Royal Enfield Archives - BikeBrewers.com https://bikebrewers.com/tag/royal-enfield/ Europe largest directory Cafe Racers, Scramblers, Bratstyles & other Custom Bikes. Mon, 20 Feb 2023 15:42:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 Bangkok’s Bike Builder – Zeus Customs https://bikebrewers.com/bangkoks-bike-builder-zeus-customs/ https://bikebrewers.com/bangkoks-bike-builder-zeus-customs/#respond Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:37:32 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=3409 Mooyong Zeus is the founder, owner, designer, builder and all-round nice guy of Zeus Customs in Bangkok, Thailand. I last met Mooyong during my visit before Covid – so I was mighty curious how he is doing now that the pandemic-storm has subsided a bit.

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Mooyong Zeus is the founder, owner, designer, builder and all-round nice guy of Zeus Customs in Bangkok, Thailand. I last met Mooyong during my visit before Covid – so I was mighty curious how he is doing now that the pandemic-storm has subsided a bit.

Mooyong started Zeus Customs in 2014, when he decided his love for motorcycles – and customizing them – was more important to him than his secure income as a software developer… He started out customizing 150cc Stallion bikes, lightweight Chinese bikes which are very popular in Thailand, these are basically the same bikes as those sold under the brand name Mash in Europe. His first workshop was just a room in an apartment building, but he had to look for another place pretty soon as the neighbors complained to the landlord about the noise… That happened again with his next location, so then he moved to a large more industrial building on the outskirts of Bangkok. That’s where I met Mooyong three years ago. Covid was a difficult time for Zeus of course, but he survived! After Covid, he moved to a slightly smaller but more central place in a nice neighborhood of Bangkok, where he now has a much more intimate and really pleasant place with a great showroom, plenty of bikes on display and couches to hang out on, as well as a fabulous yard with more bikes and tables to enjoy your coffee or a drink…


Given his software developer background, no surprise that Mooyong is an avid and expert user of social media. His Instagram posts went viral in Thailand and before long he got requests to customize bigger bikes. After he did a first brat-style conversion based on a Ducati scrambler for a lady which got a lot of attention on Instagram, demand skyrocketed. Still, cutting up a big expensive bike for the first time was a big step, so Mooyong bought a Triumph to work on for himself first. But he only cut into the frame after a strong push from his girlfriend!

So now Mooyong does a max of 30 full customizations per year, not more to maintain quality, together with his 2 mechanics – which he kept on staff during all the difficult Covid period.

Zeus customizes mainly for Thai customers and long-term expats. His Thai customers tend to ask for full customization of for instance café racers, and then use the bikes mainly for special events and to decorate their homes. The expats usually do use their bikes on a daily basis, their modifications range from again full café racers to scramblers – depending on their need for comfort on the road… Zeus also do more light conversions for both groups, such as just handlebars and seats.
While Mooyong is very interested in exporting his customs, a lot of times the regulations of his customers’ countries get in the way. But while an export to Germany serves as a decoration piece because the owner cannot get it legalized, another bike is out on the streets of Moscow, Russia – as the rules seem less strict over there. He does have a partner in Japan now specifically for fully customized Honda Monkeys, which are wildly popular over there.

Right now, Zeus is converting 8 Royal Enfield Himalayans to competition-ready flat-track bikes, commissioned by the factory who want to open a flat-track school in Thailand! He is also working with Suzuki Thailand on a full café racer custom to inspire more customers to buy that particular model, and they then plan to auction it off…

Zeus’ main exports to Europe today are his homemade leather side-bags and tank straps. Custom parts are a little harder as specifications can differ even for the same model bikes.
He also sells quite a bit of merchandise to tourists who visit the shop to get some new ideas or just hang out. T-shirts, caps, mugs, bag-tags, you name it… These are all his own designs – great stuff if you ask me!

