Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1529824
P96 RIDE REVIEW I 2025 ROYAL ENFIELD BEAR 650 Rear suspension aside, the Bear 650 does everything very well on the road. The ByBre brake system does the trick for spunky back- road jaunts and around-town riding, and it's nice being able to easily disengage the rear ABS when the pavement turns to dirt. However, the Bear 650 has its limitations off the tarmac. Very little time was spent on the dirt on our ride, but you can easily and quickly tell that it won't take much to reach the fork and shocks' limits. De - spite the stiff suspension, I still found the bike easy to bottom because of its 476 pounds and the lack of wheel travel. Otherwise, the bike's low seat height, good handling and smooth power delivery will work fine for casual sight- seeing excursions on, in Royal Enfield's words, broken roads or graded trails. Day Is Done I must say that Royal Enfield has impressed me again with its latest addition. The Bear 650 is a fine motorcycle that performs well, is solidly built, offers plenty of nice tidbits, and, perhaps best of all, looks great with several eye-pleasing colorways from which to choose. I suspect anyone in the market for a scrambles- style motorcycle such as the Bear 650 is more concerned about how it looks than how it rips through back canyon roads and accelerates from stoplight to stoplight (though the Bear 650 does these things well), but they also don't want a...well, a p.o.s. If the Bear 650 checks off the styling box for you and can happily see yourself at the Bear's controls, you're in good shape because it is a very good motorcycle, and not just because of its budget-friendly price but be - cause it's a very good motorcycle that happens to have a budget-friendly price tag. CN 2025 ROYAL ENFIELD BEAR 650 ($6849-$7199) ENGINE TYPE 270º, parallel-twin, 4-stroke VALVETRAIN SOHC, 8-valve BORE X STROKE 78mm x 67.8mm DISPLACEMENT 648cc COOLING SYSTEM Air/oil LUBRICATION SYSTEM Dry sump HORSEPOWER (CLAIMED) 47 hp @ 7150 rpm TORQUE (CLAIMED) 42 lb-ft @ 5150 rpm COMPRESSION RATIO 9.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM Multipoint sequential Bosch EFI w/2 x 34mm Mikuni throttle bodies TRANSMISSION 6-speed w/gear primary drive CLUTCH Multiplate slip-assist clutch FRAME Tubular steel double cradle FRONT SUSPENSION 43mm Showa Big Piston inverted fork REAR SUSPENSION Steel Box-section dual-sided swingarm w/dual Showa shocks; 5-stage preload adjustment FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL 5.1 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 4.5 in. FRONT WHEEL Spoked alloy rim 100/90-19 MRF Nylorex-F REAR WHEEL Spoked alloy rim 140/80R17 MRF Nylorex -X FRONT BRAKES 1 x 320mm steel disc w/2-piston floating ByBre caliper and dual-channel Bosch ABS REAR BRAKES 1 x 270mm steel disc with 1-piston floating ByBre caliper and dual-channel Bosch ABS WHEELBASE 57.5 in. SEAT HEIGHT 32.7 in. FUEL CAPACITY 3.2 gal. WEIGHT (WET, CLAIMED) 476 lbs. S P E C I F I C AT I O N S RIDE WEAR HELMET: Arai VX-Pro4 GOGGLES: Leatt Velocity 6.5 JACKET: REV'IT! Eclipse 2 PANTS: REV'IT! Jeans Reed SF SHOES: REV'IT! Je•erson GLOVES: REV'IT! Redhill BACK PROTECTOR: REV'IT! Seeso• Air