This is the first scrambler on which you should avoid bad roads’, these words echoed in my head as I took the Bear 650 after a long time. This was after a long month of riding everything from scooters to ADVs, so I was sort of mentally prepared for my back-breaking commute. Around 10 km into the ride, I realised that riding the Raid-kit-equipped Himalayan had made me tough enough for the Bear’s firm ride to not bother me (to an extent). And that led me to enjoy the smaller things on this bike.
The little pops and backfires from the stubby exhaust in the first three gears when getting off the throttle or shifting down added to that bratty feeling. Soon enough, I got carried away and found myself riding at triple-digit-speeds — something that I didn’t think was possible on the bumpy Mumbai roads with this bike.
As I parked the bike and commenced the customary ogling ritual, I realised that the bike will look great against a backdrop of a trail. But was I ballsy enough to take the Bear just yet? Maybe. Of course, the lack of tubeless tyres, a main stand or even a provision to fi t the latter made me rethink my decision.
Yet, I decided to go for a ‘demo run’, with the tyre pressures down and rear preload turned to the lowest setting. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Yes, the fear of getting stranded on the trail, lifting or pushing this heavy bike is still going to be in my head, but I think I’ll actually take this one on my favourite trail. So, the next Survivors story will probably be of my survival.
