That seems like the best improvement suggestion I've seen so far for these bikes. Well done for your clear thinking. The original (Brazilian?) fitted Phantoms on these (pre '21) bikes were cross-ply, whereas Pirrelli sold Euro customers radial tyres with the same branding. I know we spoke before about what I'd describe as these bike's lamentable handling characteristics: I'm glad you've seen scope for necessary improvement, rather than be content with a bike that feels a bit too retro. I still find it odd the shocking, confidence-sapping handling you now discuss was never mentioned in the majority of reviews for these bikes.
Fascinating solution. In fact I have a Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro and the OEM Metzler Tourance Next were not to my liking, for the same reasons you mentioned. The standard 100/90 x 90 bias belted crossply tramlined badly, so I swapped to a pair of Dunlop Mutants with a 110/80 radial on the front. Both of these aspect ratios are considered optimal for the 2.5” rim I have and like you suggest in tyre radius the difference is minimal. 2mm in fact or 0.6% difference in diameter. Fortunately on the back of my back the standard 4.25” rim x 17 comes fitted with a 150/70 so tyres off the shelf. I have about 1,000 miles on my Mutants now and discovered the same as you. It rolls smoothly in and out of the bends now, tramlining has basically disappeared. This all down to the different aspect ratio and the fact it’s a radial. Out of interest the front Mutant also has a higher load index to the OEM. Most of my riding is Scottish backroads which can surprise you with water and gravel even on dry days. This is why I love the Mutants with there high land to sea (more grooves) as they are like a safety margin for the unexpected. Also an excellent all season tyre. All my riding since I got them has been below 10 degrees C, mostly wet. I have twin Brembo Stylemas and the Mutants can take very heavy braking in the wet. Confidence inspiring. The back is dual compound too. Sure as a pair there will be tyres that can cover more miles or at the other end of the spectrum be more sporty, but here in UK for the type of riding I do the Mutants are pure magic and can’t be beat. Enjoyed your review, particularly as your findings mirrored mine.
Had bad luck with my Interceptor since I bought it, during the test ride the rear wheel slipped and I crashed the bike (mostly my fault) so now I don't trust the bike on any level of wet road. When I rode the bike home after picking it up there was about a kilometre of road where the roadsurface was roughed up in preparation for a new asphalt layer, the "tramlining" issue was very apparent on that stretch and I had to hold on to the handlebars for dear life so it doesn't get a mind of its own. Definitely considering these tires, I hope the bike isn't turning from a 5000€ bargain to a moneysink...
I installed the Enfield Precision full exhaust system along with the DNA stage 2 filter. Don't worry about the noise if you keep the Db Killer on, remains close to stock until you rev over 5k. On the other hand, take it off and you are gonna have a proper bass beast!
Great stuff , going have a look into this for mine , totally agree with you on the shocks never had an issue with the stock ones just the gold piggy back , i got some YSS Z series , I`m a few months behind on your mods but I`ll be watching the rest now i`ve subed your channel , thanks for sharing keep up the cracking content 👍
New subscriber... Nice video buddy, watched the Art of Wheel Building video which led me here as Im wanting to upgrade my wheels too...Allthough I was hoping to gain a larger wheel at the front as well...Definatly going to do this as Im a bit too heavy for the bike at 19-20stone and anything I can do to soften the ride is a go and with the added performance gained in traction and wet weather its a great mod to do. Cheers Keep up the good work
@@mancavemoto I installed the YSS fork kit on mine. Very much improved the handling, as expected, but also the braking and especially acceleration. Ohlins offers front and rear as well, if you want to SPRING for it. Tee hee
The bike does look more *authoritative* with the fatter tires. For comfortable touring and steady speed commuting, those fat tires probably also help to absorb road shocks. But due to the greater moment of inertia of the heavier tires, the steering is also slower, and the braking and acceleration may be slower. The added width may also encourage hydroplaning on wet pavement. Everything's a trade-off!
