My Royal Enfield Interceptor 650: 3 years & 22,500 km update

It’s been 3,300 km with the 17-inch wheels and the setup is working perfectly fine. There isn’t any sign of wobbling at any speed.

BHPian Torino recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The Silver Blitz 650 completes 3 years today with 22,500 kms on the ODO.

The Good

Clean timeless retro looks.
Refined engine with sweet exhaust rumble offering usable power and torque for both city and highway.
Endless list of aftermarket parts & accessories.
17-inch wheel conversion and the suspension lowering kit have made it a lot easier for me in handling the bike in stop-go traffic and the parking lot.
Reasonably reliable for an RE with excellent after-sales and service support.

The Bad

Weak Electricals: Fuel level indicator goes berserk for a few minutes after every water wash. The neutral light stays ON in all gears when ridden in heavy rain.
Quality Issues: Poor quality fuel cap rubber seal, Worn out ignition/lock set.
Hard to maintain sheen on the engine casing.
Continuous urge to buy more aftermarket parts and accessories.
Isn’t a perfect motorcycle out of the box.

Modifications Done

Wheels: Switched to 17-inch Aluminium rims front & rear from Dismotech
Tyres: Ceat Zoom XL 110/70/17H & Apollo Alpha S1 140/60/R17H
Suspension: Rear suspension lowering kit from Way2Speed

The last 3.5 years have been quite a journey for me from being a complete non-Royal Enfield guy to booking the Interceptor 650 on the launch day and taking delivery from the initial batches to the initial concerns over the intruding footpegs, uncomfortable seat and weight to slowly getting accustomed to the bike and making modifications to suit my needs as the bike remains extremely reliable all the while for an RE. This Royal Enfield has grown on me with its charm and character. The original 3 years warranty ends today and I haven’t taken the extended warranty hoping that I won’t need it, it’s a gamble I’ve decided to take. Apart from the broken lockset & busted fuel cap rubber seal which were replaced under warranty, the Interceptor remained reliable without breaking down or throwing a tantrum during the last 3 years of ownership. Also, there aren’t any reports of plaguing issues regarding the 650 twins.

17-inch wheels setup & suspension lowering kit

It’s been 3,300 kms with the 17-inch wheels and the setup is working perfectly fine. Those 3,300 kms were a mix of fast highway rides and local commutes done over all sorts of terrain and road conditions. More importantly, there isn’t any sign of wobbling at any speed. The Ceat XL Zoom and Apollo Alpha S1 tires are doing a good job by offering decent levels of grip and durability, did not face any punctures so far. As for the suspension lowering kit, it’s a great product in itself for shorter riders to leverage. I’m running the 17-inch wheels with the rear suspension lowering kit and have set the suspension preload to its hardest level to have the right compromise between the ride height and ground clearance.

New Battery

The factory-fitted Exide battery lasted exactly 3 years. The battery started showing signs of weakness last month with the engine firing up only on the second attempt at the start button. Visited the RE OMR service centre last week to change the fuel cap/lock set under warranty and the bike refused to start at the service center and they tried charging the battery for 4 hours but in vain. The stock battery spec is 12V 12Ah but the availability of this factory spec battery is next to non-existent. The RE service advisor suggested going for 12V 14Ah battery which is compatible and easily available in the market. I checked with my friend who is into battery and electrical power business and he said the 14Ah battery won’t cause any trouble except for longer charging time which will be insignificant. Got an Exide FXL0-XLTX14 12V 14Ah battery for Rs2800 after exchanging the old battery for Rs300. The new Exide battery comes with 2 years replacement warranty and additional 2 years pro-rata warranty.

I chose Exide over the popular Amaron based on my past experience across multiple vehicles.

The battery swap took 10 mins. Just the tools in the toolkit do the job.

The entire lock set was changed under warranty in the last week of the warranty period.

3M PPF after 3 years of service. Time to change. PPF did an excellent job considering the types of objects I’ve placed over the tank. Shopping bags, tools, babies with anklets and the usual tank bag to name a few.

Apollo Alpha S1 140/60R17 is tough enough for our roads. The reason I chose S1 over H1.