[Torino]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

QQ - did you remove the rear view mirrors on purpose? Or I suppose its just temporary.

It was temporary just for that weekend. I like the small compact feel of riding without the mirrors. Thought of getting bar end mirrors but for me it looks better on the GT than the Interceptor. Recently came across these nice under the handlebar mirrors in Instagram(below), have no idea on how they perform but looks nice and not too small. Would love to try these but can't fine them here.

Nice under the handlebar mirrors. Credit to respective owner.


Did a day trip to Jawadhu hills last Sunday along with my buddy on his Street Twin. Being a Diwali weekend with other commitments lined up, we had to return back home the same day and the plan was made the night before. Jawadhu hills was set as the destination since it was doable in one day and I was familiar from my trip last year. The motive was to have a laidback ride and there was no hurry anywhere. Started at 630am and reached back home at 630pm.

Almost zero traffic and nice roads, the best thing about Jawadhu hills.


Small stream running under the bridge in the above pic.

[Torino]

Crossed the 30,000kms milestone during the 200km round trip to Pulicat lake couple of weeks back. In the last 30,000kms my Interceptor 650 has been utterly reliable, started every time and never got me stranded due to mechanical/electrical issue. The Interceptor being my first Royal Enfield after riding Japanese motorcycles for 15 years I can say that the Interceptor overall is a simple and brilliant piece of engineering for the price.

The recent rains in Chennai got me wanting to ride in rain and last Saturday morning was perfect with frequent cloud bursts and showers. For the first time I put to use my Mototech Scrambler Air riding jacket with rain liner and since I dont have an all-weather riding pant my trusty old rain coat pant came handy. Had a nice adventurous rain ride exploring filled up lakes and water filled paths along the B-roads outside Chennai.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by aargee

Speedo & odo are going to be little optimistic going forward

Hello aargee or any RE650 owner,

Do you know what kind of speed sensor is used on the Twins? Is it an old school mechanical sensor with a rotating cable or something newer / electronic with a wire? I don't have easy access to RE motorcycles where I live, hence the question.

I am interested in going for the 17 inch wheel conversion in the long term (for my upcoming GT), but want to retain accurate speedometer and odometer readings. Hoping this turns into an interesting technical discussion. Thanks.

Best Regards

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Viju

Hello aargee or any RE650 owner,

Do you know what kind of speed sensor is used on the Twins? Is it an old school mechanical sensor with a rotating cable or something newer / electronic with a wire?

It's electronic using speed sensor & it's located inside the ABS unit (quite unfortunate, unlike CBR 250R). The ABS consists of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), modulator, toner rings and wheel speed sensors.

My take is that, if the tire size is altered, for sure, the calibration needs to be done, which is going to be near to impossible, atleast in India.

Excerpt from the service manual on speed sensors:

[Viju]

Originally Posted by aargee

It's electronic using speed sensor & it's located inside the ABS unit (quite unfortunate, unlike CBR 250R). The ABS consists of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), modulator, toner rings and wheel speed sensors.

Hi aargee

Thank you for taking the time to check this out.

When I took a closer look at the bike (on the RE configurator), I realized that there are two wheel speed sensors on the front - the one on the left hand side is the ABS wheel speed sensor as you have rightly quoted from the manual. This is for functioning of the ABS itself. This sensor is reading pulses from the ABS toner ring.

But the one for the speedometer and odometer seems to be on the right hand side, mounted to the hub. This is the one I was referring to.

I also found some pictures on eBay of both the sensors. (Credits to the respective eBay sellers).

This gives me some hope that we could modify the speedometer sensor drive (and hence the speedometer and odometer) to work accurately with 17" wheels.

But as an engineer who used to do motorcycle ABS testing / parameter tuning, I would still be concerned if the rolling circumference varies over 5% (+/-) when the wheels / tires are downsized. At least at my previous company, 5% was the max variance we considered while writing the logic for ABS. I know that the actual users have been saying 'ABS works fine', but I am coming from a vehicle tester point of view where we used to test the bike on surfaces varying from a 0.1 co-efficient of friction (ice) to 0.9 (dry asphalt).

