:

https://www.motorcycle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/110922-Royal-Enfield-Super-Meteor-650-f.png

[Alan F.]

But that'd be too easy, legal, and expensive up front. Where's the bad ass fun in buying a bike?

[Terry in Australia]

The Super Meteor needs wire spoked wheels, and a weight reduction plan. I love that chop, the rider even looks a bit like me, but I’d get rid of those handle bars and install some Z bars or T bars, to me choppers are supposed to be laid back cruisers, so no leaning forward. Otherwise though, it looks fantastic. The 1960’s interceptors were vibrating, oil leaking unreliable heaps that ultimately killed RE in Britain, so I’d definitely use a new engine. I did see a crashed Interceptor going cheap on FB with no engine damage, maybe I should pick it up for a future project?

[Alan F.]

Maybe Terry, you've certainly got the skills, and a running bike to compare to if anything odd happens. I've seen a running engine alone going for $1500 USD, I wonder what a wreck would run you?

I've been tire shopping for my RE, I think I'm going to go the budget route with a set of Kenda Challengers and Bikemaster tubes for about the price of one BT46 rear tire.

[Terry in Australia]

Are the Pirelli’s worn out Alan? I’m a Stinko fan, I put them on everything and have done thousands of miles on them with no issues at all. I’m about to put a set on my F2 as the 40 year old tyres that are on it are as hard as rocks.

[Alan F.]

The rear tire has a nice flat spot developing, yes.

Edit: and there's the school of thought that says these Pirelli Phantom Sportscomps are not the same as the Pirelli Phantom Sportscomps that are being sold in the aftermarket, the conspiracy theory states that these are "specials" negotiated by RE to keep costs low and encourage enthusiastic modifications by owners that recognize the possibility for better handling by binning them in favor of better rubber. The words Transformed Handling have been thrown about like a 20 year old girlfriend on the RE forums regarding the addition of quality tires.
The big issue is the 18/18 rim set. If I knew the bike was a keeper I'd think about lacing up a 17/19 combo for greater tire selection.

[Terry in Australia]

I guess it depends on how big a fleet you want to have, but I can’t see our 650 ever leaving, it’s too nice a bike to sell. Eventually my son will take my Sporty and hand me the keys for the Continental GT, and I won’t mind at all.

[scunny]

I can see the attraction of a smaller bike, a friend of mine chased horse power for years, then he got a Vstrom 650,owned it for 15 years and did big mileage on it, liked it so much, he bought a new one  late last year. I asked him why not wait for the new P strom, and he said why would I do that?

[Alan F.]

Yeah I know what you mean Terry but I've really got to get onto/into a property of my own before I can really figure out my hoard of bikes/parts. I'm only ten years younger than you are but you're probably 20+ years ahead on this curve.

I'm not entirely sure if this is a forever bike or not Scunny, it's got a lot going for it but I've got about 50lbs to lose before it fits me better. I've got some lower footpegs to experiment with this spring, and I've got a nice stock seat that'll allow me to experiment with the slightly blemished seat that came with the bike from its first owner... It's got enough power as it sits but I've got an S&S 2:1 pipe

Edit: it's a TEC Stinger 2:1

...and +1 front sprocket to go on sometime when the spirit moves me. I know there's no reason not to bolt them right on, but I just haven't yet. I'm hoping to up my comfort level before starting these mods I suppose.

[Terry in Australia]

No worries Alan, yep as you know I'm a "Born again slender man" after some pretty radical surgery in 2018, and now I'm 100 pounds lighter, most of my bikes feel a lot faster. The stock GT is "Adequate", but not a hooligan bike. That's fine, I have plenty of them. I'll look forwards to seeing pics of the S&S exhaust on your bike.

[Alan F.]

Thanks Terry, I've got a good respect to those who've come before me. And I've learned so much from the Gents here and on a few other forums. Hopefully I'll get more active this year and drop a bunch of weight. I don't think I'm ready to lose any muscle, I've still got lots to do when I finally find the right property, but I'll get down to 225 or so if I'm lucky. The Honda CM400C I had was a good comparison to the RE650. It was just over 400lbs and 43hp. It was a better hooligan bike than the 650.