Despite the tyres being a little wider I think they may well be lighter than the OEM Phantoms. The contact patch hasn't changed dramatically so aquaplaning isnt a concern, largely because of rhe compound and much improved water dispersal tread than the originals too. Steering has improved and they feel 'quicker' with better roll into corners. Acceleration is the same and braking feels more stable as detailed in the video.
Definitely change the rear shocks. I found the Gabriels would bottom out on really bad bumps which tried to send my spine through my skull. The Öhlins I now have, don't allow that to happen.
@@mancavemoto I have the YSS inserts which again, are so much better than stock. If I did it again, I would probably go with YSS front & rear as the Öhlins are probably overkill and you can use the money saved on a couple of litres of liquid gold to run the thing!
Aways great professional videos, the bike looks great 👍 you will have soon spent a lot of money on your bike . Personally I would a second hand nine RT ! But I’ve not got the skills you have to modify. Great work 👍
I had to replace my virtually brand new rear Phantom on Street Twin and bought like for like. Different factory or not they still tramline badly (unless it's coming from the front).
Nice one Tony. Why not consider Hagons on the rear? 🏴 Local, massively experienced & I’m sure will look after you. It would make a good episode 👍
I like the way those tires look, I think I'll go for a larger tire in the front next time . As for rear suspension I also don't like the way piggyback shocks look on a retro bike, I went for YSS Rear YSS Z-Series Twin Shocks Black Edition [AG9367] they're all black and miles away from the stock shocks. Go with a YSS fork kit and you'll think your riding a different bike. Cheers
Great improvements Tony. I’m watching from a hospital bed so no sound, subtitles only, did I miss the bit where you changed the rear wheel or just the rim?
When building the new rear wheel did a tubeless tyre conversion ever come to mind?? On Ur quest for weight saving rotating mass weight makes quite the difference. Any thoughts??
It was, but the rims are more expensive and the building not so straight forward. Plus I’d want to run a tubeless on the front to match which doubles the cost, so decided in the end it was easier just to run with a tubed wheel
Nice video tony i myself planning to upgrade the tyres from stock 18’spokes to 17 alloys both front and back.I am just confused with front tyre size on 17 can you suggest suitable tyre sizes which fits well with rear being 150/70 section??👏🏻
Fantastic video, I think will agree about the rear shocks and opting for a slimmer profile without the golden cans. I don't have the RE yet, but does the 17" rear affect height and ground clearance much? Will check your other videos too. Cheers!
It would be minimal, the rear rim was marginally lighter and I think theres a bit gained in the tyres, but I didnt get a chance to weigh everything before the work was done.
Great vid, excellent series. My interceptor came with DNA filter and aftermarket exhaust so the next step for me is the boosterplug to compensate for all that extra air...
Nice work Tony. Bike looks great with the slightly fatter tires and smaller rear. Always thought the handling was pretty good on mine but it did ‘tip in’ rather than ‘roll in’ to corners so it sounds like that’s improved too. Any views on the tires generally? Considering them for my Street Twin too…
Thanks 👍 So far i've been really impressed with them, they get good reviews and in the little i've ridden the bike its definitely a big improvement on the OEM Phantoms
Love the look of those on the INT. I have the Dunlop TT70 Vintage on my Bullet 500 - they're the business! The folks over at YammyNoob improved the INT650 front brake with a master-cylinder upgrade -- is that under consideration? I'm considering the same for the Bullet.
Great video thank you. Did you find any side clearance issues with the swingarm and chainguard with the 150/17 rear tyre, and are you still running front and rear with innertubes? I do think the Interceptor could do with a bit wider rubber than 100 at the front, its not really a lightweight. Thanks again, Peter
Thanks, Peter, no clearance issues which is why i went for the 150, any wider than that and you do run very close to the swingarm. I did trim a little of the plastic chainguard as a precaution, but actually, I didn't need to in reality. I went with a 110/80 on the front, so the same diameter as stock, but wider. You can't go much wider than without using wide yokes. But it's plenty for this bike.
