Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 review | Honest pillion comfort | Hagon shocks 

Helen now loves the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 - check out this essential mod: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i6dIrSdoxlM.html

Pillion issues are simply not covered well enough! Thanks very much for this. Standards and nakeds need to pay more attention to the second passenger's needs. There are more than enough bikes that are designed for only one person, and sometimes that's just not as fun.

In India, we have almost everyone going in for an aftermarket seat on Interceptor 650. You could search for one sahara seats (if i am not wrong) for the designs. The idea is to lift the height of the rear seat in design by a couple of inches and the front seat (still in continuation) takes a dive towards the front. Also the custom seats are an inch longer towards the grab rail at the back. That sorts most issues of pillion dynamics.

Your reviews have become my favourite motorcycle content on RU-vid. This bike wouldn’t be for me. I’ve owned the previous model 1000XR for the past two years and love it for the exact reasons you described in your previous video. Please keep the fantastic content coming from your entire motorcycling family...!

This is a very informative series - exploring an important but underreported aspect of riding. Thank you both 🙂

Great video, John! Getting to hear your wife's and daughter's honest opinions on the pillion experience was really valuable. I've been in the market for a bike for the past month or so and I've watched countless videos from dozens of different RU-vid content producers, and I've found your videos to be the most informative - I think I've watched every video you've posted related to the Interceptor 650. I'm looking forward to watching however many more long-term test videos you've got coming - keep up the great work.

I’m traveling through Europe and met a lady to tour with, this video was so clutch!

I’ve got a Continental gt650 and the 5’6” wife is very happy on it

Two in two days. You're spoiling us now 😁 A treat for the whole family 👏🏻👏🏻

Has mrs M thought about doing her own channel, doesn’t matter what subject I’d watch it.

Hepco and Becker do a great passenger footpeg relocation kit that has helped a lot with pillion comfort

Great to see biking from a pillion point of view 👍

These videos are great. I’m a learner at the moment, getting into riding with a view to riding 2up. Really valuable points of view for us, helping to make decisions on what bikes to look at. Please can you do a video on the 790 adventure? :P

Great vid. Agree about the Hagons and how they show up the front. It's already been mentioned but pillion footrest relocators may be the answer for room and using luggage. And a different seat, Holy Goat look good, it could me made slightly longer and with a rise for the pillion.

Awesome review guys big love from Australia 😊😊😊

Georgie is too cute! Great review as always, John.

Beautiful review

OMG my week is complete. Mrs M twice in one week. 😉 John is great as well. 😁

Really enjoy your vids even though I don't carry a pillion. So many bikes must get sold because they appeal to the rider but are not great for your partner. I've seen a friend buy a Goldwing just to please his other half but hopefully there is a middle ground bike that's still fun for solo riding but comfortable for a pillion. The XR and the Versys 1000 look a good combination. Great to see the next generation being encouraged to enjoy motorcycling 👍👍

My wife's 5'9 and it was extremely uncomfortable for her too. I got alot of things done...raised the height of the seat to improve the acute angle, added back support plus I'm planning to add a footrest extender for the pillion... Things are alot better now.

My wife is 5’9” and suffered the same on my Interoceptor. I have changed the exhaust that has given me enough room to lower her pegs 5cm and forward 3cm plus reupholstered the seat 2.5cm higher at the back with a straight back making it longer. These have made it much better for her and it still looks and rides great. Shocks next.

Hi John. Yeah is I think the bike is better suited for one up riding. No good for a pillion for the long distances we do here in Queensland. Keep up the informative videos!

Great series of pillion reviews, thank you! As to modern-classic 2-up riding, the Guzzi V7III (which y'all did a good comparison on) is actually a decent 2-up bike once you fit better rear shocks (same issue as the Interceptor) and do something about the stock seat (I fitted a BeadRider, but there are many other options). You get the same benefits you describe on the Interceptor (low heights, easy to move around, easy to balance, confidence in light off-road) and better pillion ergonomics, so a happier passenger, making 300mile days 2-up rides possible. Hepco & Becker has some great luggage solutions for the V7III as well, adding to the tour-ability, including topcases with back pads and more rearset panniers. I've seen some of the Italian folks installing backrests on the V7III as well.

I was going to say that a rack with bag would make the pillion feel more secure, allow them to move further back on the seat and give them something to hold on to. And recovering the seat professionally to give it a raised rear would help. I used to own a hinckley bonny and that had straight pipes, not upswept like on the Enfield, so the pillion pegs on that where really low. My pillion at the time did a 350 mile in a day trip to Scotland no problem.

Nice to see this review. We had looked at the interceptor as a second bike and rejected it as my wife found it just so uncomfortable. Ok she was comparing it to our 1200rt, but we had a Kawasaki w650 as well for a long time and she was comfortable on this for hours. Just look at the pillion footpegs on the Interceptor, they are in a stupid position because of the styling of the exhaust. Does the exhaust need to be so up-swept? Compare it to the W800 or Bonneville exhausts and see what I mean.

I'd love more of these videos. But I'll probably buy something before any more are produced

Hi there - A very good review from a Pillions point of view. Agree with most of what was said. Ride a GT650 myself with the same seat. I'd recomend watching videos on the 650's from india. You'd have a lot more insight about everything 650. All the best - love from Delhi.

