Here’s what’s gotten better, and what could have been better with the 2023 update

Whenever I ride the 650cc twins, I am pulled back to being 19 years old and drooling over the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650, and well, dreaming about owning them. It’s been a long journey since then for me, now that I’m riding and reviewing these bikes. But over these years, has the Interceptor 650 come a long way as well, since its initial launch in 2018? If yes, is it for good or bad? So exploring that, here’s what I like and dislike about this 2023 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

Likes

Alloys

Spoke wheels on the Interceptor 650 have been the biggest turn off for most riders. Fixing punctures and changing tyres is a cumbersome process on spoke wheels, thanks to tubed tyres. So, to make life easier, the bike now rolls on alloys wrapped in tubeless tyres, reducing the time needed to fix punctures and take care of other tyre related issues. But how are these tyres while riding? Let me get to that in a bit.

Colours/Looks

The 19-year-old me was most fascinated by how good the Interceptor looked. And well, the 24-year-old me thinks the same thing. Over the period of five years, there’s one definite thing – the colour schemes have only gotten better. And the new ones follow a royal and rich theme, and they look pretty stealthy and classy. I’d say the Barcelona Blue looks particularly appealing. Pair that with the new blacked out engine casing, exhausts and other bits, and you get something that is super stealthy, yet snazzy.

Although I appreciate the new shades, I do have one grievance with it – the graphics are mostly stickers, and the logos are stickers as well, and not exactly 3D logos. It takes away that retro and classy charm.

Price

The Interceptor 650’s price has always been a bargain. In 2018, the bike launched at Rs 2.50 lakh (ex-showroom), and the wide-eyed 19-year-old me knew that a twin-cylinder 650cc experience at that price was a steal. The fact that I didn’t have that kind of money to buy it is another story.  

It now costs Rs 3,03,000 ex-showroom India, and five years have added a premium of Rs 53,000. That is quite a hike for the updates it has received over the years. That said, the “bargain factor” is still retained and the Interceptor 650 still remains attractively priced and the most affordable twin-cylinder performance bike in India.

Small Things I Like

Despite the 218kg kerb weight, which is quite heavy, the Interceptor 650 feels light on its feet and pretty quick on the go. It feels like you are dancing to the rhythm, and the bike is dancing with you. The twin-cylinder roar keeps you hooked, and really sounds good, making you want to twist the throttle just to make some noise. Additionally, the new LED headlight not only looks cool, but offers a much better illumination compared to the old halogen unit.

Performance

The last ‘like’ has to be the best one – the performance. Royal Enfield Interceptor 650’s roaring twin-cylinder engine and the performance that it belts out charms us all. This hasn’t changed a bit, even with the emission norms getting stricter by the year. It gives you a proper big bike feel and a great segway into the world of performance bikes. You can even go ahead and say that the engine is so good, that it overpowers the bad bits and the things that can be disliked. Oh, and that reminds me… 

Dislikes 

Components – suspension, brakes and tyres

The bike is really fun to ride. Period. However, there are a few components that still need improvement, especially the suspension tuning. The front fork remains to be on the softer side. And the rear continues to remain its quick and soft self. So, over the smaller undulations, the rear end feels extra reactive. It sort of smoothens out as the pace picks up, but only upto a certain point. The whole balance of the bike feels off if you want to ride fast and hard. This imbalance makes the rear really tossy – it will even toss around riders who weigh 100kg, and not just the lighter ones.

In terms of braking, the Interceptor 650 is not too bad, but there is definitely room for improvement. For perspective, the brakes don't feel sharp enough, the bite and lever feedback could be better. It is a little disheartening because the first lot of Interceptors had phenomenal braking prowess, even if the tyres weren't up to the mark. The current iteration of the bike might have the same braking distances as the one that first came to us in 2018, but the braking doesn't feel quite as brilliant as its other 650cc siblings. But, that is also because of one other thing – the tyres.

The Ceat Zoom tyres are not grippy enough which affects a lot of things when riding the bike including the braking performance, ride quality and confidence on curves. The Vredestein rubber on the Continental GT 650 provides much better grip, especially for the power that the bikes are putting out.

Seat Ergonomics

While Royal Enfield has got the right formula for the rider triangle and body posture, the seat is still a bit of an issue. Despite having enough years to correct it, the Interceptor 650’s seat is still really soft and narrow which results in your butt sinking in, eventually making you really uncomfortable. So what you do is keep re-adjusting yourself, which in turn robs you off a good riding experience. The only immediate fix to that is getting yourself the optional touring seat from Royal Enfield, or going for an aftermarket seat altogether.

Features and small things I dislike

Retro is the theme, but Royal Enfield still could have given a slight update to the console. It still is the same semi-digital unit, giving basic data. Features like a gear position indicator, clock, mileage and a bit more would have been really appreciated. Even the new rotary switchgear is not the most accessible one, and it is rather cumbersome to use. For example, to access the passing light you really have to extend your left thumb to the right side of the grips, not the most natural position.

Apart from that, I honestly dislike the fuel indicator. It is really misleading – one minute it shows that the fuel level is at three bars, and in just a second, the reserve bar will be flickering. This can get really annoying, especially if you are on a long tour.

In a few things, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has gotten better, while others have remained more or less the same. But in conclusion, it still remains to be one of the most attractive big bikes on sale in India with its design, performance and what it has to offer at a great price. What I’m essentially saying is that it is still the same bike the 19-year-old me was so fond of, and it would still be something I would recommend to that kid. And if you are someone looking to jump up to a bigger displacement performance-oriented motorcycle, it is definitely one to consider.