[vivek_k_p]

Originally Posted by Crank270

All,

I have been itching to buy the Interceptor 650 for a while. Do you suggest I buy the new model with alloy wheels or buy a used one with spoke wheels and upgrade to alloys?

I have got a used one and happy with my purchase. Also it gives me freedom to try different upgrades.
Basically you can not go wrong with both options.

Here is a picture of my ride.

[GreyNomad]

So I lusted after the Interceptor650 since its launch, paid the booking amount a year back, got frustrated that the promised delivery timeline of 20 days got pushed by over 2 months, cancelled the booking, found a superbly maintained pre-loved BS4 model of one of our forum members and snatched it up. In hindsight it was a stroke of good luck and a darn good decision. With the money saved, I’ve modded my ride to my liking. With the spare cash I now plan to get the alloys and aux lights fitted.

My advice, from experience - look for a pre loved one. The Inty requires some modding, especially if you want to ride it for 2+ hours at a stretch. Also the new prices have shot up northwards quite a bit, so your savings would be even more.

Originally Posted by Crank270

All,

I have been itching to buy the Interceptor 650 for a while. Do you suggest I buy the new model with alloy wheels or buy a used one with spoke wheels and upgrade to alloys?

Ok this sounds complicated. For my rides I earlier used the Viaterra fly magnetic tank bag which has now been replaced with the Viaterra Elements tail bag.

The shape of your top box appealed to me from a city errand and grocery runs PoV. I don’t like hard luggage on retro bikes because IMO it doesn’t flow with the bike’s form factor. Yours do, an interesting exception. But it sounds too complicated and not quite VFM for my particular need.

Gotta say though…it looks real good!

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Did I miss sharing this update on this thread? Well I don't have many pictures to show the DIY installation process hence I missed reporting it in detail.

It's a hard case from Epicase, Bangalore. They provide these for camera, drone, watch with custom foam cut into the shape of your precious device! But I took it without the foam and permanently fixed it on the Motourenn aluminium top rack. It's perfect for a portable air pump, water bottle, cap, small toolkit, etc. It's waterproof but under direct sunlight gets a bit hot inside. This comes in very useful on weekend rides and I don't need to carry any backpack.

From the day of installation. (Before/After)
Attachment 2497257

I didn't find their website now, may be it's taken down. Drop me a message for contact details. This is not a motorcycle topbox so you've to figure out your own mounting technique and hardware! Sukiwa helped me in the hardware and drilling part, he has all the tools. We installed it with 3 rubber mounted allen bolts and the setup is permanent. I bought a gym locker combination lock from Decatlhon to secure my precious stuff. The box doesn't come with a lock.

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[pepega]

Originally Posted by Crank270

All,

I have been itching to buy the Interceptor 650 for a while. Do you suggest I buy the new model with alloy wheels or buy a used one with spoke wheels and upgrade to alloys?

I can't see the savings being more than 60-70k, for a couple of year old machine. Even if you get a discount of 1 lakh on the sticker price, you'll have to spend 20k on alloys, 10k on tyres (minimum?) and 5k for a routine service. I'd go for a new one over used any day.

[A5H15H]

Originally Posted by LeoChakraborthy

Congratulations! Get well soon and enjoy the miles ahead!

Don't worry about the weight (well, except when moving around with engine switched off ) Once you start moving, it handles sooo well! My better half is ~50 kgs and 5 feet tall, she rides it well and finds only the moving around difficult.

Here is our Blue! Ownership review coming up soon.

Congrats to you too bro. Kudos to your better half for handling the behemoth.
The bike is super smooth. It's an attention magnet in this colour. I've had quite a few people ask me if this is a modified RE... 😂
Any suggestions for a back rest? My 65 year old mom is often my pillion so just wanna have something for her support.

Originally Posted by VRod_24

I have a query to all Interceptor owners, is it possible to fix the touring footpegs offered from RE on the Int 650 ? I spoke to the showroom personnel and he said it's not possible to fix on the Int 650 but it can be fixed on the Super meteor, any insights on the same would be appreciated.

I also got the same response when I bought mine. I don't understand why we can't have them. One of the guys gave some mumbo jumbo reason.

[vivek_k_p]

Hi Team BHPians,

Today while looking for front tubeless tyre for my Int650, I came across Michelin 100/90 18 tyre in a shop. But it has 'Rear' written on it. Then I had a look at my bike tyre. Looks like previous owner has put a MRF tube tyre with same spec but with 'Rear' mark.

I anyway decided to upgrade wheels to alloy, so I will also fix this.
What are the implications of using a same spec 'Rear' tyre for front wheel? Till I get it fixed.

Attaching pics of the Michelin tyre. I didn't take pics of my current tyre.

[adises]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

I anyway decided to upgrade wheels to alloy, so I will also fix this.
What are the implications of using a same spec 'Rear' tyre for front wheel?

The tread patterns and size of front and rear tyres are different for a reason. The front is designed for handling and diving into potholes / ruts, the rear focuses on traction and grip.

Don't fit a tyre marked as 'rear' in the front no matter what anecdotal advice you hear from people who have done it.

[GreyNomad]

End September onwards I plan to do Mumbai-Pune evening/night rides on my 2019 Interceptor650. To that end I’ve planned some further mods that I’m listing below with my reasons and queries. Request inputs from experienced riders.

