Let me lay my cards on the table. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 is one of my favourite motorcycles of recent years. Charming, easy going and affordable, it’s no wonder it has been a real sales hit. The only real surprise is that it’s taken over seven years for a scrambler version to appear…
When the Interceptor first came along in 2018, it was one of two new models (the other being the café racer style Continental GT) to be powered by a new 650cc air-cooled twin-cylinder engine. The Super Meteor cruiser would appear a few years later but, considering how popular scramblers have been for over a decade now, it felt for a while like Royal Enfield was missing a trick by not producing an off-road inspired derivative to offer a lower cost alternative to Ducati and Triumph’s Scrambler models.
All that changed last winter when, in a tsunami of hype, Royal Enfield launched the Bear 650. It follows a well proven path that’s been trodden since the beginning of motorcycling itself, taking a standard roadster and modifying it through the fitment of some rugged off-road style suspension and wheels.
In more recent years, Triumph reinvented the genre and it’s hard to believe that it’s almost 20 years since the Bonneville Scrambler was introduced on a Steve McQueen inspired wave of nostalgia.
Royal Enfield’s inspiration for the Bear comes from a race held in California in 1960. The Big Bear was a gruelling desert rally which was won by a 16-year-old hotshot called Eddie Mulder on a 500cc Royal Enfield Fury. Fast Eddie, as he would inevitably become nicknamed, would go on to become an icon.
The performances brought him to the attention of the Triumph factory team and he would be linked with them throughout his glorious career, although Royal Enfield don’t mention that part of the story. Sixty-five years on though, and the event does give this new model its name, as well as inspiring the kooky livery of our test bike. Called Two Four Nine (249 being Mulder’s race number in the fabled race) the colour scheme of our bike pays direct tribute to the racing legend.
While I’m a big fan of the Interceptor, on paper the Bear is an inferior product. It’s (a little) heavier, (a little) taller, (a little) less comfortable and (a good chunk) more expensive than the motorcycle it is based on. Still, it looks great and (exhaust aside) is probably the most authentic looking interpretations of the 1960s Scrambler since Triumph rebooted the genre in 2006.
Climb on board and it’s got all the classic scrambler touches. At 830mm the seat height is 25mm more than the Interceptor (that’s an inch if you’re American) and its 3kg heavier (that’s over six and a half of those elle bee esses for the imperial ones among you).
The wide handlebars look cool, but the off-road influenced riding position does leave you sitting rather upright and like a sail in the wind. They’re great ergos for taking on city traffic and for hustling the bike down twisty backroads, but it can get quite tiring on straighter stretches and long runs.
The bench seat is quite firm too, and shorter riders might find it a bit of a stretch to get both feet flat on the ground, where it’s not such a problem on the Interceptor roadster. The large single binnacle clock looks traditional at first glance, but turn the key and it lights up to unleash a thoroughly modern digital TFT display that’s easy to read and packed with info.
The dash also incorporates Royal Enfield’s Tripper technology, which connects to your smartphone and uses Google Maps to provide an integrated navigation system. It’s a good system that’s a cost extra on most other Enfields, so a big tick in the Bear’s box.
Firing up the Bear I remember why I adore the Interceptor. That engine is lovely. At 47bhp, it’s right on the limit to be ridden on an A2 licence. Whether there’s much more that could be had out of a basic air-cooled design, I don’t know, but it’s enough for the application and has character to match the looks.
It feels like an authentic output anyway, when you consider range topping British twins of the ‘60s generally made less than this. As a design element, the chunky looking block and lack of water cooling only enhance the authentic ‘60s look.
There were two things I hated about the ‘original’ Triumph Scrambler 900 from almost two decades ago. One was the really rubbish gear shift and the other was the high level exhaust that would burn my inside leg. The Bear’s gear shift left me somewhat disappointed too.
