Royal Enfield Bear 650: A roadster made for comfort and high speed

At that time, the Big Bear Run, a desert endurance race, had captured the imagination of American motorcycling. It had started out in 1921 as a bet between two riders in Los Angeles as to who could complete the 160km run to Big Bear Lake first. Over the years, this impromptu race transformed into the renowned Big Bear Motorcycle Run.

For those who participated, the race was both gruelling and exhilarating, requiring high speeds, traversing desert terrain and choking on the inevitable dust clouds generated by the chaotic scramble. By the 1950s, it was a full-blown event attracting close to 1,000 participants.

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In the 1960 event, 765 motorcyclists gathered at the starting line and Mulder won what was to become the final Big Bear Run ever. The traffic snarls and chaos this event generated in 1960 led to it being shut down for good.

This is the story behind Royal Enfield’s latest iteration on its 650cc twin cylinder engine platform—the Bear 650. The company developed the twin-cylinder 650cc engine and launched two motorcycles in 2018— the Interceptor and the Continental GT. Soon, customers started customising the Interceptor to make it a scrambler—a motorcycle that is fun on tarmac but can also get by on unsealed roads.

The Bear is positioned as the scrambler iteration of the Interceptor.

Fittingly, the first global media ride of the Bear 650 was held in California, and a delightful highlight was the presence of Mulder.

Even 64 years later, his memory about the race was pin sharp. He regaled the assembled journalists with anecdotes from the race.

“Just as the race was about to start, my bowels turned against me and I had to run to the outhouse and by the time I was back the green flag had dropped and the race had started," he said. In addition to the treacherous terrain, he had to battle clouds of dense dust from all the other bikers since he started late. “But I just followed my gut and gunned on," he said.

There was a time when he was in 13th place and took a toss down a ravine but he says he didn’t ever think of dropping out.

“I hauled up the bike and inspected the damage. The handlebars were bent right back, the header pipe had been wrenched out of the cylinder head, and one shock absorber was bust. I heaved the bars into shape and kicked the header pipe back into place. Couldn’t do anything about the broken shock absorber, so I rode the rest of the race on just one," he recalled.

There was a poignant moment when he unveiled the Bear to the media. The variant chosen for the unveiling was the special colour edition of the Bear 650 called the Two Four Nine. This colour scheme is a tribute to Mulder because his rider number in the 1960 Big Bear run was 249. For a few seconds, this tough and weather-beaten man was truly overcome with emotion.

In addition to the Two Four Nine, the other colour variants are Boardwalk White, Petrol Green, Wild Honey and Golden Shadow.

Test Drive

So what is it like to ride the Bear 650? It is definitely a good-looking motorcycle, and not a cosmetic makeover of the Interceptor. The Bear 650 features a revised and strengthened chassis. The suspension features Showa USD big piston forks in the front with 130mm travel and Showa Twin tube RSU forks at the rear with 115mm travel. The ground clearance at 184mm is higher than the Interceptor and is complemented by 19" front and 17" rear wheels fitted with dual-purpose MRF tyres that have been specifically developed for this motorcycle.

The contoured seat of the Bear 650 has been designed to allow riders to move freely and prevent sliding while riding on rough surfaces. It is equipped with 320mm front disc and 270mm rear disc brakes with twin-channel ABS. There is an option to disable the rear ABS while riding on broken roads or graded trails. It gets the same Tripper Dash that is on the new Himalayan and Guerrilla. The two-into-one exhaust merges without taking away from the aesthetics of the motorcycle and the short silencer at the end has an eye-pleasing trumpet shape.

In India, the Bear 650 will be available for test rides and bookings from 10 November, with a starting price of ₹3.39 lakh (ex-showroom).

I spent a day riding the motorcycle around Palm Springs in California. Royal Enfield’s original plan was to have the media ride at Big Bear Lake but forest fires put paid to that plan. The 650cc engine on the Bear delivers a robust 47 bhp (34.6 kW) at 7,250 rpm and a maximum torque of 56.5Nm (41.7 lb-ft) at 5,150 rpm.

By the first few kilometers I realised that this combination gives the Bear 650 more mid-range punch as compared to the other Royal Enfield models which also feature the 650cc engine. The new exhaust system not only improves torque but also broadens the powerband.

The suspension provides a pliable ride on the tarmac, and the chunky tyres provide good grip. It will hold its own for some mild off-roading, but it just doesn’t impart the kind of confidence that the Himalayan does on dirt.

That said, this is a great ride on tarmac—it corners with confidence and the wide handlebar and neutrally positioned footpegs provide good ergonomics. The joystick on the left switch cluster remains too fiddly and sensitive, and with gloves on, one can’t navigate the pages of the tripper dash easily. This is an aspect of the tripper dash that the company needs to address across motorcycles. The pages of the tripper dash itself are uncluttered and easy to read, and the brightness adjusts automatically to ambient light, which is a boon while riding in the hills.

Overall, the Bear 650 is a fun motorcycle, the kind of bike that would make you take the long way home.

Rishad Saam Mehta is a Mumbai-based author and travel writer.