Scramblers are often seen as streetbikes that compromise on-road performance for off-road style, and most of the time, that’s a pretty accurate description. Royal Enfield’s Bear 650, however, is promised to be more than a brown seat and some knobby tires. Compared to the INT 650, the Bear sees new wheel sizes, updated ergonomics, a taller subframe, updated suspension, and overall reinforcements to the frame to help handle bumpy trails. But as always with scramblers the question remains: How much of the scrambler modifications are just style, and how do these updates really affect on- and off-road riding?Royal Enfield had intended to launch this bike in the mountain town of Big Bear, as the name just fit, but fires around Southern California spurred a shift to the desert city of Palm Springs. Wind turbines, golf resorts, and mid-century architecture—Palm Springs is a desert oasis and popular weekend getaway for Los Angeles residents.

The morning of our ride, we gathered around the bikes to inspect details before getting on the road. A design highlighting the frame and the straight line created with the flat-bottomed gas tank looks classic and simple—clean and appealing. So we threw our helmets on, fired up the bikes, and we were off.

Compared to the INT 650, the Bear’s ergonomics are taller and more upright. Foot controls have been moved back, handlebars are taller, and the new seat is contoured to reduce the seat height change caused by that taller suspension. Wheels move from the INT’s 18-inch front and rear to a 17-inch rear and 19-inch front. Rear shocks are 1 inch longer than those on the INT 650, and a 43mm Showa inverted fork sees a similar change in travel. Ground clearance is now 7.2 inches, compared to the INT’s 6.9, which also increases cornering clearance.

Through town, the Bear feels similar to the INT 650. As a tall rider (6-foot-4), ergonomics were comfortable and easy on my long legs, though I do like the ergos on the INT as well. It wasn’t until we started climbing toward the mountain town of Idyllwild that the Bear really began to distinguish itself from its INT sibling.The road up to Idyllwild is tight and twisty. Here you can tip the bike on the sides of its tires and really explore that increased lean angle from the taller suspension. Rear shocks were adjusted to the lightest possible preload, but still are a bit stiff and any mid-turn bumps will affect the intended line. The inverted Showa fork is well tuned to handle the same roughness that the shocks can’t—and the gold finish looks excellent in this application. Pushing the bikes and riding hard, it was a nice change to not be scraping footpegs, but there were certainly some trade-offs in stability and ease of handling, thanks to the stiff rear suspension upsetting the ride.

Pulling off of the road, we found a small section of trail to run back and forth on for some photos. This was the extent of our dirt testing for the day but proved to be just enough to get an idea of the Bear’s off-road abilities. On hard-packed dirt, the Bear is comfortable and confident. Tires developed just for this model have a similar tread pattern to Pirelli STRs, but with more shallow tread depth and tread blocks placed more closely together to improve on-road performance and reduce road noise. But as soon as the bike touches any sand, the front tire pushes rather than cutting through causing instability. Here, the fork is also quick to bottom out on any hard-edged bumps. OK, so maybe it is mostly a styling exercise.

We stopped for lunch in a beautiful little park full of large oak and cedar trees, taking a small break before descending. Aesthetically, the Bear is a very easy bike to enjoy. It looks classic with key elements exposed and room around the engine. Cables and hoses are well routed and nothing seems cluttered or messy. Of course, it does suffer the one affliction that all RE bikes do: thick graphics under paint have clearly visible lines around them, which looks low-quality and detracts from the overall feel of the bike up close. We finished up our sandwiches, threw our gear back on, and it was back down the hill to Palm Springs.

The road down the mountain consists of large, sweeping turns with dynamic views of the desert below. It’s absolutely stunning, but it’s also the only way down the mountain and tends to be riddled with traffic. Not this time—we were lucky. Rake on the Bear has been relaxed to 26.1 degrees, compared to 24 degrees on the INT 650, so tip-in takes more effort and maintaining your intended line takes a little more pressure to the inside bar. That stiff suspension is just a little too reactive when you’re leaned hard into a turn and tests the rider’s skill. If there was more rebound damping, we could live with the stiffness. As it is now, suspension performance is unbalanced front to rear. Yet it’s wildly fun to ride this way and just let it sort of wiggle beneath you.

We pulled back into Palm Springs and split lanes back to our hotel. The Bear 650 is a fun bike to push, but it feels like it needs some pushing in every setting. On road, it’s not as stable or planted as the INT 650, and off-road on anything other than simple hardpack, it just feels out of place. While the Bear’s off-road chops are mostly aesthetic, Enfield’s frame reinforcements and updated ergos are very nice and now give Scrambler customizers a much better platform to start with.2025 Royal Enfield Bear 650 Specs