@@mancavemoto Thanks for that and apologies for not seeing it in episode 3. I watched it twice, a few weeks apart. So I'm going to watch it more intently for the third time.😁 (found it at 7:20 😊)
Do you run the mutants with tubes or did you do a tubeless conversion on the rims? I am tempted in replacing the Phantom Sports on my Bonneville with some. Thanks.
Yes I retained the tubes, purely because a tubeless conversion was just too expensive. I looked at using tubeless rims but they pushed the price up massively. The cheap conversion kits would worry me more than the tubes do
Man Cave Moto, I am not getting it right, did you actually change the rim in the back also? I am considering the upgrade, but here in Chile the roads are equally bad as the roads in Southampton
Unlikely to be honest. It’s got plenty of power for what I need and the get the big bore kits working right there’s a bit of head work to do. (Re angled valves etc)
Why on Earth would Pirelli give substandard tyres to manufacturers, compared to their own good stuff? That is totally irrational, mad and insupportable. Those tyres have been on many, many bikes and always been considered substandard OEM rubbish.
The vid is only 8 mins long and I do a walk around the bike to show you the tyres. Just a little more energy and you could have watched the whole video?
I don’t even own an interceptor 650 but love seeing how the bike comes along. Keep them coming please!
Thanks Teddy
Definitely made the right choice Tony, they look great and the confidence boost alone is worth every penny 👌🏻
Absolutely
Nice, that rear tyre gives it a proper gritty look, great choice on tread to with the flat-trackish vibe.
Thanks! 👍
well worth going over all the troubles, machine little by little is improving , cheers V!
Cheers V
That seems like the best improvement suggestion I've seen so far for these bikes. Well done for your clear thinking. The original (Brazilian?) fitted Phantoms on these (pre '21) bikes were cross-ply, whereas Pirrelli sold Euro customers radial tyres with the same branding. I know we spoke before about what I'd describe as these bike's lamentable handling characteristics: I'm glad you've seen scope for necessary improvement, rather than be content with a bike that feels a bit too retro. I still find it odd the shocking, confidence-sapping handling you now discuss was never mentioned in the majority of reviews for these bikes.
I've got an 22 plate interceptor on OE standard ceat Cruz zoom tires and I don't hang about yet I've got absolutely no complaints wet or dry .
Fascinating solution. In fact I have a Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro and the OEM Metzler Tourance Next were not to my liking, for the same reasons you mentioned. The standard 100/90 x 90 bias belted crossply tramlined badly, so I swapped to a pair of Dunlop Mutants with a 110/80 radial on the front. Both of these aspect ratios are considered optimal for the 2.5” rim I have and like you suggest in tyre radius the difference is minimal. 2mm in fact or 0.6% difference in diameter.
Fortunately on the back of my back the standard 4.25” rim x 17 comes fitted with a 150/70 so tyres off the shelf.
I have about 1,000 miles on my Mutants now and discovered the same as you. It rolls smoothly in and out of the bends now, tramlining has basically disappeared. This all down to the different aspect ratio and the fact it’s a radial. Out of interest the front Mutant also has a higher load index to the OEM.
Most of my riding is Scottish backroads which can surprise you with water and gravel even on dry days. This is why I love the Mutants with there high land to sea (more grooves) as they are like a safety margin for the unexpected.
Also an excellent all season tyre. All my riding since I got them has been below 10 degrees C, mostly wet. I have twin Brembo Stylemas and the Mutants can take very heavy braking in the wet. Confidence inspiring.
The back is dual compound too. Sure as a pair there will be tyres that can cover more miles or at the other end of the spectrum be more sporty, but here in UK for the type of riding I do the Mutants are pure magic and can’t be beat.
Enjoyed your review, particularly as your findings mirrored mine.
