Miss November XS2 tribute

Yup - that Fantic looks pretty nice Raymond! Sort of a Yamaha SR500 on a budget.

Any clue how much the R-E Interceptors are selling for in the UK? We only have a couple of dealers in all of Ontario (in Lakefield and another in Ottawa I think - about 600 and 800 km away respectively) - and they want around $7499 CAD (about $24.57 USD at the present rate of exchange). Nonetheless, that is quite the bargain as it is about $2000 less than the Yamaha XSR700 and about $3K under a Triumph Street Twin.

I'd be interested to learn more about the durability issues - if you can point me to a link. I watch Stuart Fillingham regularly and he is delighted with his Interceptor.

I guess I feel unable to make major purchases from Chinese companies as long as they hold innocent Canadian hostages (Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig). As far as I am concerned, their government are thugs.

I also apologize for the hijack.
From £5700. To £6100, comes with 3yr warranty and roadside recovery. Lot of bike for little money. Sort of kicks the arse out of used Xs650 and other classic bike values.
 
I'd be interested to learn more about the durability issues - if you can point me to a link.
I also apologize for the hijack.

Sorry, Pete, can't point to any site. Just one or two dropped remarks when people are testing other bikes, such as W800, and they say things like 'it's well built and likely to last longer / avoid the faults and niggles people get with the RE Interceptor.'

Again, no worries, mate.

Will Missy have another outing today? Or to rephrase the question, will Scottish Borders Council ever stop send the salt lorries out? Doh!
 
I just watched a review of the 2021 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and it seemed as though the reviewer (Zack of Revzilla) wanted to dislike the bike - but in the end, he came to like it very much.
The best part is the aftermarket has embraced these RE's. Mufflers, seats, hardware, etc. is all available. I particularly like the TEC adjustable footrests. Let's face it, I might ditch my XS650 if there was no aftermarket to keep it going.
Yes, I did some more :hijack: I couldn't help myself. I thought the Revzilla review was very good (honest).
 
I guess if I didn't already have an XS, I might consider something retro looking & similar performance/stance, etc. like the RE...but personally, if I were getting a new bike, I would step up into something much more modern and with increased performance/enhancements like the MT-10 for example. :)
 
The best part is the aftermarket has embraced these RE's. Mufflers, seats, hardware, etc. is all available. I particularly like the TEC adjustable footrests. Let's face it, I might ditch my XS650 if there was no aftermarket to keep it going.
Yes, I did some more :hijack: I couldn't help myself. I thought the Revzilla review was very good (honest).

Actually, I watched that one yesterday and felt that he was a bit of a twit. He said all sorts of things about the Interceptor that are simply incorrect (it is an very old design, etc. etc.). That is total bunk. It was designed from the ground-up in about 2017 by Harris Engineering of the UK - which is a division of Royal Enfield. The Interceptor 650 has nothing whatsoever in common with R-E bikes of the 1950-70s - except the name and general air-cooled vertical twin configuration.

If you read most of the rest of the comments on the Revzilla YouTube review, they are highly positive.

Now, ZACK may not like the Interceptor, but the sales figures don't lie...
 
Hmmmm.... I did not come away with unfavorable.

It wasn't that he was unfavourable, it was that he was inaccurate. I find his reviews to be superficial and his persistent giggling while riding to be a bit silly. Comparing the R-E to a modern sporty bike like a GSXR600 or even an SV650 is silly. First of all, those bikes make way more power (to a certain extent because they are liquid cooled) and they cost way more than an Interceptor - so the comparison is not valid.

....or....maybe I've been trapped inside for too long and am just getting grumpy.....:poo:
 
....or....maybe I've been trapped inside for too long and am just getting grumpy.....:poo:

I can relate to that. I heard (not seen in writing) that Mississippi is open. No more mask mandate. No more biz restrictions.
I rode the Interceptor myself. It made me grin. It feels good, it sounds good, and it looks good. It’s smooth running. It can run faster in comfort than our beloved XS650.
 
Today, Miss November had a milestone to celebrate.


PICT2546.JPG



That's 30,000 miles up - took the photo just before coz I fink a row of grinning nines makes a better picture than all the zeroes.

Course it's not really a milestone, the lady's past is shrouded in mystery. Engine and frame number did not match so the bike is a bitsa - something has achieved thirty K but I don't know what. Probably the cycle, but that must be at least the third engine that's sat in there.

Something I find funny - three bikes in the garage and they've all done about the same mileage. XS650 is a 1978 bike and logged 30,000 today, Honda NX250 is a 1988 bike and has done 31,085 while the Kawasaki W800 was registered in 2014 and shows 32,180 miles.

Onwards and upwards.
 
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Today, Miss November had a milestone to celebrate.


View attachment 187480


That's 30,000 miles up - took the photo just before coz I fink a row of grinning nines makes a better picture than than all the zeroes.

Course it's not really a milestone, the lady's past is shrouded in mystery. Engine and frame number did not match so the bike is a bitsa - something has achieved thirty K but I don't know what. Probably the cycle, but that must be at least the third engine that's sat in there.

Something I find funny - three bikes in the garage and they've all done about the same mileage. XS650 is a 1978 bike and logged 30,000 today, Honda NX250 is a 1988 bike and has done 31,085 while the Kawasaki W800 was registered in 2014 and shows 32,180 miles.

