Out with old, in with the new!

[Magista]

Said goodbye to the '58 BSA A7 500 Flash yesterday. It was a fun bike but I wanted something modern again. After looking at the Triumph 400x I settled on the Royal Enfield Bear 650 Scrambler. It's obviously much more road biased however, it'll do dirt and gravel roads without issue. Perfect for Pacific Northwest moto-camping.

The fit, finish, handling, and engine are surprisingly good. The Bear is great bike for the money.

 

[ancientdad]

The fun of getting a new bike.... I remember it well.

 

[RobMan]

I hope the BSA went to a home that will provide it with all the love it needs. I love the old Brit bike artdeco look but the new Royal Enfield looks awesome. Give us some ride reviews later on.

 

[Magista]

I hope the BSA went to a home that will provide it with all the love it needs. I love the old Brit bike artdeco look but the new Royal Enfield looks awesome. Give us some ride reviews later on.

The Enfield dealer is a fan of BSAs and gave me good trade in value for it. They have several vintage ones at the shop. It went to a good home. It'll be loved and ridden.

I'll give ya'll a ride report once I have the chance to put it through its paces. It's still pretty cold and wet here in the PNW.

 

[MrPepper]

Def looking forward to a review. I have a friend who has been looking for this model for a while

 

[spideypop]

She's a pretty one! Ditto on riding impressions

 

[Magista]

Ride Report:

Seat height is 32.7 inches. I'm 5'7" with a 29/30 inch inseam which puts me on my toes. It's a tad taller than my old Ducati, the height doesn't bother me. The bike is very well balanced and doesn't feel heavy even though it weighs in at 476 lbs.

At speed it's very stable and holds your line through corners. It's not super "flickable" per se, just very well mannered and has great road holding. The engine and throttle response is excellent. Very linear, decent amount of grunt, and will get you up to speed relatively quickly. The TFT display is great. It's big, bright, and has some nice features (integrated Google Maps, music, etc). The transmission is smooth. The slipper clutch is a nice touch as well. Controls are well place. Though I'm still getting used to the placement of the rear brake pedal. It's a little odd, but I'll get used to it. It's got ABS and you can switch off the rear with the push of a button if you want to hoon it.

The Showa suspension is good. I've heard some complaints about it being to hard but so far, it's not bothered me at all. The exhaust note is actually decent for a stock exhaust (I'll eventually replace the mid-pipe and the can). Seat is comfortable.

Overall fit and finish is very good.

I personally think Royal Enfield knocked it out of the park with the Bear. It's a solid all around bike that will do a little bit of everything. It's a great deal for the price.

EDIT: I will be adding a 20 or 30mm riser to the handlebars and ordered a new exhaust for extra noise.

 

[Magista]

Thought I'd give another little report after having the Bear for a while.

Noticed it was the idle was hunting after it was warmed up. Suspected the valves. At 300 miles I changed the oil and checked the valves. Lo and behold, they were way too tight. Set them to spec and now the engine purrs. I've also removed the cat and installed a strait pipe. My new exhaust can will be here early next week.

Ok so, now that I have about 500 miles on the bike I can say it is buttery smooth. It handles very well. Engine is fantastic. It does everything I need it to do. It easily does highway speeds if you want to.

I would not hesitate to recommend the Bear to anyone thinking about it. The one thing I would suggest is checking the valves as soon as you get it home.

 

[Syco13x]

Nice looking bike! Happy to hear it is working out for you. I have been drawn to the Shotgun 650 model based on looks, but the Bear is appealing as well. Same basic bike it seems, just setup for different uses. When I bought my first Triumph years ago, I was drawn to the Royal Enfields at the dealership too. Back then they were still only offering single cylinder bikes, but they had that old WWII style to them, and just looked awesome! I went with the Triumph ultimately though, for the stronger engine. Nowadays, I care less about the engine and more about the bike overall.

 

[Magista]

UPDATE:

Added a new exhaust, decat, 20 mm risers, sintered brake pads, and FuelX Lite to the Bear. Runs great, sounds great. Took it out motocamping two days ago. It performed like a champ.