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REVIEW 2022 Royal Enfield Scram 411 https://bikebrewers.com/review-2022-royal-enfield-scram-411/ https://bikebrewers.com/review-2022-royal-enfield-scram-411/#respond Tue, 23 Aug 2022 07:25:57 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=3274 Ready. Set. SCRAM! I had some time, I just wanted to ride. No frills, no haste, no frustration. And then I got the email. ‘We still have the Scram for you to ride and review if you like?’ And that was it. As you can imagine, this isn’t a powerhouse. It doesn’t even pretend to [...]

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Ready. Set. SCRAM!
I had some time, I just wanted to ride. No frills, no haste, no frustration. And then I got the email. ‘We still have the Scram for you to ride and review if you like?’ And that was it.

As you can imagine, this isn’t a powerhouse. It doesn’t even pretend to be and that’s just fine, it doesn’t have to. What it is though, is a very, very nice bike. Especially for what I was planning, which was nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I do get excited from exciting bikes and I can ride them to within an inch of their limits, but I didn’t want to. And then it’s much more satisfying on a bike that hasn’t the pretence. When you ride a cutting edge bike slow, that’s just what you do. You’re not using its full potential and somehow that gets to you. On this, when you ride it exactly the same way, you’re using it exactly as you should. And that makes a huge difference.

Ultimate de-stressing machine
No, I haven’t gone soft. I just wanted to ride. Let me explain. As I was on my way to pick up the Scram, I realised I was happy right then and there. On my way, nice weather, out of the house, no goals, just on a bike. Perfection. I didn’t need anything else. No brand, no model, just the fact of riding a bike. And that really is key. The Royal Enfield is an extension of that. I remembered the email saying ‘we’re very sorry that you had to miss the international presentation’, but I know how that would have gone. Now I had full control and wasn’t going to let anything get in the way. So if I wanted to cruise I would do just that. Even now and here in this country, it’s still possible to not look at the tacho and be fine. You just have to pick the right bike and for now, this is it.

That’s a really long intro to a bike and you still don’t know what it is exactly. This is, in full, a Royal Enfield Scram 411. So it’s a scrambler version of the popular world traveller the Royal Enfield Himalayan, by the infamous Indian brand. There you go. By now you probably have taken a peek at the pictures and know exactly what I mean.

Best of both worlds
And as they go, this might just be the most Royal of all the bikes RE has to offer. I mean, as you know the brand originates from the UK, then went on to live in India for a few decades and only the last few years has taken on the global market again. In one corner with bikes that really make that cut, appealing to all the right senses when it comes to retro and vintage, with good looks and an engine that works for that audience. On the other side they make motorcycles like the Himalayan, a bike that stays close to the business that made the brand survive all these years: a bike that never breaks down and if it does, it’s easily repairable by the side of the road. This 411 is exactly that. So at first we don’t have to expect a lot of power. However there’s a spoiler: you don’t even need that much power, let alone miss it. Less power means easier handling and improved longevity. Besides these bikes just ooze reliability. Although this machine is extremely minimalistic, it does come with ABS as standard, as well as a gear indicator.  It also comes with Royal Enfield’s famous Tripper GPS navigation system. This allows you to plan a trip on your phone using Royal Enfield’s proprietary app, and send the directions to a small LCD display for turn-by-turn directions. Brilliant!

The remaining amount of power still is ‘enough’, even for international standards and so they decided to play with the platform, which in the end resulted in this Scram. So there you have it. It looks, it goes, it stops. And it’s cheap and fuel efficient. What more could one ask for?

No-frills
Seriously, this thing is 100% percent no-nonsense. It’s the opposite of nonsense and if you are like me, you’ll love it for that. And even though there are many details you could get into and maybe complain about if you’re picky, but I’m not going to. The seat position is ok (but maybe not great), the handling is ok, we talked about the performance already and the list just goes on and on. Let me put it another way. On the way over, I rode a BMW K1100 and was perfectly happy. I was happy to be on the road, happy to ride, happy to enjoy what I had and not need or want any more. On the Royal Enfield, I was even happier. And I think that’s all you need to know. Ride, smile, repeat.

Head on over to your nearest Royal Enfield dealer to check the new Royal Enfield Scram 411 out for yourself!

Special thanks to Moto Mondo; the number 1 importer of Royal Enfield in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg.

