Can't believe what you read about the Interceptor 650?

You can already find online reviews of the new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.
But can you believe what you read?

You're a Royal Enfield enthusiast stuck inside by winter weather and you have a lot of extra time to cruise the Internet looking for stories about your favorite subject: Royal Enfield.

You're certain to encounter a tremendous number of comments about Royal Enfield on a certain website out of India that publishes consumer reviews of all sorts of products, including motorcycles — especially Royal Enfield motorcycles.

You may be startled, as I was, to find the website already sports reviews of the Royal Enfield 650 twins — motorcycles that as far as I know, as of this date, have yet to be sold to any consumer anywhere, even in India.

I was particularly surprised by the review by "Chaitali7" of Kolkata, India, who entitles her review of the Interceptor 650 "High Price & Low Performance."

She rates the Royal Enfield as one star, with bottom rankings in mileage, reliability, appeal, comfort and road grip.

"Today I am going to share my personal experience regarding the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650," she begins.

Her review is entirely negative. Among the features she dislikes:

"It is only single cylinder."

"A four stroke engine is very bad."

"The mileage is lower than SUV."

"There should be a rear disk brake for safety."

"Does not have good look and style appeal."

True, these would be big problems, if any of them were true, which none of them are. The Interceptor 650 is a twin, with a superior four-stroke overhead-camshaft motor, mileage is higher than an SUV, the rear brake is a disk (with ABS) and the motorcycle's style is likely to appeal to many.

But let's look at Chaitali7's other reviews. She has written 67 of them.

In one day she wrote reviews about an iron, a pressure cooker, a book, a television, a heart rate monitor, a scooter, a room air cooler and even an online shopping website.

Chaitali seems to have a lot of "personal experience" with each of these products. And to each of them she gives the exact same rating: one star. A remarkable coincidence. She is a very tough customer!

Other reviewers on this website are more generous. Indeed, some are lavish in their praise.

Just for instance, there is "gp9138277778" of Hisar, India, who rates the Royal Enfield Interceptor "Best Bike In Bullets." He gives it a five-star rating, calling it "O Some," meaning, I suppose, "awesome."

His review is 15 lines long, but nine of those lines consist only of "ETC," endlessly repeated.

Discussion by reviewers on the website indicates that they earn money for their reviews. The more reviews, the more money they earn.

Meanwhile, the website offers businesses an opportunity to buy ads and otherwise "protect" their brand.

"Don't let negative reviews and blogs ruin the future of your company and brand," the website urges. There is a sales form brands can fill out to "enquire about our business solutions."

It's an altogether curious phenomenon.