The feelings of a 62-year-old veteran rider [Switched from a Kawasaki Z2 to a Royal Enfield Bear 650] Impressed by the old car taste that is always in great shape.

Writer Koji Ito, a senior colleague of the author (Tsutomu Ogawa) and a friend for 30 years, has purchased a Royal Enfield Bear 650. The bike he used to ride was a Kawasaki Z2, a famous bike of yesteryear. Mr. Ito was born in 1963, a generation that was in the midst of a motorcycle boom. We invited Mr. Ito to go touring with two Bear 650s.

Veteran Generation's Choice of Motorcycles

Mr. Ogawa, what kind of bike is the Royal Enfield Bear 650? A few weeks after Mr. Ito's call, he contacted me again and said, "I bought a Bear 650. Surprisingly, Mr. Ito said he had made the right choice and seemed very happy. I wondered what had happened. I wondered what had happened, so I (Tsutomu Ogawa) invited Mr. Ito to go touring with me. At the age of 16, Mr. Ito obtained a motorcycle license (medium-sized limited) and bought a GL400; at 19, he had his license removed, and by the time he was 20, he owned a Ducati 900SS. He went on to ride SR500, VMAX, RZV500R, YSR50, Gilera 500 Saturno, MHR900, GS750E, and at the age of 30 (1993), he married his wife who owned a 750RS [Z2]. Since then, he has owned a Thunderbolt S2, Pocke 50, Jebel 200, VTR1000 SP-1, KZ1300, and MHR900. Although he rode a variety of motorcycles, he continued to own only the Z2. Mr. Ito, who has experience as a mechanic at a motorcycle store, is so skilled that he overhauled the engine of a KZ1300 by himself, and I personally helped and learned from him with various maintenance and customization projects. So it is not that I gave up my Z2 because it was too much for me to handle. I had ridden Mr. Ito's Z2 several times, and I experienced how good it felt and how comfortable it was to ride. I started riding motorcycles when I was in high school, when most of the boys in my class had motorcycle licenses, and I've been riding ever since. Even if there is a problem, I can easily find out what is wrong with it, so I don't really have any trouble with it. However, the value has increased in a strange way. Of course I am happy to see the value increase. On the other hand, I was troubled by the risk of not being able to ride casually. I feel uneasy when I actually hear about thefts, etc., and recently I've been feeling like I'm riding just to check the dynamics. I like the Z2 very much as a bike, and it is a very nice bike. But I couldn't ride it normally anymore," said Ito.

Creating a bike with an uninterrupted history and story

I thought, "What is a normal bike for me to ride? I thought, "What is a bike that I can ride normally? I am of the generation that went to the testing center about 10 times to have my license cancelled, so I wanted a large-sized bike. I was beginning to feel concerned about my physical strength due to my age, and I thought that as long as I kept riding, I would be able to ride for a long time. I didn't want to make a blank. I did not want performance. I just didn't want something with low performance. Then, what is performance? I think to myself, "I'm an adult with a lot of trouble" (laughs). For some reason, four-cylinders were not an option. To me, a 4-cylinder is a high-revving, high-performance engine. I looked at a lot of cars, both new and used, but overall I felt that used cars were overpriced. So the Royal Enfield became an option. I thought this was a bit unfair, but I talked to acquaintances in the industry who had contacts with Royal Enfield, such as the writers, Mr. Kono and Mr. Ogawa, and I know their articles were undisciplined, but I wanted to hear their real voices. We asked not only about the appeal of the bike, but also about the manufacturer, its production system, quality control, parts supply, and any problems they have had."

"Actually, Royal Enfield is a manufacturer that has never been discontinued since 1901. That was also a deciding factor in my purchase. There are certainly many old manufacturers that are making a comeback. But there is no story there. There are many brands that are just a name. But Royal Enfield is different. What was even more surprising was that when I looked into it, there was a clear story behind every bike. For example, the Bear 650, for example, has its origin in a race called the Big Bear Run in the U.S., and the color of the Two Four Nine I bought was the Royal Enfield number that won that race. I was also attracted to the fact that they didn't just use the same platform to make different shaped bikes," says Ito.

It feels like riding an old car that's in great shape, even though it's not old!

The Bare 650 now has about 800km on the odometer. The more I ride, the better the engine feels. What surprised me is that the transmission has a very good touch when it is new; it is a large engine for a 648cc, but I can tell that they used good materials for the parts around the transmission and made sure it is very rigid. In short, it is a cost-effective engine. If the gear change is pleasant, it is fun to drive out on the city streets. My bike life has become the opposite of the Z2's. I have a lot of friends who like bikes. I can tell that the Z2 is made by people who love motorcycles from the various aspects. I think the pursuit of performance that can be enjoyed by people of all careers is more difficult than increasing the horsepower by 1ps. But Royal Enfield has pursued this goal. The ride quality is pleasant and fun. There is no sense of uneasiness anywhere, and this is because there are no abrupt parts in the engine or handling. This creates a "character that is easy to ride at a high level," and because it is not a loose bike, riders who have ridden a variety of bikes will be satisfied. There aren't many bikes out there that don't scare newer riders, and yet riders who have been riding for a long time don't have to put up with it. It is not old-fashioned at all, but it also feels like riding an old car that is in great shape. This sensibility is very much in tune with the current era, and it fits my ideal exactly. I had heard about it from Mr. Kono and Ogawa-kun, but honestly, I didn't think it was this good," said Ito. Incidentally, the Bare 650 that the author (Tsutomu Ogawa) rented has a mileage of about 2000 km. The first thing that changes after this amount of driving is the response of the engine. The engine response becomes lighter at around 5,000 rpm, and the feeling that the engine is being forced to turn somehow disappears. This engine, like the BMWs and Moto Guzzis of the past, gets better and better with distance, and the longer you ride it, the more you will love it. This serious build quality lures even the most seasoned veterans of various careers into the world of pure motorcycling.