@Torino: Apologies for hijacking your thread! We should probably move this discussion elsewhere.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Viju

Thank you for taking the time to check this out.

Your observation seems spot on. I haven't paid much attention on this subject because I don't intent to swap to 17 inch wheels & willing to suffer (if that's destined) with the aesthetic 18" wheels.

However, to encourage in your endeavor, I can affirm your findings are absolutely right. Here're some pictures from Inty.

At the wheel


This wire then enters inside the headlamp & vanishes like river Saraswati


But then there's no wire at the bottom of the meter console as well, perhaps the wire goes into sensor??? I'll have to reserve this finding for some other day perhaps? The only wire that connects at the bottom is for illuminating the meter console.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by aargee

I haven't paid much attention on this subject because I don't intent to swap to 17 inch wheels & willing to suffer (if that's destined) with the aesthetic 18" wheels.

Well, to be honest, I don't intend to swap over to 17" either at this point, although I do have access to Excel Takasago rims in all shapes and sizes over here.

I am old enough to have spent my youth riding the twisties on 19 inchers (Machismo) and then the common 18 inchers (P180/ZMA/RX/RD). The only motorcycles I have ever owned with smaller wheels were my Roadkings and RZV500R with 16 inchers.

As I am getting restless waiting for my GT, I am just keeping myself busy doing "R&D" on the possible mods, so as not to lose my sanity!

Originally Posted by aargee

I'll have to reserve this finding for some other day perhaps?

I did manage to get hold of a Workshop Manual for the Twins and we can solve this mystery today!

The front wheel speed sensor on the left, highlighted in green is the vehicle speed sensor and it goes into the instrument console, and into the fuse box. The ABS front wheel speed sensor on the right, highlighted in red, goes into the ABS ECU, as expected.

My conclusions about the feasibility of 17 inch wheel conversion:
(1) To avoid inaccuracy of speedo / odo readings after the conversion, we will need to exchange the speedo drive mechanism at the wheel to something more appropriate. I am sure there is a conversion kit for this available somewhere, I just can't find it at the moment. But rest assured, I will report back here whenever I do.

(2) To avoid issues with the ABS operation (assuming the rolling circumference of either tire has reduced by over 5% from the original condition), the only way to correct it is to:
(a) adjust the ABS software parameters - impossible unless you're a Bosch R&D engineer working on motorcycle ABS.
(b) replace the ABS toner rings to those with lesser number of 'teeth' / 'slots' which should reduce / eliminate this error in calculation of wheel speed.

To reach a logical conclusion, I did some basic calculations using this page: https://mbdesign.shop/en/rolling-cir...nce-calculator

I am yet to check which of these sizes are available in the market, but I think this is a good indicator of which sizes are preferable to go for, from a speed calculation accuracy point of view. Of course, it is clear that higher sidewall heights may cause squishier handling etc.

All said and done, I still won't go for a 17 inch wheel conversion until I can lower the bike (to reduce the gaps between the body and the wheel) and also find suitable mudguards that follow the curves of the wheel perfectly. As I seem to be so finicky about the whole thing, I really don't think I will ever be able to do a 17 inch conversion, find sticky tires or enjoy the more agile handling. Problem solved, lol!

Workshop Manual for the Twins available here for those owners who want a copy (I have no commercial interests): https://www.ebay.com/itm/31341027278...mis&media=COPY

[Torino]

Originally Posted by Viju

As I am getting restless waiting for my GT, I am just keeping myself busy doing "R&D" on the possible mods, so as not to lose my sanity!