Onwards and upwards.

Thats a lotta riding Raymond!
 
Thank you Pete.

Well, the Kawasaki is the only one of those I've done pretty much all the miles. But I just thought it was interesting that the bikes are so different in ages but all about the same mileages.

The XS mileage doesn't mean anything. Except of course for reference - the bike has covered about 3,100 miles since I bought it, with just over 2,700 of those being the 2F0 engine. Sadly, I keep service records for all the bikes. Probably lose track of what needs doing otherwise . . .
 
Today, out and about, bopping along some of the country roads around here. Liberates the mind. So I was reflectin' on riding on riding a classic motorbike. Tacho must be one of those Italian vaguelia jobs, needle likes to waver a little, tells you 3½ - 4 thousand RPM and that's close enough, young man.

The favourable spread of torque means that you can let the revs down to 2,000 without any feeling that the engine is toiling. On these roads, you can certainly let speed drop to 40 in top, reported as 2½ thousand-ish, and pull away again on a gentle throttle without lugging. Nice.

I'm riding alongside the River Tweed between Kelso and Birgham, and reflecting on how the exhaust note is mellow. Loud enough so you can hear it but not too loud. Authoritative but not offensive. And suddenly my reverie is interrupted when it all gets MUCH LOUDER!

Bugger, what's fallen off? Stopped and found the r/h silencer had gone AWOL. Look back and it's lying in the road a few hundred yards away. Walked back for it - too hot to handle! At least COVID restrictions mean I'm wearing a rucksack. Let it cool down a bit then tied it on the rucksack. Bit bashed about but not leaving it here . . .

The ride home was, uhm, interesting. Able to make it home by a slightly circuitous route to avoid built-up areas. You become so aware of what you're doing with the throttle. One extra millimeter sounds like an additional battery of Bofors guns has opened up! Try to avoid the overrun as well. Find the best is medium revs and small throttle. Even at that, the wood pigeons are going crazy!

It was awful at first. But by the time we were home, was almost enjoying myself. Or just going deaf.

PICT2547.JPG

That's the thing about a classic motorbike. I believe it's called character!
 
Classic motorbike indeed, lol. So how'd this happen? Did the muffler mount let go from the frame or from the muffler itself? If you hung it by the one provided strap with only one bolt in the muffler, that could explain things. You really need/want a 3 point mount, one to the frame, two into the muffler .....

vTv2ex0.jpg


..... and on my Special, I needed to fab up an additional plate to go between the hanger and the muffler .....

XczoR0x.jpg


Bottom line, you need/want two bolts going into your muffler's slide track, one won't do, won't last long on our vibrating 650s, as you've discovered, lol. Using that slide track as designed, by just sliding the bolt head into it, doesn't work either. The bolt head will break out of the track in short order. You need one of these, the tapped flat bar that you slide into the track. This distributes the clamping force and strain across the whole track instead of it being concentrated on one bolt head .....

0owwCgu.jpg
 
Today, out and about, bopping along some of the country roads around here. Liberates the mind. So I was reflectin' on riding on riding a classic motorbike. Tacho must be one of those Italian vaguelia jobs, needle likes to waver a little, tells you 3½ - 4 thousand RPM and that's close enough, young man.

The favourable spread of torque means that you can let the revs down to 2,000 without any feeling that the engine is toiling. On these roads, you can certainly let speed drop to 40 in top, reported as 2½ thousand-ish, and pull away again on a gentle throttle without lugging. Nice.

I'm riding alongside the River Tweed between Kelso and Birgham, and reflecting on how the exhaust note is mellow. Loud enough so you can hear it but not too loud. Authoritative but not offensive. And suddenly my reverie is interrupted when it all gets MUCH LOUDER!

Bugger, what's fallen off? Stopped and found the r/h silencer had gone AWOL. Look back and it's lying in the road a few hundred yards away. Walked back for it - too hot to handle! At least COVID restrictions mean I'm wearing a rucksack. Let it cool down a bit then tied it on the rucksack. Bit bashed about but not leaving it here . . .

The ride home was, uhm, interesting. Able to make it home by a slightly circuitous route to avoid built-up areas. You become so aware of what you're doing with the throttle. One extra millimeter sounds like an additional battery of Bofors guns has opened up! Try to avoid the overrun as well. Find the best is medium revs and small throttle. Even at that, the wood pigeons are going crazy!

It was awful at first. But by the time we were home, was almost enjoying myself. Or just going deaf.

View attachment 187657

That's the thing about a classic motorbike. I believe it's called character!

Oh dear me Raymond....you were making a nuisance of yourself with all that noise.

In the words of HM, "We are not amused. Please apply Locktite when you make your repairs. young man!"

older-victoria-5.jpg
 
Boy Raymond! You must’ve really been giving ‘er the cane! Blew the muffler right off! :laugh2: I’m sure you’ll have the problem rectified in no time.:thumbsup:
I know what you mean about loud exhaust, I put a performance exhaust on my Suzuki V-Strom that had a straight thru glass pack muffler. That thing was thunderous! I set car alarms off with it. It was too loud even with ear plugs.
I took it off and sold it.
 
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