Thanks for the info, I've been very impressed with the mutants!
Had bad luck with my Interceptor since I bought it, during the test ride the rear wheel slipped and I crashed the bike (mostly my fault) so now I don't trust the bike on any level of wet road. When I rode the bike home after picking it up there was about a kilometre of road where the roadsurface was roughed up in preparation for a new asphalt layer, the "tramlining" issue was very apparent on that stretch and I had to hold on to the handlebars for dear life so it doesn't get a mind of its own.
Definitely considering these tires, I hope the bike isn't turning from a 5000€ bargain to a moneysink...
Absolutely fascinating!👍
I installed the Enfield Precision full exhaust system along with the DNA stage 2 filter. Don't worry about the noise if you keep the Db Killer on, remains close to stock until you rev over 5k. On the other hand, take it off and you are gonna have a proper bass beast!
Ha! I’ve got an exhaust coming that has minimal baffling and no dB killer!
Lookin forward number 4👍
Hopefully coming soon, more parts have now arrived!
Great series so far, thanks for making it!
No problem
No problem
Great stuff , going have a look into this for mine , totally agree with you on the shocks never had an issue with the stock ones just the gold piggy back , i got some YSS Z series , I`m a few months behind on your mods but I`ll be watching the rest now i`ve subed your channel , thanks for sharing keep up the cracking content 👍
No problem 👍
New subscriber... Nice video buddy, watched the Art of Wheel Building video which led me here as Im wanting to upgrade my wheels too...Allthough I was hoping to gain a larger wheel at the front as well...Definatly going to do this as Im a bit too heavy for the bike at 19-20stone and anything I can do to soften the ride is a go and with the added performance gained in traction and wet weather its a great mod to do. Cheers Keep up the good work
Thanks for the sub. For me I didn’t need to change the front (which made things cheaper!) but it would be as straight forward to do so.
Interesting what you said about the phantoms fitted as standard in the street twin I found exactly the same
Wait until you upgrade suspension. You'll have an amazing bike. Keep going, please! Loving it.
I'm going to start looking at options for suspension. Glad you're enjoying it
@@mancavemoto I installed the YSS fork kit on mine. Very much improved the handling, as expected, but also the braking and especially acceleration. Ohlins offers front and rear as well, if you want to SPRING for it. Tee hee
Such a good looking bike thouth, and worth the effort.
Thanks Clive
Looking forward to seeing what suspension you get ?
The bike does look more *authoritative* with the fatter tires. For comfortable touring and steady speed commuting, those fat tires probably also help to absorb road shocks.
But due to the greater moment of inertia of the heavier tires, the steering is also slower, and the braking and acceleration may be slower. The added width may also encourage
hydroplaning on wet pavement. Everything's a trade-off!
Despite the tyres being a little wider I think they may well be lighter than the OEM Phantoms. The contact patch hasn't changed dramatically so aquaplaning isnt a concern, largely because of rhe compound and much improved water dispersal tread than the originals too. Steering has improved and they feel 'quicker' with better roll into corners. Acceleration is the same and braking feels more stable as detailed in the video.
I put Mutants on my Multi Strada...big improvement.
Cheers
Definitely change the rear shocks. I found the Gabriels would bottom out on really bad bumps which tried to send my spine through my skull. The Öhlins I now have, don't allow that to happen.
Yep rear shocks will be changed and i'm looking at cartridge options for the forks too
@@mancavemoto I have the YSS inserts which again, are so much better than stock. If I did it again, I would probably go with YSS front & rear as the Öhlins are probably overkill and you can use the money saved on a couple of litres of liquid gold to run the thing!
Aways great professional videos, the bike looks great 👍 you will have soon spent a lot of money on your bike . Personally I would a second hand nine RT ! But I’ve not got the skills you have to modify. Great work 👍
I had to replace my virtually brand new rear Phantom on Street Twin and bought like for like. Different factory or not they still tramline badly (unless it's coming from the front).
