Test fleet: Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

The Interceptor adds another feather in its cap. This time Mikko is doing a big-mile day.

So far my impressions of the Interceptor have been very positive, but I haven’t really pushed it out of its comfort zone much. That was about to change as I was faced with a 350-mile day trip down south to Surrey. It was time to get the Enfield out for a decent stretch of the legs.

I could have made the journey more pleasant by adding a few nice detours, but I wanted to stay on bigger roads for long enough to see how the bike handled them.

LONG WAY DOWN

The day I rode down to Surrey was a beautiful summer’s day, so my impressions of the bike might well be very different had it been a windy, rainy, cold November day, but I wasn’t complaining. The planned route was about 80% dual carriageway, the rest lovely, windy country roads. From the start, as I joined the A1 for the long way down, it was clear that speed limits would be respected all the way.

Beyond about 75mph you start to feel like you are making the bike work harder, and the added airflow makes riding less comfy. But stick to the speed limits, and the comfort levels were pretty good. The riding position is upright, which means that higher winds would have you flexing those abs more, but on a nice day like the one I had, it was plain sailing.

Having circled London on the M25, I got back to smaller roads as I approached Guildford, and suddenly I was reminded about the natural habitat of this bike – even though it had been fine on the big roads, it wasn’t until I got to the flowing corners of the smaller roads that I felt the bike was FUN to ride again.

I suppose that goes for most bikes – they show very little character on the motorways – but the Interceptor in particular transforms from a mere vehicle to an enticingly engaging ride as you take it to the right roads.

EQUALLY LONG WAY UP

Usually when I pull into a service station after a few miles of the gauge flashing, I get about 10 litres in the 13.7-litre tank. There is still a fair bit left to keep you going, but this is not a big touring tank so fuel stops need to be factored in.

The day’s ride took me around seven hours, so it was a long time to sit on a bike, but I was quite impressed with the comfort levels. My legs didn’t ache (although at one point the gentle vibration from the foot pegs put my left foot asleep, but nothing that a little toe wiggle didn’t soon fix).

I didn’t feel that I had to work harder than on any other bike, and I was still full of beans when I returned home.

The only thing I would improve slightly is the seat. It was fine for the first 200 miles, but after that I was quite happy to stop for fuel or coffee.

Aside from small niggles, the Interceptor turned out to be a much better bike for big miles than I had thought. It’s not going to cover distance as fast as purpose-built tourers, but you will still be smiling at the end of the ride.