Forum

[rustygman]

I am going to pull the trigger on a new Enfield very soon. A lot of my riding is literally bimbling around the back lanes of Kent/Sussex, a job my now gone iron barrel 350 did very well. Do those that own the 650 think this the bike is suitable for this, I ask the question because to me, bigger more capable bikes often spoil the pleasure, bit of a hammer to crack a nut. I am thinking maybe the Himi or Meteor may be better at this but I also tour and camp and think the 650 could do both jobs well.

[Duke of Wybourne.]

I would say it would be perfect. I've ridden one in the Angus Glens, lots of nice twisty roads, and found the Interceptor very flexible and forgiving, plus a decent turn of speed.

[Andy C]

No experience of the 650 but the Him is perfect for back lanes - I ride a lot of the local minor roads around here in Somerset and find that my Him is perfectly capable, being light and agile.

I also ride it regularly on A & B roads - again perfectly capable, only ridden it on the motorway once and it is a bit lacking in that respect.

I would say try out both the 650 and Him and see what you think.

[PeteF]

There's the new 350 to consider if you don't need/want the speed.

[Jamesy]

The interceptor I have just test ridden is the perfect bike for green laning and there is more power there if you need it.I considered the Himalayan but I really dont see the point in owning that bike as I never go off road.If you are happy sitting at 50mph all day I would definitely consider the new meteor.

[singleminded]

I apologise if this is a little off-topic, but I recently went on an evening run of about 35 miles across single-track, moortop roads, with a group of mates.
The bikes ranged (ranked in order of 'suitability for the task') from an Armstrong MT to a Ducati Diavel. There was a vintage Suzuki two stroke, a new Interceptor, an Enfield 'new' trials Bullet, a BMW Funduro, a BSA A10, a new Triumph T100 etc. etc.

I think that there are two aspects to suitability for back lanes riding. The first is the 'type' of bike and secondly how confident the rider may be on a particular bike.

On such roads, I'm most comfortable with my Armstrong, but I've also ridden such roads on a Matchless G11, a Commando and even an Ariel Square Four.

However, I do bear in mind that a minor 'incident' would cause less damage to the Armstrong than any of my other bikes!