I really do like that bike….very nice.
Cheers
Nice one Tony. Why not consider Hagons on the rear? 🏴 Local, massively experienced & I’m sure will look after you. It would make a good episode 👍
I'm keeping my options open on suspension, its not something i've looked that closely at yet
I like the way those tires look, I think I'll go for a larger tire in the front next time . As for rear suspension I also don't like the way piggyback shocks look on a retro bike, I went for YSS Rear YSS Z-Series Twin Shocks Black Edition [AG9367] they're all black and miles away from the stock shocks. Go with a YSS fork kit and you'll think your riding a different bike. Cheers
Cheers John
Great improvements Tony. I’m watching from a hospital bed so no sound, subtitles only, did I miss the bit where you changed the rear wheel or just the rim?
Cheers, and I hope its nothing too serious! yes it ws just the rim that was changed
When building the new rear wheel did a tubeless tyre conversion ever come to mind?? On Ur quest for weight saving rotating mass weight makes quite the difference. Any thoughts??
It was, but the rims are more expensive and the building not so straight forward. Plus I’d want to run a tubeless on the front to match which doubles the cost, so decided in the end it was easier just to run with a tubed wheel
Nice video tony i myself planning to upgrade the tyres from stock 18’spokes to 17 alloys both front and back.I am just confused with front tyre size on 17 can you suggest suitable tyre sizes which fits well with rear being 150/70 section??👏🏻
Fantastic video, I think will agree about the rear shocks and opting for a slimmer profile without the golden cans. I don't have the RE yet, but does the 17" rear affect height and ground clearance much? Will check your other videos too. Cheers!
Cheers. No difference in height as the tyre is taller, so the overall diameter is exactly the same as the stock 18 inch wheel
Good looking change, nice work! Are you planning on swapping out the brake pads at all? Looking forward to more videos :)
Thanks, yes maybe I haven't thought about the brakes yet
Can someone help me please, so that means you'll ned a new rims from 18 inch to 17 inch on the rear, right?
Yep, you can see all about that in this video czcams.com/video/tDyreLeKMng/video.htmlsi=KHACyRRimpANJtZe
Maybe I missed it but was there any weight savings with the new wheel set up?
It would be minimal, the rear rim was marginally lighter and I think theres a bit gained in the tyres, but I didnt get a chance to weigh everything before the work was done.
Great vid, excellent series. My interceptor came with DNA filter and aftermarket exhaust so the next step for me is the boosterplug to compensate for all that extra air...
Thank you. I'm planning a remap once the exhaust is on
@@mancavemoto excellent, looking forward to seeing your thoughts on that 👍
Hi there!
Congrats for the chanel. Very nice videos and bike! :)
Did you Change only the size off the tires, or the wheels also?
Thank you!
Yes I did, check out episode 3…
Thinking of getting a Continental gt 650, as a second bike, would the new wheel set up work for that as well
Yes it would
What was the clearance like at the swinging arm with the fatter tyre?
Fine, enough room, I trimmed a a couple of mm of the plastic chain guard, but itn the end it didnt need it
Nice work Tony. Bike looks great with the slightly fatter tires and smaller rear. Always thought the handling was pretty good on mine but it did ‘tip in’ rather than ‘roll in’ to corners so it sounds like that’s improved too. Any views on the tires generally? Considering them for my Street Twin too…
Thanks 👍 So far i've been really impressed with them, they get good reviews and in the little i've ridden the bike its definitely a big improvement on the OEM Phantoms
where did you find the 17" rim for the rear and at what price?
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Project - Ep.3 The Art of wheel building
czcams.com/video/tDyreLeKMng/video.html
Wow
Love the look of those on the INT. I have the Dunlop TT70 Vintage on my Bullet 500 - they're the business! The folks over at YammyNoob improved the INT650 front brake with a master-cylinder upgrade -- is that under consideration? I'm considering the same for the Bullet.
