When Royal Enfield commissioned us to work on an official custom build, it was a matter of great pride & a sense of 'acceptance at last'. This was the first time we had a chance to build for an Indian manufacturer & it couldn't have been more exciting finding out that we were being given the new GT-650 which hadn't been released to the public at the time. The very fact that the company had kept this beautiful 650 twin a secret for years was unbelievable & then to see it live & ride it for the first time was an absolute privilege.
Given the frame & geometry of the stock bike, we thought it apt to build a cafe racer. We simply rebuilt the sub-frame along with a funky single-sided swingarm and slightly dropped the trail numbers upfront with Showa forks to give the bike an aggressive stance coupled with more agility & better front end feel. Next came a home-made exhaust, custom mild steel fairings, slick tyres, a dash of paint, & a little bit of brass detailing.
The bike looked good & we were glad to hear that Royal Enfield was happy with the end result so much so that they let us have a crack at the Buddha International Circuit aboard our custom 650 'Vigilante'. This was the best part of the build as we were really able to put the bike through its paces on a state of the art F1 track. The slicks coupled with a mid-ranged SBK suspension setup proved to be unbelievably planted with tones of grip on offer when on the brakes entering a corner, carrying mid-corner speed, or barreling out on the gas. We only got 3 hot laps of the track & even though this was a not a thoroughbred race setup, it proved to be insanely good fun. Being a partly aesthetic build it took some getting used to the narrow seat but we managed to scrape the heat wraps off our exhausts when leaning her into the corners.
It would be 'absolutely ridiculous' (in a good way) if we could get some 650 owners to a track with decent track tyres & let them rip.
Following are the highlights of this build:
1. Single-Sided Trellis Swing arm
2. Fully adjustable Suspension (Showa Front off a Ducati 848 EVO & Ohlins TTX GP rear shocker)
3. Custom front fairing
4. Custom Gp style exhaust with brass tips
5. Widened Subframe
6. Pop up gas cap
7. In tube taillight
8. Brass detailing (Bar ends, Frame caps etc)
9. Marchesini Rims
10. Pirelli Race slicks
11. Brembo brakes with radial master cylinders
12. Custom rear sets
14. Asymmetric side panels/ engine covers
15. Custom cafe leather seat
16. K & N pods
