Riding Royal Enfield INT Bear 650 | First Ride Review - video Dailymotion

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The Bear 650 exudes a vintage scrambler charm, featuring a traditional seat, a 2-into-1 exhaust system, and a rear frame loop. It’s available in five colors: Boardwalk White, Petrol Green, Wild Honey, Golden Shadow, and the special Two Four Nine edition, which commemorates Mulder’s race number. The design captures the spirit of old desert racers, with a modern twist.  Looking to buy? Get prequalified https://octane.co/vehicle-selection/?partner=jAYmx9P&a=303&flow=long-prequal&appTheme=3a49337c5724d18079602a4ca5a91626  Read the best motorcycle news and reviews: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/  Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motorcyclistonline/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motorcyclistmag/

Transcript

00:00Hey everybody, we just got done riding Royal Enfield's 2025 Bayer 650.

00:05This is an all-new scrambler-style motorcycle from Royal Enfield out of England and India.

00:12Now, the Bayer 650 is a new addition to Royal Enfield's growing U.S. power sports lineup.

00:18It's based off the recently introduced INT 650 naked bike, naked standard motorcycle that was introduced a few years ago.

00:27Now, the Bayer 650 commemorates Royal Enfield's race win during the 1960 Big Bayer Run.

00:36This was a historic motorcycle race won by Eddie Mulder.

00:40Eddie Mulder was a very successful desert racer turned Hollywood stuntman who did stunt doubling for guys like Clint Eastwood.

00:48Now, the Bayer 650 is a traditional scrambler-style motorcycle, meaning that it's designed to be ridden on-road and off-road.

00:56Nothing too crazy off-road, but definitely this bike is a general old-school type motorcycle that can take you everywhere you really want to go.

01:04Now, the Bayer 650 is powered by Royal Enfield's 648cc overhead cam parallel twin engine.

01:12This engine is air-cooled. It has an eight-valve cylinder head.

01:15It puts out upwards of 40 horsepower at the business end of that rear wheel.

01:20Now, it benefits from a cable-actuated clutch and a six-speed transmission.

01:24Now, the engine on this motorcycle, it's really nice.

01:28It's nice and smooth. It has really nice character and exhaust note, and it's relatively devoid of engine vibration.

01:35It does have some engine vibration.

01:38It's the good kind, the kind that makes you feel like you're riding a motorcycle.

01:41But it's not too much vibration like Royal Enfield's old single-cylinder engines from back in the day.

01:48Those things would vibrate your teeth out. This INT 650 base power train is much more refined and nice to ride.

01:56This motorcycle rolls on a 19-inch front, 17-inch rear-wheel combo.

02:01So, you get a little bit larger wheel diameter up front to go over some of those rocks,

02:05some of the typical obstacles you would encounter when you're operating this vehicle off-road.

02:10Now, this motorcycle weighs just south of 500 pounds, which is kind of a lot, but in motion, this thing rides really well.

02:18The seat height's not too high, not too low. The motorcycle's very slim between the rider's legs.

02:22And we really like the ergonomics on this bike.

02:25For a 650cc powertrain, the ergonomics fit a big rider.

02:31I'm six foot tall, weigh 185 pounds, and I fit really good on the motorcycle.

02:35Specifically, I really like the bend of the handlebar.

02:38It's nice and upright, nice and wide, feels real meaty.

02:42Almost makes you feel like you want to ride off-road and ride scrambler style just because the handlebar's so meaty, which I like.

02:48A lot of motorcycles in this class, they usually put really teensy-weensy handlebar on the bike

02:54that makes you just feel like you're riding some lame minibike.

02:57Not so with the Bear 650.

02:58In the suspension department, the Bear 650 rolls on Showa suspension, and the suspenders on the Royal Enfield are really nice.

03:06It goes over the bumps really well and generally delivers a really smooth ride.

03:11There's no adjustment up front.

03:12Yes, you can adjust the spring preload out back.

03:15I know some people were complaining that suspension's a little bit stiff, but again, for our 185-pound weight standing at six foot tall,

03:23the suspension wasn't too stiff for us.

03:25It actually worked really well.

03:26I can see, though, if you were a lighter person, you might think the suspenders are a little bit stiff.

03:30But generally, if you're an average or above-sized human, you're going to love the ergonomics on this bike,

03:36and you're going to love the suspension.

03:38It works really good on-road and off-road.

03:41Now, the Bear 650 rolls on Indian-spec MRF tires, and these tires work really good.

03:46I was really impressed how well these tires grip on the asphalt and on the dirt.

03:51For a no-name, at least in America, Indian-brand tires,

03:55these MRF tires can compete right with the big boys from Dunlop, Berkshire, and Michelin.

04:00I know that sounds crazy to even say that, but that's true.

04:02The tires work really well.

04:04Dual hydraulic brakes stop this vehicle.

04:06One hydraulic brake in the front, one in the back.

04:08Brakes work really well.

04:09We like the ability to easily disable rear ABS by pushing a button on the switch gear.

04:16Manufacturers, can you please follow Royal Enfield's lead?

04:19We love the easy-to-use button.

04:21You push it whenever you want.

04:22ABS is off at the rear, and you can slide the bike and do your off-road hijinks.

04:27It's really nice.

04:28We also like the sophisticated-looking color TFT display that's neatly integrated into the instrument pod.

04:35It looks super slick.

04:36It functions really well.

04:38There's a lot of features in there, and we love the ability to pair our iOS or Android-powered smartphone with Royal Enfield's app.

04:47Then we can get turn-by-turn navigation right there on the display.

04:50The only caveat is the switch gear, when you're manipulating the features of this instrument pod,

04:56the switch gear is downright poor.

04:58It has really poor tactile feel, and you're going to be pushing a lot of buttons to make it do what you want.

05:03With Royal Enfield, you need to upgrade the switch gear on this motorcycle to get better tactile feel,

05:08so we can use the awesome features of that color TFT display.

05:12Overall, for $6,849, this Royal Enfield Bear 650, it's just an awesome motorcycle.

05:19I can't even tell you how improved Royal Enfield is in terms of its build quality.

05:25These bikes are put together so much more intricately than years before.

05:30If there was ever a manufacturer that's most improved in shortest amount of time, it's got to be Royal Enfield.

05:36And the fit and finish and quality of Bear 650 is tremendously improved from the days I remember of Royal Enfield.

05:43You're getting a real motorcycle that's fun to ride on the road, capable off-road,

05:48and looks and feels just like a real motorcycle.

05:51It also comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty in North America.

05:56It just shows you that Royal Enfield is really standing behind its product.

06:00Well, everyone, that's a wrap of our official review of Royal Enfield's 2025 Bear 650 Scrambler.

06:06As always, make sure to surf on over to our website.

06:08Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it.

06:10Thumbs it down if you didn't, because we'd love to hear from the naysayers.

06:13And maybe we'll see you in the next episode.

06:14We'll see you in the next episode.

Riding Royal Enfield INT Bear 650 | First Ride Review

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