Riding The Bear 650 To India Bike Week 2024: A Trip of Many Firsts

The day was December 5, 2024, and I and the rest of the ZigWheels team (there were eight of us) were about to ride down to Goa for India Bike Week (IBW) 2024 from Pune. As I was strapping down my backpack (which had swollen up to twice its size because of the hasty last-minute packing) and a laundry bag filled with extra shoes and other stuff to the back of the Bear 650, I just realised that this was going to be a trip of many firsts for me. My first IBW visit, my first time in Goa, my first ride to Goa, and so on. As I stopped for a few seconds to think about this, I was immediately brought back to reality with a reminder that now’s not the time to zone out otherwise I’ll be terribly late in reaching the meeting point. 

So at 4:30 am on that Thursday morning, the luggage was hooked onto the bike with a couple of bungee cords, and after reaching the designated meeting point where everyone assembled together, we set out for Goa. First things first, the pillion seat strap in the Royal Enfield Bear 650 is very helpful in making sure that your luggage doesn’t tilt forward all the time – especially if you are using bungee cords to tie down unconventional luggage. Running the two cords over the luggage and then under the strap kept my luggage intact throughout the journey. 

The big highway roads from Pune to Karad allowed me to gauge most of the characteristics of the Royal Enfield Bear 650. The 650cc, inline-twin engine’s smooth performance and the growly exhaust note brought a smile to my face every time I opened the throttle. The way the exhaust note gets progressively angrier as you push the bike little by little and the twin cylinders work in harmony to produce that smooth yet fast experience is a delightful experience. Combining that with the sun coming up slowly, hundreds of riders zipping past me on their way to IBW, and “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age playing in my head at that moment was just sublime. Probably too good to be true. 

Maybe it was, because while the upper half of my body was in a state of bliss, the lower half was in agony. The inverted fork does a great job of absorbing bumps and potholes on the road. Pretty sophisticated for that matter. But the firm setup of the twin shock absorbers at the rear bounces you off every time you go over bad patches of road. As if it’s complaining about having to deal with those in the first place. On top of that, me being on the heavier side, the soft seat setup made matters worse. By the time we reached Goa, I could feel the rods underneath the seat, and I’m pretty sure my backside got a facelift that day (I didn’t check, in case you are wondering). 

In the twisty sections of Anuskura Ghat, the Bear 650 felt stable, but it was difficult to tip the bike into the corners. It took a lot of effort to make it lean, and the heaviness of the 216kg kerb weight was pretty prominent. By the halfway point in the Ghat, the bike felt like an actual bear who just had a big, fat lunch and didn’t want to be moved at all. 

But towards the end of the trip, I came to the conclusion that the Bear 650 felt lazy to me because I wasn’t that habituated with handling such heavy bikes while riding fast on twisty roads. Started the observation from a different perspective and ended up with another. That’s what touring does to you. Gives you time to think. 

After tea breaks, breakfast and lunch breaks, and a few fuel stops, we reached our hotel in Goa just after sunset. It was there that I actually properly gazed my eyes on the Bear 650’s design, and man, it’s an absolute stunner. The scrambler-ish looks along with the Golden Shadow paint job makes it look truly beautiful. It grabbed attention from everyone on the road. Maybe that’s the case with anything beautiful in the world: it amazes you at first, stings you afterwards, and soothes you with its beauty at the end of the day. 

Coming back to the trip of many firsts, I still haven’t ticked off Goa from my list because we were mostly busy covering the festival and shuttling between the venue and the hotel the whole time. But it was a good teaser for when I get to go back there and soak in the culture. Overall, IBW was a great experience with some great bikes, music, and like-minded people. Except for those who were mindlessly revving and blowing up their engines all the time, leaving us nearly half-deaf towards the end.