Written by Russel
How did I end up with the Interceptor 650 when there were other bikes with similar / better specs?
When I ‘officially’ started riding a motorbike, around the golden age of 15 to 16, to me a mod-job was:
- Adding a stupendously fat rear tire, clip-on handlebars/” U”-shaped single unit drag bars,
- A headlight cowl/full fairing kit,
- an air filter (remember those cone shaped K&N filters?)
- loud exhaust (not a pipe/end-can or a combo of both, but, “JUST THE EXHAUST’; naïve me).
It all started with my Dad’s prized possession of the time – a Hero Honda CBZ. Tried my hand at all possible things I could do at the time ranging from a flop job at adding a twin exhaust system which I instantly regretted and switched back to stock, wider rear tires, trying to get a bikini fairing kit etc.
Initial Mods
I fairly and humbly succeeded at only doing 4 (technically 3) out of a million things I planned for:
- adding a pair of alloy wheels
- wider tire at the rear
- a tail job (those modified Karizma tails if you will)
- a K&N filter.
Now, you might have already gotten this thought up your head – ‘How did this guy get all the money to do it?’
Well the answer is simple. I saved up quite a lot of my pocket money. I also earned some from little small projects I used to do for people.
All above said and done, I still felt things were drastically missing and I never felt content. But then what was done ‘without knowledge’ was enough.
Time to put my head to work, I went ahead and started additionally teaching myself of proper performance mod jobs (again inspirations from The Fast and The Furious movie), alongside my engineering studies.
My Own Bike. My Own Modifications
Finally, in late 2011 I took the move of my heart to buy my first ‘fully OWNED-BY-ME motorcycle’ – The Royal Enfield Classic 350 Maroon.
I loved every bit of ‘being the man that the Enfield demands’ and every patch of the earth this motorcycle made me visit and ride through.
If this bike had a mouth, it woulda cried for all the torture I would have taken it through. The Classic 350 was my learning platform. Be it learning new riding techniques, performance tweaks, my classic has seen it all and still doesn’t skip a beat. The bike doesn’t make me break a sweat either.
I had all the freedom/decisions at my disposal to do whatever I needed since it was my bike. That said, though the bike did look all the same from the outside, the internals had seen much changes. Even the exhausts were tuned for this bike.
For the first time, I was able to technically create a good twin exhaust system, eliminate the heat and make the sound pleasant to the ears. This bike served as a learning platform and I still actively use the bike to this day.
Now, time tripping to Early Nov’ 2018 and a few superbikes and rides later (and a couple of ‘No-Bike’ years later), I get visited by itch to ride a bike. This time though I had my eyes on the Bonneville.
Enter Interceptor 650
A couple of clicks through the internet and the Interceptor 650 details almost memorized as a ritual, me and the home guvn’r a.k.a “The Wife” says
Why do you want to spend 7+Lacs on a bike when you can buy the same sorta bike for half the price?
The Wife
Off I go and book the Interceptor right on Launch Day (14th November 2018). The waiting time was considerable. I got it delivered on 1st January 2019. New year, new bike..yaay!
It has been a bliss since then. Having to own a twin 600+ segment Brit motorcycle (now don’t lash at me with the patriotism fact cos’ the RE twins as I heard was designed in the UK and built in Chennai, India).
Each ride, be it long hauls or short bursts, has been an experience in itself. It serves as a platform for joy, experiments and a lot more things emotional that bikers experience.
It has been a glorious 1 year 2 months (and still counting) with my interceptor.
After multiple iterations on changes both cosmetically and performance wise, a lot of technical math work and considerations, I have come up with a list of practical mods//changes/upgrades that you can do without spending a lot.
I shall talk about that in my next post. Until then Ciao!!