1. RE original Alloys. Needless to say if I’m gonna be riding post sundown on highways, I don’t want to risk a puncture at all.
2. Maddog Aux Lights. Here’s where I’m in a pickle. I’d have ideally liked a Maddog HR70 headlight with the Maddog Scout X aux. However, maddog has stopped manufacturing headlights. I feel the scout X might be insufficient for the highways, especially given that the roads I’ll take are 2 lane highways and have villages lined up on either side. The next upgrade is the Maddog Alpha. The problem though is that the combined wattage exceeds that of the bike’s original headlight by quite a bit (80W vs RE original headlight’s 55W). I’m worried that installing these could drain out the battery faster/mess up the electrical system. Is it possible to instal RE Meteor/Super Meteor’s LED headlight on the BS4 Interceptor650? Should I do that with the Scout X?
I don’t want to consider HJG (generally considered inferior to Maddog at not much price difference) or the expensive ones like Baja/Denali.
Also, for the Maddog lights, do the ‘Pro’ versions of the harness and switch make a difference or is it a marketing gimmick?
3. Crash Guard. I already have the compact RE one. I recently rode a friend’s bike with the MotoTorque (with sliders) one and the big difference I felt was the ability to rest the feet up in the sliders. The ouch also possible on the RE large guard, it’s more natural on the slider one. Any difference in quality between Motorque and RE original?
4. Hazard Light. Is this necessary?
6. Any other suggestions?

[vivek_k_p]

Originally Posted by adises

The tread patterns and size of front and rear tyres are different for a reason. The front is designed for handling and diving into potholes / ruts, the rear focuses on traction and grip.

Don't fit a tyre marked as 'rear' in the front no matter what anecdotal advice you hear from people who have done it.

Thanks for the reply.
I will soon upgrade my front tyre to a actual 'front' tyre than the current one along with alloys.

[DeadCenter]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

Hi Team BHPians,

What are the implications of using a same spec 'Rear' tyre for front wheel? Till I get it fixed.

People usually fit the tyre the other way around (directional arrow backwards) when they fit the rear tyre in the front. I'm not sure of the exact science here but they do this due to the different nature of forces being applied to the tyre in the front.

Personally, I would go with a proper front tyre that has tread designed to channel large volumes of water away even under heavy breaking. It won't be as critical for the rear tyre at higher speeds as it tends to follow the trail cleared by the front tyre. More so important if you're braking habits are biased towards the front.

[vivek_k_p]

Originally Posted by DeadCenter

People usually fit the tyre the other way around (directional arrow backwards) when they fit the rear tyre in the front. I'm not sure of the exact science here but they do this due to the different nature of forces being applied to the tyre in the front.

Personally, I would go with a proper front tyre that has tread designed to channel large volumes of water away even under heavy breaking. It won't be as critical for the rear tyre at higher speeds as it tends to follow the trail cleared by the front tyre. More so important if you're braking habits are biased towards the front.

Thank you for the reply and I have decided to fit proper front tyre for the front wheel.
While searching through online , came across new Indian brand Reise.
Anyone in the forum used them? If yes, how are they?
https://www.tyremarket.com/Reise-tra...o-Wheeler-Tyre

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

While searching through online , came across new Indian brand Reise.
Anyone in the forum used them? If yes, how are they?

Reise offers good options for mix usage on road and off-road. However, those tyres(reise TourR) on Interceptor aren't a good fit in my opinion. Plus I didn't find any rear tyre size for Interceptor in Reise range. As far as possible, I would avoid bias-ply tubeless and radial tubeless on any motorcycle.

As you are shifting to alloys soon, you should be looking at Tubeless radial tyres only.

[vivek_k_p]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Reise offers good options for mix usage on road and off-road. However, those tyres(reise TourR) on Interceptor aren't a good fit in my opinion. Plus I didn't find any rear tyre size for Interceptor in Reise range. As far as possible, I would avoid bias-ply tubeless and radial tubeless on any motorcycle.

As you are shifting to alloys soon, you should be looking at Tubeless radial tyres only.

Thanks for the reply mate!
in the bold part, did you mean, use radial tubeless tyres?
In that case I will go with Vredestein tyres. Hope they are radials.

How to know if the tyre is bias-ply tubeless or radial tubeless ? any indication or markings I should be looking at ? Or is it just in the product description?

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

How to know if the tyre is bias-ply tubeless or radial tubeless?

Bias ply will have Hyphen(-) before tyre diameter size whereas Radial will have letter R before tyre diameter size.

Bias ply: 100/90-18
Example 1, Example 2

Radial: 100/90R18
Example 1, Example 2

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Bias ply will have Hyphen(-) before tyre diameter size whereas Radial will have letter R before tyre diameter size.

Radial: 100/90R18
Example 1

This is a wrong example you're sharing good Sir! The 2nd image is of Ceat tyres in the site.

The Front tyres are Bias ply from VREDESTEIN and we have to live with it. Correct me if I'm wrong!

I don't know if the issue is with 18" or 100 section tyres. Lowest I've seen 110 section 17" radial tyres.

Anyone if you find a Radial tubeless tyre for 100/90 18" please let us know.

On tubeless tyre topic, what puncture kit do you guys keep handy?

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

This is a wrong example you're sharing good Sir! The 2nd image is of Ceat tyres in the site.

Yes, good catch on Custom Elements. I should have cited an example from a tyre retailer than a riding gear retailer.

The Front tyres are Bias ply from VREDESTEIN and we have to live with it. Correct me if I'm wrong!

Absolutely correct. Vredestein range in 17" is entirely radials, not entirely in 18". I keep forgetting this fact.

I don't know if the issue is with 18" or 100 section tyres. Lowest I've seen 110 section 17" radial tyres.

I feel Indian tyre manufacturers are yet to implement technology/methodology for radials in smaller tyre widths. Or perhaps they don't perceive any demand in radials hence continue with bias-ply in smaller widths. I have never seen bias-belted tyres either.

On tubeless tyre topic, what puncture kit do you guys keep handy?

Spuncture from motorist company is smallest size kit I have come across.