Simple Perspective of KTM 390 vs The Interceptor and Continental GT, 650 Twins

Owning a D390 has thought me many things, especially patience in knowing when to rip open and when to ride relaxingly.

Therefore, I believe that my expectations for the Royal Enfield’s new 650 Twins, the Interceptor and the Continental GT were well placed. Also, having taken the D390 primarily for touring and offloading frequently, I do believe that I have the required aptitude to compare the KTM 390 to the Twins from a common man’s perspective.

Expectations:

- The Twins boast the cheapest Parallel Twin with a 650CC displacement paired with a SOHC, expected some cost-cutting.

- The bore x stroke ratio is favoured towards the long stroke, like the typical Royal Enfield.

•     This means that the get-go torque will be high (reminded about the RE500) 
•     But would lose pull/power at top end.

- Being a Royal Enfield, the engine could vibrate, a bit sceptical even after multiple the ‘chai cup videos’

The Story Behind the Ride:

A fellow motorcycle enthusiast and colleague, Murali, who has booked the Interceptor himself arranged for a test ride for Zoho-ites and I was roped in for it thanks to another colleague, Immam. So all of us met early morning at a location that provided a route with a mix of good straight stretches, bad roads, large speed breakers, potholes and sharp corners. We took turns and I along with my friend rode the Twins across its entire power-band for over 15 KM in round trip.

I had the opportunity to test the following with mindful comparison as to how to Twins performs against my D390:

• Stop-N-Go Pull With The Wide Open Throttle.
• Stop-N-Go Pull Done Sedately.
• Acceleration From Low Speed, In Low And High Gears.
• Rapid Gear Drops From High Gears During Deceleration.
• Rapid Gear Shifts In Low Speed To Higher Gears To Check If The Engine Has Difficulty Coping Up.
• Leaning Stability Of The Bikes At Moderate Speeds, 70+ Kmph
• Lean Dynamics When Pulling From Low Speeds With A Lean.
• Rapid Braking Using Only Front Brakes, Aka Panic Braking
• Braking While Turning And Leaning In, Should Never Be Done -But Tested As Public Generals Do This During Panic Situations
• And Most Importantly, Does The Bike Jitter At Low Speeds Low Gears Like The D390- My Biggest Concern.

The Outcome? I am pleased to say that my expectations were met in certain aspects and even surprised in a few. And I was also disappointed slightly in certain aspects.

Let us discuss them one by one starting with what I didn’t like.

• Lack Of Initial Pull In Comparison To A Short Stroked Rev Happy D390.
• Lean Stability Is Poor As The Tires And Seats Don’T Feel Planted.
• Continental GT Felt Pseudo-Sport, Just An Eye Candy.
• A 650Cc? If Didn’T Know The Capacity To Start With And Had To Guess, I Would Guess that It Was A 400-500Cc Mill.
• The Pegs Develop A Slight Buzz At Around 4000-5000 Rpm But Smooths Out At Above 5000 Rpm.
• The Suspension Is More On The Soft Side (now I am just nitpicking)

Why do I think the above? The motorcycle is not a sports bike and wasn’t meant for the corners and is a beach-cruiser. I agree. 

However, it should also feel planted in its own term while leaning into corners as there is no way you can turn a motorcycle without leaning it, especially if it is a middleweight, over-500cc bike.

The avenger feels planted, the Benelli feels planted and even the mojo feels planted for their relative weights - but definitely not the Twins.

The Continental GT was a disappointment in that aspect. A bike that aggressively postured (insert more leaned-in than the R15 in my opinion because of the stretched and leaned-in posture), you can not push to it’s limit as it doesn’t feel planted. It felt like it is a poser sports bike. Perhaps a tyre upgrade will make a good difference? It just doesn’t control as well as you would expect it to.

