Royal Enfield has taken the wraps off the Royal Enfield Bear 650, a scrambler motorcycle based on the Interceptor 650. The motorcycle is inspired by Eddie Mulder, the youngest champion and the 1960 winner of the brutal Californian desert race – the Big Bear Run.
The Bear 650 is designed with a retro flavour, harking back to the scramblers of the 1960s, and it gets chunky tyres, open square tread blocks, contoured scrambler seats and a kicked-up rear loop to accentuate the scrambler design language. You also get a competition number board and raised ground clearance – 184mm to be precise. The Bear 650 can be with a choice of five colour ways – Boardwalk White, Petrol Green, Wild Honey, Golden Shadow, and a special colour edition called Two Four Nine, paying tribute to Eddie Mulders’s iconic race winning number. All these elements come together to give the Bear 650 scrambler a retro look that would be perfectly at home in the 1960’s desert racing scene in California.
The Bear 650 shares its 648cc parallel twin with the Interceptor 650, and the engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. This engine produces 47bhp of power, along with 56.5Nm of torque – 4.5Nm more than that of the Interceptor 650. The Bear 650 also gets a 2-in-1 exhaust system.
To keep up with the Bear 650’s scrambler identity, the motorcycle gets a revised and stronger chassis, with suspension duties handled by Showa USD big piston forks at the front with 130mm travel and Showa Twin tube RSU at the rear with 115mm travel. The round clearance is 184mm and you get a 19-inch front wheel, along with a 17-inch rear wheel, fitted with dual-purpose tyres for providing the ‘authentic scrambler’ look and also providing the Bear 650 with mild off-roading ability. In terms of the brakes, the Bear 650 is equipped with a 320mm front disc and a 270mm rear disc with the option of a switching off rear ABS while riding on broken roads or graded trails. The kerb weight of the motorcycle is 216kg.
In terms of equipment, the Bear 650 is equipped with Royal Enfield’s Tripper Dash, the TFT display which is used in the Himalayan and Guerrilla 450. It gets a simple interface that is easier to operate on the move, using the black aluminium switch cubes and the joystick. You get Google Maps integration, a USB-C charging port and Wingman Connectivity. The Wingman Connectivity features include remote live location tracking, real-time last parked location, vehicle alerts, a vehicle dashboard, and trip reports. The Bear 650 also gets full LED lighting, a first on the 650 twins platform.
Prices for the Royal Enfield Bear 650 will be announced at EICMA, and the motorcycle is available with a choice of 5 colourways.