I've not looked at the brakes yet, but it might be something down the line. But to be honest I don't find them too bad
Great video thank you. Did you find any side clearance issues with the swingarm and chainguard with the 150/17 rear tyre, and are you still running front and rear with innertubes? I do think the Interceptor could do with a bit wider rubber than 100 at the front, its not really a lightweight. Thanks again, Peter
Thanks, Peter, no clearance issues which is why i went for the 150, any wider than that and you do run very close to the swingarm. I did trim a little of the plastic chainguard as a precaution, but actually, I didn't need to in reality. I went with a 110/80 on the front, so the same diameter as stock, but wider. You can't go much wider than without using wide yokes. But it's plenty for this bike.
What tyre sizes did you fit on your street twin?
110/80-18 front & 150/70-17 rear
muy bonita moto
Gracias
Love to know the rim width used for the 150.
4.5 inch rim You can see the wheel building in Episode 3
@@mancavemoto Thanks for that and apologies for not seeing it in episode 3. I watched it twice, a few weeks apart. So I'm going to watch it more intently for the third time.😁 (found it at 7:20 😊)
Do you run the mutants with tubes or did you do a tubeless conversion on the rims? I am tempted in replacing the Phantom Sports on my Bonneville with some. Thanks.
Yes I retained the tubes, purely because a tubeless conversion was just too expensive. I looked at using tubeless rims but they pushed the price up massively. The cheap conversion kits would worry me more than the tubes do
@@mancavemoto thanks for replying. It's good to know that they run fine with tubes. I think the mutants are my next tyres.
@@mancavemoto3M 4412N!
Man Cave Moto, I am not getting it right, did you actually change the rim in the back also? I am considering the upgrade, but here in Chile the roads are equally bad as the roads in Southampton
I only changed the rim in the back. The front one is the stock OEM rim
Hi I’m planning to do the same 17 inch conversion. With 150/70 tires. What tyre pressure are you running for daily use since it’s a new wider tyre?
34 psi in front and 36 in the rear from memory
@@mancavemoto so basically its the same as the stock 18s in the rear. I believe the 18s also run 36psi
yep
Where did you find the 17 inch rear wheel?
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Project - Ep.3 The Art of wheel building
czcams.com/video/tDyreLeKMng/video.html
What is your experience on off road and gravel road
No off road, but gravel roads are fine
Bike lose any acceleration from any added weight?
I would say it’s actually a bit lighter! The rim is smaller and those OEM Phantoms are pretty hefty tyres
How is this going to affect the Mileage?
Shouldnt make any difference
Nice set-up. 865cc conversion?
Unlikely to be honest. It’s got plenty of power for what I need and the get the big bore kits working right there’s a bit of head work to do. (Re angled valves etc)
@@mancavemoto Re angled valves?
@@stevepalmer5670 yes apparently with the wider bore the valves aren’t at the optimum angle, so ideally the head needs a bit of reworking.
Is it the oem rim or did you have to change them?
Different rear rim - see esisode 3 - Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Project - Ep.3 The Art of wheel building
czcams.com/video/tDyreLeKMng/video.html
@@mancavemoto that was an excellent wheelbuilding demonstration.
Why on Earth would Pirelli give substandard tyres to manufacturers, compared to their own good stuff? That is totally irrational, mad and insupportable. Those tyres have been on many, many bikes and always been considered substandard OEM rubbish.
💰💵💰💵💰💵💰
Why in the world would I want to stare at a riding dude talking for 10 min? I have better things to do. Show the bike or save the energy.
You could have saved the energy by not commenting. He wanted to provide an update on a unique tyre on a unique bike, so he did
Wow you sound nice. This is a follow up video explaining how the bike handles differently. He’s narrating his riding experience.
The vid is only 8 mins long and I do a walk around the bike to show you the tyres. Just a little more energy and you could have watched the whole video?