One big expectation was that the bike would have an extreme start pull. But as my friend and fellow biker Kishen pointed out, in his own words “The bike lacked the hold-on-to-the-bars-as-hard-as-you-can-pull expected from a 650cc mill. And there are no better words to put it. When I made my decision of D390 against the D200, it was this one hard pull with which I decided to go for the latter. The Twins lack that hard initial pull that would impress. Now one aspect to consider is, I didn’t rev hard and dump the clutch, and also the D390 is short geared from the 1st with a large rear sprocket - which is all true, but did it feel like a 650cc mill? Nope.

With the roasting done, let us get to the part where I explain about what I enjoyed about the Twins the most.

• Two Words. The Interceptor. 
• The Engine Is Butter Smooth, Gear Shifting Is Precise And Does Feel Yamaha-Ish.
• The Chai-Cup Videos Are Not Overhyped But True, Indeed - Literally Nil-Vibrations On The Tank And Bars.
• Brakes Are Sharp, Like The Older Continental Gt And The Rc390S - They Bite And Bite Hard and ABS Didn't Feel Intrusive.
• The Chassis Holds Stability Even During Hard Braking, Unlike Most Low Capacity Bikes That Feel Distressed (#Apache180)
• No Weird Vibrations At Odd Rpms When Ridden Hard - The Classic 350 Has This At Around 70+ Kmph Or During Hard Pulls.
• The Twins Chug Along At 1800-2000 Rpm Even In The 6Th Gear.
• 40Kmph At 6Th Gear? No Problem.
• Accelerate From 60Kmph In 6Th Gear? Sure, Just Slowly Twist The Throttle.

Most folks who rode the bike before me told me that they liked the Continental GT and I thought that it would be biased to ride it first, so I took the Interceptor for a spin before the GT. The Twins are heavy when you throw your legs around them and rock them one side to the other. But once you start moving, they feel nimble. Maybe not R15-nimble, but definitely as nimble as the avenger or maybe even D390 fully loaded with petrol, tank-bags, saddles and heavy pillion. 

I was impressed by how the Interceptor handles itself. 

What the Continental GT lacks, the Interceptor doesn’t pose to be: Truely SPORTY. The Interceptor 650 IS a relaxed motorcycle in terms of posture and comfort and does that very well. It dearly conveys power. Real usable power. 

If the D390 is like being high on cocaine, then the Interceptor felt like a mild high from a few shots of vodka. The mill on both the Twins felt similar but the Interceptor, in particular, felt blissful to ride as because of it’s laid back characteristics. 

Guess I will stick to my R15 for hard cornering for some more years. The engine’s nature of being smooth almost throughout the power band was impressive. There are slight vibrations at some rpm ranges, but nothing ground shattering (pun intended). The brakes were quite a surprise. The Twins can reach triple-digit speeds before you know, but also can definitely stop as quick as they accelerate! My bets are on the Interceptor and not the GT. One is purpose built, while the other is a mere poser in my books.

At this point, my concern is in knowing how much the cost of maintenance is going to be? What are the cost of the spares and the life of consumables like the pads and clutch and so on? Would the engine continue to behave the same at 80,000 km clocked in the ODO. The Yamahas, Hondas and heck even Suzuki are doing it without large overhauls? Would the mileage be high-20s or low-10s? I would be disappointed if it’s lower than that but delighted if it returns around 25kmpl on sedated cruises. Anyone expecting more is clearly fooling themselves and needs to brush up on how fuel efficiency works, which can be read about here - How to Break-In an Old Engine after 10,000KMS and How not to Break-In a New Engine

Will definitely be taking out the machine once again for a test ride to check pillion comfort and high traffic handling check. That, only time can tell. But for now, I can’t wait for the launch and a family discussion to convince my folks in owning the third bike :P 

Also, importantly, a BIG THANKS to VJ @nippon_kogaku and Kishen @harikishen46 for the wonderful clicks and once again, Murali and Immam @RioRider for making this possible. 

And do check out the Instahandle OneHeartTwoWheels @OneHTW for random motrocycle shenanigans.