13 BIKES THAT REALLY MATTER THIS MONTH
Shake paws with the Bear 650 – the Royal Enfield with an odd name but straightforward appeal
[ BIKE’S PICK: RETRO ]
Way back in 1960, the Big Bear Run in the deserts of California attracted 765 entrants. Big-name racers slogged it out in the ludicrous 150-mile event, including Triumph-supported legend Bud Ekins, but it was won by a spunky teenager called Eddie Mulder. He was riding a 499cc single-cylinder Royal Enfield Fury.
Fast Eddie’s famous win – at 16 he was and still is the youngest ever victor in the epic race – is why this new bike is called the Bear 650. But ignore the strange choice of moniker. Ignore too all the promotional pictures of it being ridden by hip types in clobber worn by no one outside of California/Shoreditch. And instead get ready to make a beeline to a Royal Enfield dealer.
Turning their excellent and hugely popular Interceptor 650 into a scrambler might be mildly predictable, but the execution is cock on. Perched a tad higher and with an extra 10mm of ground clearance, the Bear has Himalayan-looking big piston upside-down forks but with more road-biased 130mm wheel travel, and twin shocks with 115mm of movement. Interceptor wheel sizes are 18in at both ends, but for scramblering the new bike has a 19in front and 17in rear. Wheelbase is up from 1398mm to 1460mm and there’s a larger rear brake disc, too.
Clearly, then, this isn’t a motocross bike. However, the desert sleds that tore around the US in the 1960s were generally simple, stripped-back roadsters with a few parts beefed up for romping across the scrub. And this means the Bear is convincing.
Those generally home-brewed sleds often kept the original low exhaust, which is why the new 650 doesn’t have a high-level pipe. That, and the fact it means there’s room for luggage and your passenger’s legs won’t get grilled. The two-into-one system saves a kilo (kerb weight is 216kg with the 13.6-litre tank 90 per cent full) and is responsible for the changes to the output of the air-cooled 648cc parallel twin. Maximum power stays at an A2-pleasing 47bhp but there’s extra midrange thump and 3 lb.ft more outright torque, resulting in 42 lb.ft at 5150rpm.
All the retro-ness is balanced by the neat colour TFT ‘Tripper’ display, which has phone connectivity and supports Google Maps for navigation. The 650 also has a USB-C port and LED lights and all that gubbins.
There are loads of colour options, with prices starting at £6749 – a few hundred more than an Interceptor. Bikes are expected before the end of the year. Form a disorderly queue.
SAME… SORT OF
It’s the chirpy but flexible 648cc twin used in the other 650s, but there’s more low and midrange shunt and a boost in peak torque.
DESERT READY
Forks and shocks are by Showa, and give the Bear more wheel travel front and rear plus additional ground clearance. The rear ABS can be turned off too, but don’t get carried away – think beach blasts and light trails, not extreme enduro.