Hi Viju. Congrats on your new Continental GT. Some day when I get bored with the Interceptor I plan to convert it into a GT, such a beautiful motorcycle. Its great to see you exploring possible mods for your ride in such detail. I guess your vast motorcycle ownership experience lets you to R&D the GT before you get your hands on it.

Quick Update:
Got the rear mud flap back on as the December rains started to set in. Managed to rain test my RE waxed cotton jacket as I got to ride couple of kilometers in sudden down pour before finding a shelter. For that short period the waxed layer did a great job in keeping the inside dry with its temporary water repellant capability.

After nearly 4 years of ownership I finally got myself the Autosol metal polish. Autosol is one of the first thing most RE owners buy to keep the motorcycle shiny like new. I've seen several conversations regarding Autosol here in Tbhp and in the RE650 whatsapp group. This being my first RE I quite didn't get the need for chrome polish and the detailing that RE650 owners do felt a bit unnecessary to me. I relied on a bucket of water & cloth once a month and visited the water wash shop every 3 months, I've never visited a detailing shop all these years apart from the PPF installation when brand new. Recently my friend was looking for a metal polish for his old CD100SS and I recommended him the Autosol and casually ordered one for myself since it was only Rs250. I used it for the first time last week after a visit to the water wash shop and the results were just amazing with minimal effort using a cloth, sorry I didn't click any photos. All chrome parts on the Interceptor including both plastic & metal were shining like new. Now I think its essential for me to polish the chrome atleast once a month as I intend to keep the Interceptor with me for a long time.

The one I got for myself.


Love this jacket and helmet. Perfect for short rides.


Weekend B-road frenzy.

[Torino]

Ended 2022 with a short yet blissful 250km ride, the ODO now reads just over 31,300 kms and the motorcycle will complete 4 years next month. My friend recently got himself a brand new Himalayan as his midlife crisis kicked in and a clear decision of heart came into play with yours truly being the key persuader. Got his Sleet Black Himalayan delivered couple of weeks back and wanted to go for a 600ish kilometer two day ride during the last week of 2022 but as days passed by the year end family commitments crept in and became desperate to do atleast a one day ride before the year end vacation ends. We decided on a plan at 830am and started off at 11am to the meeting point. The plan was to ride to a destination 100 kms away and return back home for dinner. The Himalayan being brand new with less than 300 kms on the ODO we set out for a relaxed ride keeping the running in period limitations in mind. The destination was set to Kanchanagiri Hills located 120kms away from Chennai. We took the Chennai-Bangalore national highway to reach the destination and the umpteen ongoing flyover & road constructions along the way favored the Himalayan to keep its speed under the running in limit. Almost the entire highway section was filed with detours, broken roads, badly laid patches and the Himalayan felt right at home while I had to slow down or feel every undulation with 17 inch front wheel in my Interceptor. We reached Kanchanagiri at 1.30pm and took a 1 hour break under a shady tree on top of the hill. After having lunch at Madurai Pandiyan Hotel in Arcot road we decided to avoid the national highway for the return trip and take the B-roads towards Kancheepuram, although this route was longer and slower it was worth its scenic beauty and smooth empty roads. Took our last break after crossing Kancheepuram and after cursing the mad traffic at Perungalathur, reached home at 730pm. Overall it was an good ride with my old buddy who is back into motorcycling after long gap.

Got a new leather side panel bag since the elastic straps on the old bag got worn out and the bag wouldn’t fit snug on the side panel. Though the purpose of the bag for me is purely aesthetic, I had to carry a 500gm pack grocery few times for less than a kilometer which I think was too much for the elastic to give up. Over the last one year of usage spanning nearly 10,000kms the bag stayed on the bike most of the time facing elements like rain, sun & dust with occasional cleaning with wet cloth and the leather still looks good. Raw and Rugged Leather Co was running a Christmas discount of 15% which brought the final price down to Rs1232. Settled for the tobacco color as I felt it’ll looks prominent in the bike. The new bag has more rounded edges and features additional textile material in the inside to offer better weather protection, I guess. Also came across the leather side panel bags from Trip Machine Company retailing at Rs4899. Unlike Raw & Rugged’s side panel bag which is held by elastic straps enabling quick installation/removal with limited utility, the Trip Machine’s side panel bag is sort of permanent fix on the bike featuring hard mounting points and replaces the stock side panel. Its an interesting approach with higher utility value, probably will try to get one later.

