Royal Enfield's new Bear 650 hits the spot as an authentic sub-650cc scrambler for the New Zealand market.
Scramblers of old were essentially converted road bikes for off-road use. While modern interpretations are built with the scrambler aesthetic in mind, to date many don't quite hit the mark in terms of authentic feel in the sub-650cc market. That is, until Royal Enfield pulled the covers off the new Bear 650.
The sub-650cc market has long been lacking in terms of retro scrambler choices in the New Zealand market, with Triumph's Scrambler 400 X being the only contender making any headway. We suspect that will change when Royal Enfield's Bear 650 arrives next year at the scorching hot price of just $11,490.
For your money, you get a bike powered by Enfield's glorious 650cc parallel twin engine, the new circular TFT dash from the Himalayan 450 with built-in Google Maps, and a redeveloped chassis built with scrambling in mind.
Pre-orders for the Bear 650 are already open at Royal Enfield's NZ website with the bike set to be offered in five (5) colour options (Boardwalk White, Petrol Green, Wild Honey, Golden Shadow, and a special colour edition called Two Four Nine), with the and first shipments of the Bear 650 are due to be delivered to pre-order customers from January 2025.
Like Enfield's other bikes, the Bear 650 will also come with a 3-Year Unlimited KM Warranty, and 3 Years of Roadside Assist, though going by Royal Enfield's ever improving build quality we doubt you'd need to lean on either.
Royal Enfield is, as usual, onto the money with the Bear which adds more off-road ability than slapping knobby wheels onto an Interceptor 650. Wheel sizes have been chosen with tyre choice in mind with a 19 inch wheel at the front and 17 at the rear, while the suspension has also seen an upgrade to Showa USD big piston forks in the front with 130mm travel and Showa Twin tube RSU at the rear with 115mm travel. This also sees ground clearance rise to 184mm which is bang on for a bike with this level of off road action intended (Suzuki's V-Strom 650 sports 185mm of clearance).
While we can't say for certain how good the Bear is without riding it, Royal Enfield are truly masters of the sub-650cc genre and the parallel-twin engine at its heart will go down as one of the greats.
The Bear name itself derives from Eddie Mulder, a.k.a. Fast Eddie - who in 1960 became (and till date remains) the youngest Champion to tame the brutal Californian desert race, the Big Bear Run aboard a Royal Enfield.
Speaking about the inspiration, conception and design of the Bear 650, B Govindarajan, CEO - Royal Enfield, says, “We’ve always drawn deep inspiration for our motorcycles from our community, and from our riders who’ve achieved extraordinary feats. Our inspiration for the Bear 650 came from one such legendary story - Eddie and that of the 1960 Big Bear Run. The Bear 650 channels the same spirit of raw instinct, sheer impulse, relentless determination, and embodies the ethos of a true scrambler ‘full-send’ mindset and DNA. It is built to deliver confidence and control across all terrains—whether you are navigating urban streets or dusty trails. The Bear 650 is not just about performance; it's about versatility, resilience, and an uncompromising spirit.
We can't wait to see them arrive in dealers locally in early 2025!