The lever is a strange shape and difficult to operate, even with my smallish feet, and it was notchy between second and third. Maybe it will get better over time (our test bike only had a few hundred miles on the clock) and I would adapt, but ironically I really yearned for the Triumph’s implausibly impractical off-road style twin silencers.
They really were style over substance and, you know what, I’d take them over the insipid design found on the Bear every day of the week. It’s a real shame that a motorcycle which looks so authentic is let down by a silencer which looks like it’s come off a modern day commuter bike. It is such an important part of the look and this feels so out of place, giving the impression that the designers gave up a few days before finishing the project.
And while I know that sounds harsh, the reality is that the Bear carries a £700 premium over the roadster upon which it is based. That’s not to say it doesn’t represent good value for money. In a lot of ways, it sits in its own area of the market. At £6750 (£6950 in the Two Four Nine livery we reviewed) the Bear is over £3k less than Triumph’s Scrambler 900, and just over a grand more than the British company’s Scrambler 400X. It sits between both in terms of performance too, but I’d argue that’s also in a real sweet spot too.
While it offers a basic chassis spec, what is there is good. Suspension is from Showa but longer travel and higher specification than the items found on the Interceptor, with upside down forks up front and traditional rear shocks at the rear. None of it is adjustable, barring some preload on the back, but the ride is good. Brakes come from Brembo’s ByBre subsidiary, with the single front disc pulling the bike up adequately and with nothing much to comment on.
It rides well too. Bimbling down back lanes is a very pleasant experience, with the high and wide ‘bars contributing to a lovely commanding view of the road and giving plenty of leverage to muscle the bike around. The Bear runs Indian made MRF Nylorex tyres, which have a tread pattern that makes them look suspiciously like Pirelli Scorpion Rally STRs at first glance.
Although you’ve possibly not heard of MRF, they’re India’s biggest tyre company and the Nylorexes worked perfectly well in our time with the Bear – although we did ride exclusively in warm and dry summer weather. Push on and the Bear can cope, but if you want a bike for scratching then this probably isn’t the machine for you anyway.
Service intervals aren’t great. In a world where 10,000 miles, or annual, service intervals are starting to become the norm, this has to go back to the shop every 3,000 miles, or six months. Now 3,000 miles is more than many motorcycles do each year, so that might not bother you, but if you do use your bike a lot then it’s something to factor into the running costs.
It is, ultimately, a bit of a poseur’s bike. Royal Enfield is trying to appeal to a younger audience, somewhat ironic considering they’re using a design influenced by an obscure story from 65 years ago, and whether it does or not remains to be seen. Triumph’s Scrambler models achieved just that when they first came out, appealing to fashion conscious riders in trendy Paris and Milan although it feels that, for once, Royal Enfield might be a bit late to this party.
Regardless, it’s a worthy addition to the Indian company’s burgeoning range and provides a presence and appeal that will no doubt win some new fans to the brand. It’s a great value alternative to the scrambler set, offering the presence of bigger capacity models from Ducati and Triumph for a fraction of the price.
I wasn’t blown away by the Bear 650 but don’t be put off. If I pretended I’ve never ridden a standard Interceptor then I did really enjoy the Bear. It looks great but dynamically I just prefer the roadster. Others will disagree though, but it just doesn’t grab me the same way. Sorry.
Saying that, all the great stuff that’s made Royal Enfield so successful in recent years is still here. It’s a new flavour with which to enjoy that sweet 650 engine and, if it’s your cup of tea, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.
Royal Enfield Bear 650 specification
Price: From £6,750
Engine: 648cc, air-cooled cooled, SOHC, eight-valves, parallel twin
Power: 34.9kW (46.8bhp) @ 7,150rpm
Torque: 56.5Nm @ 5,150rpm
Frame: Steel tubular spine frame
Wheels: 19” front / 17” rear
Tyres: Tubeless, front 100/90-19M/C (57H), rear 140/80 R17 M/C (69H)
Weight: 214kg wet
Seat height: 830mm
Fuel tank: 13.7 litres
Contact: www.royalenfield.com
