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Had to sell my Interceptor 650 with a heavy heart and a lot of guilt

4th October 2024, 16:15 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

I loved her like a temperamental mistress. For the two years it was with us, it was equal parts joy and frustration. I will always miss my Royal Enfield.

BHPian SithDefender recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Phoenix - the saga of my Interceptor 650 (now sold)

It was on Dec 10, 2018 that I first went to see the new Interceptor 650 in the showroom. It was a Silver Spectre color, and I thought it looked smashing! My only previous experience was on an RD350 for a very brief time when I borrowed it from a friend, and that was a scary and visceral experience. I am a sedate rider, so I felt that this big (for me) 650cc twin was frankly overkill. Yet somewhere along the ride back, I felt this tug like an illogical first love that cannot be rationalised or reasoned with.

In the meantime, I was also checking out almost every other bike like the new Jawa 42, the improved BMW G 310 GS, etc. But on Dec 28 of that very year, my beacon led me back to the Interceptor.

I noticed some things this time:

The Interceptor ran quite hot!
The power delivery was very sweet though.
The turning radius felt slightly wider and cumbersome.
As numerous reviewers on t-bhp have noted, the foot-pegs get in the way and are a chore.
The seat, or the lack thereof... The seat was useless and felt uncomfortable.
It also felt rather heavy while reversing down a slope or in tight traffic.

Meanwhile, my close friend and colleague got his Ravishing Red and boy was it a looker! I preferred the white Baker Express, but both these were priced at a premium. I made up my mind that IF I were to buy, it would be the all-black Mark III instead, as it was not very expensive and had a certain stealth look.

My efforts to keep my mind away from the 650 grew more and more difficult as my friend lent me his bike at times, or I would go pillion on it. Our respect for this game-changer from RE knew no bounds. RE had truly stretched the boundaries by offering this phenomenal twin-cylinder at this shocker of a price! My friend started accessorizing it and I felt the bike became even more desirable. Mentally, I started to make a list of things I would change, starting with those darned seats. He had added extra foam to the seats and made it better.

This is an excerpt from what I wrote one day after riding it:

What I appreciate is how smooth the engine feels. It feels like a long stroke. It has so much torque at the first gear that it is almost obscene. And the power keeps on coming in droves. It's the easy nature of the twin cylinder setup, because the other bikes feel stressed out and nearly at the limit of their single cylinder engines at the peak of their power. The Interceptor is just waking up with plenty more power at that stage.

On Mar 2, 2020, I went and test-rode an Orange Crush again. This time, I could feel the footpegs almost wrestling with me. It was very irritating. I also have this weird problem where my wrists and tendons tend to hurt when I hold thin flat handlebars (even on scooters). Rounded grips like the Meteor/Thunderbird and the Mahindra Mojo do not cause this issue, probably because of better contouring. So the Interceptor hurt my wrists and I felt that I had to leave this excellent product because of its ergonomics. (Interestingly, the newer 2024 Interceptors have rounded grips which are a step in the right direction).

A few discussions later, the YOLO effect kicked in. It had to be a twin cylinder, no more single cylinders for me. Finally, I plonked down the advance for a Mark III black bike, and it arrived on June 08, 2020!

Pehla nasha, pehla khumar

During random searches, I found this very cool-looking Triumph and fell in love with that seat:

So I contacted Sahara Seats and they customised and sent one pronto. It certainly looked the part but was not very comfortable since it needed more padding on the rider seat, not scoop it out. Not their fault, I had specified this. But I still thought this would work (rather foolishly I must add) :

The handlebar was also a big pain on my shoulders, so I swapped it with an Art of Motorcycles make. It was certainly better and alleviated the pain to some extent. Also had fork gaitors attached from the showroom, added a Zana crash guard and a lovely saddlestay with a backrest from JB Racing. I also had ceramic coating done. It was looking almost perfect now.

On one ride out, I christened her Phoenix :

I had never customized a bike before, and this set me down a rabbit hole. In due time, we added a Dominar handlebar with HDT handlebar risers and even a set of the famous Grip Puppies. Also changed to Avenger handlebar mirrors.

I also had a chance to go with my friend on a short riding trip. It remains, to date, my favourite trip. People would turn around and look when these twins would rumble down the road.

My friend had installed Swagman exhausts. They have this delectable "barrrp" sound! I looked around and got second-hand AEW T201 silencers for a steal. This was just delicious to hear, with a throaty growl when revved and some fantastic pops when coming down the revs. It also helped enhance that retro look and differentiate it from the GT650 exhausts.

A year later, the honeymoon was over. No matter what I tried, I could not address the basic ergonomic issues of the Interceptor. I loved her like a temperamental mistress, but there comes a time when you must put your foot down for your own sanity. And there was no question of it remaining a garage queen just for status.

Even a small ride would hurt my wrists, shoulders, back and legs so much. The Wife was also not happy with the hard seats and the suspension. It got to a point where she started refusing to come on the bike anymore. And so, with a heavy heart, I decided to let her go (the bike, not the Wife!).

The guilt was very high. It was the most expensive Covid-time purchase, and I had already spent a lot on accessories and stuff.

On Sep 09, 2022, I sold the bike. For the two years it was with us, it was equal parts joy and frustration. Farewell, dear Phoenix, I will always miss you.