Photo credits: Vincent Burger

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Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 “Black Fury” by XTR https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt-650-black-fury-by-xtr/ https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt-650-black-fury-by-xtr/#respond Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:23:42 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1974 We’ve been reporting a lot on Royal Enfield lately and that’s not a coincidence. The Indian manufacturer has kept the talks around the coffee corner fuelled for quite some time now.

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Royal Enfield
We’ve been reporting a lot on Royal Enfield lately and that’s not a coincidence. The Indian manufacturer has kept the talks around the coffee corner fuelled for quite some time now. After their bombastic new models presentations during EICMA in 2021, we have been very eager to get our hands on a number of models. Just recently our senior editor Ron took a flight to the Provence region in Southern France for the European introduction of the all-new Royal Enfield Classic 350. While the rest of us had to suffer the full force of a winter storm, he was cruising along gently in sunny weather and not a cloud in the sky. Heck, I’ll just go on record and admit my love for the brand, given the fact that I own an Interceptor 650 as well as a big-bored Classic 500 (now 545). I recently took my Interceptor for a dyno run and it showed a very healthy and very real 42hp and 57Nm at the rear wheel. Worth noting that the power curve was quite linear. I’ll do a full long-term review on my own Interceptor in due time, in the meanwhile we have something else to show you, with the heavily modified Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 aptly names “Black Fury” by XTR.

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
Website
Instagram
Facebook

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Royal Enfield Classic 350 – first review https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-classic-350-first-review/ https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-classic-350-first-review/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2022 18:38:29 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1973 While Northern European countries were being terrorized by the winter storm ‘Eunice’, a group of motorcycle journalists from the Netherlands, Belgium and France were whisking around in the sun and 20° degrees Celsius.

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Purring around the Provence
Royal Enfield seem to have a great sense of timing.
While Northern European countries were being terrorised by the winter storm ‘Eunice’, a group of motorcycle journalists from the Netherlands, Belgium and France were whisking around in the sun and 20° degrees Celsius. While enjoying this magnificent weather and the all new 2022 Royal Enfield Classic 350, it was hard to imagine the roofs flying off buildings 1000 kilometres away.
I was among the lucky ones who were able to focus on this new bike rather than seeing my bike-shed being tortured by heavy winds (it survived fortunately).

A true classic
The Indian manufacturer has managed to create an astonishing machine which is far better than any other new € 6.000 motorcycle that’s currently being sold out there. It possesses everything to melt your heart at first glance. It is the exact blend of modest power, high quality and retro styling harking back to the glory days of British motorcycle manufacturing.
As with its predecessor, the Classic 500, the 350 series are magnificent backroad companions that will offer you the exact same ‘Zen’ feeling while chugging away miles of country roads below 100 km/h.

Forget massive torque
The absence of the tremendous power many other motorcycles have on offer, will not take away any pleasure whatsoever from the experience of riding the Classic 350. You only have around 20bhp at our disposal in combination with a five-speed gearbox. This will provide riders with a top speed just slightly over any the national limit. This by itself will give you peace of mind. No real need for apps on your devices that alert you for radar or police operated laser guns.

The relaxing sound of the single 350cc engine will send you back in time and will have lookers on smile at you rather than lifting their middle finger showing their dismay at the noise of your machine. This is 50’s nostalgia in its purest form.

The Royal Enfield has all elements on board to enhance that feeling. The sound of the engine is unmistakably Royal Enfield, despite the effective job of the exhaust. Even purists like ourselves love it! Besides the purring engine it comes with a properly styled metal tank, chunky mudguards, spoked wheels, a single clock in the very traditionally styled dashboard. I am pretty sure riders will be finding themselves answering questions about the age of the bike, any time they park the Classic 350.

Frame, suspension and braking
The Classic 350 is fitted out with non-adjustable 41mm forks and six-stage preload adjustable twin shocks. In combination with the spongey, spring fitted rider’s seat, you will have sufficient damping to take care of most potholes in the road. A few days before the trip to France I strained my back and it really hurt when traveling all the way to Avignon, France. I had my doubts on riding the country roads, but truth be told, I had no problems whatsoever! I think the Royal Enfield technicians deserve a big compliment from me and my aching back!