On the hill road section.


On top of the hill.


Somewhere on the B-roads near Kancheepuram.


New vs 1 year/10,000kms old leather side panel bag.


With the new leather side panel bag.

[Torino]

4 years and 33,000 kms:
4 years ago today I took delivery of my Interceptor 650 with least expectations on reliability and breakdowns which I was willing to endure as I made up my mind for my first Royal Enfield ownership, yet here we are today after 4 years and 33,000 kms the Interceptor 650 is ageing like a fine wine. I guess 33,000 kms in 4 years is decent mileage considering the lockdowns in between. Almost all my riding were within 150kms from where I live and largely from weekend morning rides, one day rides, daily school drops and occasional commute to office. My weekend rides mostly involve riding alone or with 2-4 other riding buddies on B-roads and exploring mild off-road paths along lakes, abandoned quarries, back waters and forests.

Couple of things I believe in my Interceptor’s upkeep is one- avoid fiddling the stock electricals with accessories & lighting, hence my bike runs on completely stock electricals as well as intake and exhaust. But that’s just me being a first time RE owner and yes I’ve seen multiple time RE owners going all out with aftermarket electricals & parts and doing just fine. Two is to replace engine oil sooner-in my case I replace engine oil every 6000~7000kms, these two are a bit of advice I’ve gathered from experienced mechanics in authorized service centers and local garages. That’s not all, access to good authorized service center-in my case it’s the RE OMR Company service center in Kottivakkam and access to good local garage-Kick Start Garage in Thoraipakkam has helped me in my overall positive ownership experience.

That said my Interceptor 650 wasn’t 100% trouble free, the speedometer went berserk due to loose connections withing first few days of ownership, petrol leakage due to poor quality petrol filler cap is common issue in 650 twins, exposed wiring means electricals malfunction during the first few minutes after every water wash. Once in 2 months may be the ABS or Engine check light randomly appear and go off after few minutes while riding with no signs of any malfunction.

Over the last 4 years I’ve unknowingly learnt to adopt with the infamous fiddling foot pegs and stock seat, all thanks to the less demanding rides that I do. The 17 inch wheels conversion, which are now 12,000 kms old remains to be the only mechanical mod on the bike and has transformed the way I can leverage the Interceptor’s weight, height and handling.

Living with the Interceptor for the last 4 years as my first RE has been overall a pleasant experience. Apart from the bike being fairly reliable there has been continuous aftersales support from RE. I still receive calls from the RE OMR company service center for service reminders, service offers and insurance renewals. So over the last 4 years/33,000kms, my personal connect with the Interceptor 650 has never been 100%. There is always a sense of discomfort in low speed handling, comfort, high speed stability, cornering, weight etc. maybe I can address most of the issues with suitable modifications like handlebar raisers, custom seat, suspension kits etc. but I don’t want to do it because I’m afraid I might spoil the looks of the bike or maybe I’m just a cheapskate. That said, none of these never really made me even think if going for another bike or stopped me from religiously doing my weekend rides. I guess the versality of the Interceptor to take multiple roles is something which connects me with my Silver Blitz 650 .

