Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 YSS Suspension Upgrade: Introduction

Gallery Introduction The G-Series Rear Shocks The Front Fork Kit Our Take Product Details

Introduction

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Rear Suspension

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 is a very likeable motorcycle. It is good looking; the quality on the bike is the best we have seen on any RE yet; it has a lovely engine; and it stops at will. But, it isn’t perfect.

I am not too happy with the tyres. I wasn’t a fan of the seating ergos either till I changed that. And though the suspension on the Interceptor 650 works fine if you are pottering around and commuting, it’s not the happiest taking on something severe. Plus, there’s unnecessary noise that emanates from the INT’s suspension, which makes them seem loose somehow. It’s not a nice noise at all.

But the good news is – if you are willing to spend a decent amount of money – you can get yourself a fancy aftermarket set. As of now, or at least in our knowledge, there are two options out there for the Interceptor in India. There’s the golden boy Ohlins (ones we couldn’t connect with even after repeated attempts), and then there’s YSS, straight out of Thailand.

In India though, these are distributed by Indimotard Adventures. You can find them on Google, Instagram and if you are in Bangalore, they are housed under the Greasehouse banner.

The G-Series Rear Shocks

YSS has two options for the Interceptor’s rear shocks. There’s one that allows you to adjust the preload and rebound damping, and then you have these – the fully adjustable RG362 TRCL shocks. Complicated name, I know, but not as difficult to work with, thankfully.

These shocks are adjustable for preload, rebound damping, and compression damping. These also allow you to increase the ride height by 5mm. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but at least there’s an option if you ever choose to utilise it.

Like we mentioned earlier, these are easy to work with as well. The preload adjustment isn’t a stepped affair as on most shocks, but it is a continuous one applied using a ring. This offers better tune-ability. The circular dial at the bottom of the springs can adjust the rebound damping. And it is as easy as turning the dial clockwise or counter clockwise. Here you have S and H marked on the dial so you know which direction you are headed in.

Next up, there’s compression damping adjustment. The screw on the piggyback reservoir can change this. And as with the rebound damping dial, there’s marking around the screw to tell you which way to turn to go slower or faster on the damping.

The Front Fork Kit

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Front Forks

The front fork upgrade kit isn’t all that fancy. For starters, it fits into the existing forks. But, one does have to replace the washer pipe, the springs, the valves and the top cap with the ones provided by YSS. And that, we are told, makes all the difference in performance.

Now, unlike the rear shocks, the front fork kit isn’t completely adjustable. But compared to the stock setup, which is adjustable for nothing whatsoever, you do get preload adjustment on the YSS. If nothing else, at least one can set the suspension sag better with the YSS kit and improve the suspension’s effectiveness on the road. But to what degree, only the post setup ride will tell.

Our Take

Now, at over Rs 23,000, the front fork upgrade is expensive. And the rear shocks at over Rs 60,000 aren’t cheap either. But, if these can help transform the motorcycle – be it ride comfort or outright handling – it would be worth the investment.

The next step for us then is to install it on the Interceptor 650, go for the middle ground, and then start adjusting it from there to achieve a setup that we totally agree with. It won’t be easy, we know. But, it should be fun.

So come back to BikeWale to read about our trial and error exploits with YSS.