The Classic 350 is endowed with a brand new, double cradle frame. It was specially designed for this new motorcycle, giving it much needed stiffness. As with the suspension, the R&D department have done an excellent job. It feels incredibly well built. Just have a good look and take in the sight of the glistening tank, polished mudguards, and fancy panels and you’ll find almost no plastic. Instead, it’s a mixture of chrome (except for the ‘blacked-out version’ – which is kind of nice with its red stripes) and gloss, with chunky metal brackets and a solid finish. Observing all little details you will notice the quality. No gaps in between panels, crooked mounted elements or shady welds. The bike even comes with a centre stand for easy maintenance.

All hunky dory
I am a sucker for vintage and retro, so it is easy to charm me with a bike like this. With the price tag being what it is, you get a tremendous amount of value for your money. Is there no room for improvement? Of course there is. But not a lot.
Even though the 350 comes with ABS as a standard, the Bybre brakes are not phenomenal. But they do what they need to do. A little bit of ‘oomph’ might help you feel a bit more confident when you are on the highway. But that’s about it really.

My suggestion, don’t focus on those minor issues, just enjoy the motorcycle in its natural habitat. This might be zooming in an urban environment or chugging on a country road. If you want a mischievous grin and the adrenaline pumping, go for something larger. If you want to smile and have time to take in the beauty of the world around you, this is your ‘go-to’ motorcycle.

Make sure to check out the Royal Enfield website

Technical details
Engine:
350 cc, 4 Stroke, Air-Oil Cooled Engine, Spark Ignition, Single Cylinder (similar to the Meteor 350)
20.21 Bhp @ 6100 rpm
27 Nm @ 4000 rpm
5-speed gearbox

Tank
13l

Fuel consumption:
41.55 kmpl (!)

Chassis:
All new designed steel twin downtube spine frame
Weight
195kg (wet)

Suspension
non-adjustable 41mm forks
six-stage preload adjustable twin shocks

Wheels & Tires:
Spoked rims
Optional: alloy rims
Front : 100/90 – 19,
Rear: 120/80 – 18

Braking
Bybre brakes
Front: a 300mm single disc and two-piston floating caliper
Back: 270mm rotor and one-pot caliper
Twin channel ABS

Top speed:
110-120 depending on conditions
Sweet spot is around 90 where you are treated to the nice purring sound

Colour schemes:
Chrome Red
Chrome Bronze
Dark Stealth Black
Dark Gunmetal Grey
Halcyon Green
Halcyon Grey
Halcyon black

Photo credits:
Florian Meuret
Rodolphe Herpet

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TOP 5 Cafe Racers 2021 by BikeBrewers https://bikebrewers.com/top-5-cafe-racers-2021-by-bikebrewers/ https://bikebrewers.com/top-5-cafe-racers-2021-by-bikebrewers/#respond Sat, 25 Dec 2021 16:56:04 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1963 We're gonna be honest, we are a sucker for lists. More specifically, end-of-the-year-top-5-motorcycle lists! It's one of those things that we never can seem to get enough of. Whether you're sitting with your friends or family, or on the workfloor with your colleagues, top 5 lists always add flavour to the discussions. We are going [...]

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We’re gonna be honest, we are a sucker for lists. More specifically, end-of-the-year-top-5-motorcycle lists! It’s one of those things that we never can seem to get enough of. Whether you’re sitting with your friends or family, or on the workfloor with your colleagues, top 5 lists always add flavour to the discussions. We are going to try to avoid a massacre that is usually brought by questions like “what engine oil is best” or “what tires should I get”.

We have seen some incredible builds the last 12 months, and we have to say that despite the world pandemic, we are very pleased to see that so many people still take time work on that what we love most: motorcycles. For 2021 we have created a TOP 5 of some of the most interesting, esthetically pleasing cafe racers we wrote about here on BikeBrewers. We looked at the number of views and shares on our website and social media channels, but also at originality. After all, the list is subjective.