PPF Application:
I had had applied 3M PPF 4 years ago when I got the Interceptor new (post #26 in this thread). In the last 4 years I’ve placed and carried variety of objects on the tank like my magnetic tank bag which stays on during all my weekend rides, carrying fully loaded grocery bag was usual exercise since I don’t have a scooter for the job, carry my toddler everyday to playschool with her anklets & shoes going all over the tank. Unfortunately I don’t have the recent picture of the previous PPF, it had all kinds of scratches everywhere and honestly I really didn’t care what I place on my PPF’d tank. Since the PPF was almost 4 years old and had scratches all over it I went back to CarSpark OMR last week and got it replaced. Got Garware PPF on the tank, paid Rs400 for removal of old PPF & Rs4500 for new PPF application. PPF removal process took one full day since they had to be careful not to damage the paint.

Likes:

• Simple & reliable build.
• That gem of an engine.
• Endless list of aftermarket parts & accessories.
• Wide service network & aftersales support.
• Long service interval of 1 year/10,000 kms maintenance.

Dislikes:

• No alloy wheels/tubeless spoke wheels from RE.
• Even the company service center isn’t always satisfactory.
• Simple air-cooled engine hates prolonged stop-go traffic.
• Weak electricals flashing random check lights.
• Not a perfect motorcycle out of the box.

How the usual weekend rides look like.


Exploring beaten paths along B-roads.






In PPF I trust!. Should take care of the tank for the next 4 years.


With my buddy's Street Twin.

[TheHelix0202]

Could you share the locations that you visit? Those lake beds and moor like meadows seem perfect to me, although I'm far, far away in Bangalore!

[Torino]

The ODO is inching towards 34,000 kms and the last oil change was at 27,300 kms. Its time for an oil change as I've been following a ~7k interval from the start. A quick 10W50 search in Amazon shows Castrol, Total, Elf and Motul in the affordable price range. Not really a fan of any specific brand, will choose whichever is cheaper as long as its a reputed brand & conform to specs. Apart from that the customary weekend rides continue.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Torino

A quick 10W50 search in Amazon shows Castrol, Total, Elf and Motul in the affordable price range. Not really a fan of any specific brand, will choose whichever is cheaper as long as its a reputed brand & conform to specs

If you're not the type of Rules Ramanujam, then the below will suffice instead of standard 10W50 which is a good balance between the technical spec & cost {20W50 costs a little lesser than 10W50}

[Torino]

Originally Posted by aargee

If you're not the type of Rules Ramanujam, then the below will suffice instead of standard 10W50 which is a good balance between the technical spec & cost {20W50 costs a little lesser than 10W50}
Attachment 2436816

Thanks for the suggestion. Haha! definitely not a Rules Ramanujam but this motorcycle being a Royal Enfield and not any over engineered Japanese and that 650cc parallel twin engine being the only valuable part on the bike, I don't want to take any chances on the oil grade. The whole point of this 7000kms oil change interval is for that engine. Hope you can fairly agree with my context here.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Torino

this motorcycle being a Royal Enfield and not any over engineered Japanese and that 650cc parallel twin engine being the only valuable part on the bike, I don't want to take any chances on the oil grade. The whole point of this 7000kms oil change interval is for that engine. Hope you can fairly agree with my context here.

Actually you can ride even over 7K Km PROVIDED the engine oil is checked, topped up, ridden sane & have a clean air filter; I can quantify the ODO read for CBR, but not with Interceptor as I'm relatively new & still learning. I've switched to Motul 7100 10W50 after deducing Motul should have a superior durability than the liquid gun; but for sure what comes from RE factory is an awesome engine oil, although the ASC's claim to use the same as factory engine oil, atleast that's what I tend to think.

Technically a Motul or Shell engine oil are extremely superior to any standard OE engine oil, even if it were supplied by Motul & Shell themselves!! Sad, but true. So if OE spec says change the engine oil in 5000 Km, then even if the levels are checked & topped frequently with OE engine oil, it can hardly withstand 5K Km. The engine starts protesting in form of clunky gears & hard shifts. However, the same engine with Motul/Shell engine oil should easily last 20% more (6K Km) with occasional care & outlast 7K Km if cared well. This is from my experience from C250R

BTW, Japanese automobiles are engineered well, it's the German who over engineer their products