XTR Pepo
Then there is Pepo Rosell. If you don’t know who that is, make sure to check out some of the articles we have written before. The Frenchman who has been living in Spain for a long time now, is known for his radical designs; a craftsman of the first-degree. Pepo maintains an almost scientific approach to building motorcycles. And when we say build, we mean BUILD, as in, from the ground up. Pepo has a passion for racing too, so it comes as no surprise that most of his builds are race inspired, often replicas of real racing machines.

Performance mods – Body
Let’s get down to business. Everything about this Continental GT breathes RACING. To begin with the most rigorous mod that Pepo performed on this build, it has to be the modified frame. Harris Performance did an outstanding job designing the original frame. Pepo must have thought differently and reduced weight and added stiffness to the already pretty-good frame. The rear swing arm is a modified unit from a Ducati Pantah(!). The front and rear wheels come off a Triumph Daytona 675R and is a lot lighter than the original wire-spoke wheels that come stock on the GT 650. The brakes are BREMBO – Kevlar brake lines anyone?
The front and rear suspension are OHLINS fully adjustable units. It goes without saying that all brackets have been custom CNC’d from billet aluminium by Pepo, including the triple clamp. A set of clip-ons and DOMINO controls & grips ensure the right kind of control. There are various carbon fiber bits and pieces used such as the custom fuel tank with endurance style filler cap, carbon fiber front fairing, rear mudguard, and the one-off seat. Carbon fiber is great for weight saving. The FULBAT Lithium battery helps with that too, weighing less than 700 grams it’s literally a lightweight.

Performance mods – Engine
XTR went all out with the engine mods, without sacrificing reliability. The parts that have been used are tried and tested. There are the obligatory DNA pod filters, custom exhaust system curtesy of Wolfman and Spark, and high-performance HT leads. What’s more interesting are the S&S performance cams and the high compression pistons. Combined with a custom fuel map with the help of a Power Commander, we wouldn’t be surprised if this Royal Enfield produced more than 60hp at the rear wheel. Combine that with the ridiculous weight savings on the body and unsprung weight, and sticky Continental SPORT ATTACK rubbers, we are convinced that Pepo turned this easy-going Continental GT into a fire-breathing, hell-raising, racing machine!

Finishing touches
What we love the most about XTR machines is the level of detail each build is delivered with. Whether it’s the machines rear set, double headlight with external brackets, LED indicators, machined levers or unique paint-scheme (by ARTENRUTA Painting), each bike looks like it’s doing a 100 mph at standstill. There is no doubt that Pepo has racing fuel going through his veins and for that we salute him.

PICTURES by SERGIO CARDEÑA

Builder details:
XTR Pepo
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Sailing solo

First we take an Interceptor…
He started off his solo career veering away from all the Ducati’s and BMW’s he had been busy customizing in the last decade. Luckily for him Royal Enfield has created an ideal tableau to lay down his view on customizing motorcycles with the 650 Interceptor.

Since the launch early 2019 both the Interceptor as well as the Continental GT have become favourites among builders the world over. And rightfully so. Both models are perfect canvasses to get creative on. They are well built machines with a very strong retro reference. You will have to be totally talentless to create something that does not look good using the 650 platform as a base. Although the specs look modest, with only 48hp and weighing in at a 202kg wet, the 650 mill delivers its power smooth and hassle-free. The low center-of-gravity affects handling in a positive way, making it feel more powerful and lighter than it actually is.

For our English mate it was a local Royal Enfield dealer just down the road in Sheffield who supplied the bike Shaun used as his ‘épreuve d’artiste’.

View on the future
When we question the builder about his vision for this project he answers: “I wanted to show a different stance and style to what’s out there so went for the 16” wheels completely different bars hand controls and a wider set of trees to get the bigger wheel in there the rest is just how it ended up going.”

We probe on with a silly question about the inspiration for this build. He laughs out loud and with a wide grin he continues “Inspiration you say? After building over 150 bikes over the last 15 years I have plenty of inspiration now that I can do exactly as I want! But I could have done much more than this, if it were not for the budget restrictions I gave myself for this first endeavour.

So there will be much more from where this has been coming from. Don’t you worry about it.”

Help wanted?
There was no real need for outside help to finish the build. According to Shaun about 90 percent of the work was done by himself and it was just for some work on the wheels and the paint job some assistance from experts was required. The latter was provide by ‘Kustom Paint’. We strongly suggest visiting their page. There are some gorgeous examples of their work on display!

Doing it all in house meant quite some chores with the following set of changes:
• New bar and risers
• Internal wiring in bars and micro buttons
• Side panels
• Fat wheels
• aluminium mudguards
• YSS rear shocks
• YSS front fork internals
• Head light and brackets
• Motogadget bar end indicators
• Kellaman rear indicators with built in stop light and running light
• Sump guard
• Cogneto moto speedometer

Happy man?
“Are you happy with the results of your work during your first solitary shed confinement?” BikeBrewers continue the interrogation. “Absolutely!” Shaun reports. “It’s light looks tough and sounds awesome. From a riding point of view, it’s very good and crisp. It serves the rider with loads of fun man! Looking ahead, we are very happy with the build and are doing a range of parts for the Enfield hand made in our own workshop.”

Builder details:
Shaun Walker
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