Hello John. Enjoying the "pillion opinion" series... really useful and informative, not to mention entertaining. Just wondering if you could see your way to doing a pillion opinion of the R1250RT?

Would be interesting comparison if you tried the continental GT 650 touring seat. Lots of people do this. I personally find the stock seat quite uncomfortable myself. 👍

Helpful review thank you.

Yeah. The standard seat is like a plank for both rider and pillion. For distance, invest in a comfort seat. I believe there is a pillion footrest relocation kit to improve the leg issues. 👍

Try adding an extra layer of foam to the pillion seat and raising it slightly might help you.

Great subject. Perhaps your comments on weight and manage ability indicate how oversized motorcycles have got? Happy travels

Again great video encompassing both the rider and passengers point of view, can I advise you purchase a side car ! That should tick all the boxes for both of you just like Stan and Olive in the film On the Buses.

fit a triumph custom seat, its longer &higher lower rear pegs and a rack with top box makes the bike an allday bike

To give the passenger more room there is ample scope to bring the footpegs forward without impacting the rider's feet. A 3 or 4mm alloy plate could fascilitate this simple mod. All you need is a CAD "cardboard aided design" ie make a template for trial and error. I have a Yamaha MT10 which has similar high pegs. My wife is 5.7 and so lowering by means of a plate 70mm means her legs are no longer under her chin!!! A better seat might aid the bum on long journeys. Worth a try?

use a pillion back rest with a luggage carrier it would be way more comfy ride than other bike out there & u can do custom stuff in RE bikes ..

Great to hear the views from a pillion. My wife is the same height with fairly long legs too. Maybe a rack with grab rails might help?

A CB1100 might be a better retro bike for pillion riding? I have the Interceptor and it works better solo riding. I have an FJR1300 for 2-up trips.

Hello John How about a custom sissy seat with a back rest. Should make for a more comfortable for pillion.

My missus never complains about the pillion perch on any of my bikes.........coz I always take the rear pegs off so she can't go on 'em!!!! Sorted.

Hi, she is right, it can ne a problem for some people. However it can be solved with a pedal kit from Hepco&Becker.

Looks like the pedals could be placed more forward. When I rode with my father in my childhood - I was hugging him, those back grips weren't a thing at all then.

Hi, how about wobbling problem of front wheel on this bike, does it matter & is it a real issue, thanks.

This is probably due to sharing the same frame with the Continental GT 650. There needs to be room for the rear set rider pegs.

I had the use of the Royal Enfield GT while my Classic 500 was being serviced. I found my hands were going numb due to the forward leaning position. My Daughter was my pillion, I asked her how she enjoyed the ride. Her reply was not as nice as your classic. Reason being the leg position, she felt scrunch up with her legs to high. She actually said the Classic was the most comfortable followed by the Himalayan then the GT. Stepping back and looking the rear peg are high compared to the classic, even the Triumph Bonneville has lower pillion pegs. Shame because I like the Interceptor.

Hey Helen, I totally agree with your grievance as a pillion. It's as uncomfortable as it can get.

What you have really touched on is bike manufacturers have built bikes that us blokes think we need and have ended up with bloody too tall too heavy too stiff too much power...there a bugger to manhandle like you say .? cheers from dave

The rider triangle on the RE twins feels a bit odd to me and the pillion position I'd agree is a 5/10, very ordinary. A classic 500 is leaps and bounds better for rider/pillion comfort. If you just want to "potter about" it's the 500 every day of the week. John: "Is there anything I could... Make the seat higher? " Helen: No, but you could buy a classic 500 as well so we can both enjoy a ride out! LOL

Can't comment on pillion comfort as I never take one.....but that seat is uncomfortable and ugly , so I changed it out for the GT touring seat massive improvement !

We are an older couple and my wife has issues with the Interceptor back seat ride, i have fitted a top box for her and the seat is going to get extended, widened and gel packed then foot peg extenders

Well … you’re not tall are you? AWKWARD SILENCE That was the moment for me 😂😂😂

The stock seats get really uncomfortable even for the rider and the pillion! I would be the first complaining instead of my pillion

Love these videos, TMF drags his Mrs out a fair bit, however I’m sure yours is getting dragged around more!

You really need a replacement seat that cradles the passenger enough that they don't feel like they are about to fall off at any time.

Ciao volevo montare gli ammortizzatori Hagon sulla mia Interceptor ma è adatto al modello 2022? o sono per i modelli anni 70?

I am one day from buying but this could change everything. My wife and I need something that works for her. Great input but upsets me because I was sold. Now, not so much.

I don't understand what was RE thinking when they designed this bike... I mean, those pipes are okay for an sporty bike, like the Continental GT, but for a daily all around bike like the Interceptor, you have to do something more flexible to take a pillion and/or saddle bags of a decent size. For me, those pipes are a clear deal breaker and I would't buy that bike just for this.

Came here from car wow😍

interceptor or guzzi v7??

Royal Enfield is working a cruise bike... It will kill all the competitors for sure ... Because of its price .

Is there anything I can do to make it more comfortable?.. Yes you can get off and let me drive it home

My mum said it's like squatting on a stool

The saddle looks terrible. Not for me thanks

I can't believe anyone rides on the back of this bike.

buy a used street twin

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