New toy arrived today... Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

[kas750]

 

[Alex]

:congrats: :thumbs:

 

[PanozGTR]

Wow that is one good looking bike you have there. :thumb:

 

[Slayer]

Drove around one when I was in India .

 

[stucart]

Brilliant, enjoy, you cannot beat new toys like that 👍🏻😀

 

[kurlykris]

Stop it Ady :wack:

I so want a bike again, but have promised my children that I won`t ever get another :sad:

That is beautiful mate :thumb:

 

[kas750]

Cheers lads.
I am really pleased with it and the build quality is exceptional.
It's easily as good as a Jap bike. :thumb:

 

[peterzoom]

Such a very cool looking machine :thumbs:
No need for mirrors really with a tank that shiny, must have almost 360 degree vision just by glancing at the chrome :thumb:

 

[Luddite]

That brings back memories for sure Kas750... (-: My second bike was a 250cc RE Clipper which was UK built in the 50`s, no chrome tank, pin striping disk brakes or indicators on mine. 6volt electrics and started by a KICK.. or bump..(-: My pal had a 350 Bullet much to my chagrin..!!

In time I came to own an interceptor, though of the Jensen variety and with slightly more CC.. (-:

Had a whole series of old Brit iron over the years but fortunately no nice clean paving to worry about parking them on given they tended to leak more oil than they used in their lifetime, but then by the time they became my bikes they had been through many a butchers hands...which made them cheap enough for me to afford..(-:

I guess when looking at your lovely shiny "new" bike it may logically encourage enthusiastic statements, but for me comparing 50-60`s engineering design all be it updated and now manufactured in India, to the Jap bikes that swept all before them for so many years, seems to suggest you may be looking through rose tinted glasses... which is fine by me.... been there done that, and more than once. (-:

The sound of a Brit design parallel twin through then Burgess silencers long past their best was definitely different from the jap stuff that followed on. Enjoy Kas, ENJOY. :thumb:

 

[simonas]

Lovely bike

reminds me of being a kid going out as a pillion with my grandad on his black bullet enfield

 

[kas750]

A nice ride out last night with my 13 year old lad Joe.
I'm loving this bike so much the more I ride it. :thumbs:

 

[Luddite]

Thanks for sharing your fun kas. :thumb:

When I went back to m/cycling after a breakoff some years circa age 50, I joined the IAM motorcycle section just to update my traffic awareness skills, also bought the Police m/cyclists handbook to refresh my memory..

Stay safe kas.... there are a lot of myopic drivers out there who seem totally blind to m/cycles. :nooo:

 

[bazhart]

Way back in the early '80's (as engine development director) I had to source manufacturing parts for the first 200 Armstrong road bike engines (I had designed) but found there was no modern infrastructure left in the UK and the parts would cost twice what the same parts would cost from Italy and 7 times more than from Japan, in fact we could not buy and heat treat the raw materials for the price of the finished goods from Japan.


So I made a presentation to the main Armstrong board that until volumes increased enough to invest in modern production machinery - perhaps we should source parts from outside the UK.


At that time Armstrong owned 2 factories in India and so I made the point that developing Country's first mode of transport is always mopeds and motorbikes and since India were successfully making the single cylinder Royal Enfield's (from buying up the UK plant etc) we should consider starting up parts manufacture over there.


I nearly got sacked for that proposal.


Later on when Hesketh were running out of money trying to make a Harley look alike - I was flown down to Lydd airport on a visit to assess their bike with a view to taking it on only to find that not only would it cost too much to make but was designed almost as if cost was no issue. In fact the guy in charge was proud that it incorporated traditional British Engineering Design but was blind to the economic reality that it would cost so much to make no one would ever buy them - so I reported back not to buy into it - again to a very unhappy main board for telling them what they didn't want to hear.


Armstrong eventually went out of business and now 40 years later - how stupid were they - when Royal Enfield can produce such a beautiful bike!


All part of the decline of British Industry and the realities of Macro economics!

So not only has seeing that lovely bike been a pleasure (and thanks for the pictures) it also justifies my position back then - always nice to be proved right!


Baz

 

[kas750]

Quick spin on the bike this evening and loving it more and more !

 

[Luddite]

Now there is the face of a happy man.. Great looking bike, I always liked the way Brit bikes engines could be polished up, whereas that was not possible with the Jap bikes castings. Good to see that the Indians have carried on the traditional materials in that regard. ENJOY :thumb: