03 Dec 2017
Others
- Decades of wait, years of development the Royal Enfield Interceptor made a legendary comeback at EICMA 2017. Interceptor 2018 marks the return of one of Royal Enfield's most loved classic motorcycles. Hailing from a time when all that mattered was that the California sun was out and the surf was up, the new Interceptor retains every bit of charm that made it a legend.
Powered by the air-oil cooled parallel 650 twin, the Interceptor is a trove of '60s design staples with its 7" headlight, twin clock front and quilted twin seat. The narrow teardrop tank is stapped with a classic badge and topped with a Monza-style fuel cap. A duel cradle frame with a rear loop makes up the core, by way of a nod to the original Interceptor.
In 1960, Royal Enfield introduced the first motorcycle bearing the name Interceptor. It had a tuned version of the company's biggest engine, the 692 cc vertical-twin and was only sold in the USA and Canada. All engines had the engine prefix letters "VAX" and so these are often referred as "VAX Interceptors". It may be noted that the then flagship 692 cc Constellation had the VA engine prefix(on the US export model) and "X" was added to denote that Interceptor had an experimental engine. They had twin carburettors, except for some early bikes, a factory lightened and balanced crankshaft, hot "R" cams, Lucas racing magneto with manual advance and a few other weight saving modifications compared to other Royal Enfield models. There was also an Interceptor "S" (Sports) model with "highway trim"—quick detachable (QD) lights etc., offered when Enfield failed to sell sufficient quantities of bikes in the standard scrambler trim. A total of 158 692 cc Interceptors were made as per the Redditch factory despatch ledgers held by the Royal Enfield Owners Club in the UK. All of these machines should have been stamped with the VAX prefixed engine numbers. The maximum possible quantity of 692 cc VAX Interceptors is 170.[1] The first bikes left the factory in December 1959, and the last ones were despatched in July 1961.In 1960, Royal Enfield introduced the first motorcycle bearing the name Interceptor. It had a tuned version of the company's biggest engine, the 692 cc vertical-twin and was only sold in the USA and Canada. All engines had the engine prefix letters "VAX" and so these are often referred as "VAX Interceptors". It may be noted that the then flagship 692 cc Constellation had the VA engine prefix(on the US export model) and "X" was added to denote that Interceptor had an experimental engine. They had twin carburettors, except for some early bikes, a factory lightened and balanced crankshaft, hot "R" cams, Lucas racing magneto with manual advance and a few other weight saving modifications compared to other Royal Enfield models. There was also an Interceptor "S" (Sports) model with "highway trim"—quick detachable (QD) lights etc., offered when Enfield failed to sell sufficient quantities of bikes in the standard scrambler trim. A total of 158 692 cc Interceptors were made as per the Redditch factory despatch ledgers held by the Royal Enfield Owners Club in the UK. All of these machines should have been stamped with the VAX prefixed engine numbers. The maximum possible quantity of 692 cc VAX Interceptors is 170. The first bikes left the factory in December 1959, and the last ones were despatched in July 1961.