So without further ado, and in complete random order, here are the BikeBrewers TOP 5 Cafe Racer builds of 2021

1. Moto Guzzi 1100 Cafe Racer by Robin Mehnert
When Robin Mehnert, the woodwind instrument maker from Germany, messaged us that he and his father had built a cafe racer based on a Moto Guzzi 1100 California, we got very excited. When you see the pictures of the Guzzi, it’s not hard to see why. Make sure to read the full article to find out more about this clean looking example of Italo-Germanic craftsmanship

2. Icon Motorcycle Triumph Bonneville Triton
Okay, so this Triumph Bonneville was actually built a couple of years ago. However, we only really heard of Icon Motorcycles last year. We didn’t know much about the outfit, and sadly their website has gone offline since. All we know is that the 2 Triumph Tritons they’ve build are unlike anything we have seen in a very long time. It’s almost like a spiritual experience. Luckily, we spent some time writing an article about the work of these fine people, that are based in the Netherlands.

3. Harley-Davidson LiveWire “Rule Breaker” by Moto Adonis
Moto Adonis has been working hard in 2021, with a number of unique projects and builds, we are impressed by the work the 2-man team from the Netherlands has been delivering. When they presented their Harley-Davidson LiveWire project our jaws literally dropped to the ground. This must be the most menacing looking electric motorcycle we have ever see. Period! It looks like a great white shark. In black. On 2 wheels. We dare anybody to show us a custom electric motorcycle that looks better than this.

4. Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 “Lilith” by XTRPepo
There is such a thing as a match made in heaven. In this case, it would be Pepo Rosell, founder and owner of XTRPepo, and Royal Enfield. Let us explain. Pepo has been building race bikes since before we could remember. He has been doing that passionately for the past 25 years. The last 6 years or so, he decided to take step back from building radical custom racing machines for high end customers, and to focus on the more “fun” side of business. Which brings us to Royal Enfield. The people’s champion as far as we’re concerned. Royal Enfield has rapidly gained popularity outside of its domestic market in India. No frills, simple, classy, and affordable. Heck, 2 of our editors bought a Royal Enfield 650 for personal use! That says something! Pepo built a period-correct racer around the Continental GT, and it looks the part.

5. Triumph Bonneville “Gotham” by Tamarit x MotoShare
Tamarit has been building bikes for a long time now, and this heavily modified Triumph Bonneville was their 81st build to be precise. The Alicante, Spain based builders were commissioned by MotoShare to build a cafe racer that provokes people. A bike that gets people talking. José Antonio of Tamarit says: “We took a 2007 Triumph Bonneville and turned it into this ominous looking machine. It was during a video call that one of the guys from MotoShare mentioned it looked like it was made for Batman. It was ‘The Gotham’ from there on.”

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‘Starship Meteor’ – Royal Enfield meteor by Ironwood Customs https://bikebrewers.com/starship-meteor-royal-enfield-meteor-by-ironwood-customs/ https://bikebrewers.com/starship-meteor-royal-enfield-meteor-by-ironwood-customs/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2021 08:17:04 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1951 Skyrocketed to top position After the crowning of the Meteor 350 to MCN "2021 - Retro Bike of Year", Ironwood Motorcycles, have launched "The Starship Meteor" - a custom version of the affordable urban cruiser. Earlier this year BikeBrewers had a fun day on this bike when it was introduced. Read about our experience in [...]

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Skyrocketed to top position
After the crowning of the Meteor 350 to MCN “2021 – Retro Bike of Year”, Ironwood Motorcycles, have launched “The Starship Meteor” – a custom version of the affordable urban cruiser.
Earlier this year BikeBrewers had a fun day on this bike when it was introduced. Read about our experience in this post.

Since its launch at the end of 2020, the Meteor 350 has quickly built up a cult status worldwide and won multiple awards and accolades around the world. Praised for its build quality, retro styling and refined design – and the remarkable price point for a motorcycle that offers so much more than the sum of its parts – it offers a rather remarkable blank canvas to then stamp your own personality on.


Build your own
The in-house Custom Team of Royal Enfield’s English technical centre challenged Ironwood Motorcycles and its creative director and founder Arjan van den Boom to design and build their own ideal Easy Cruiser.

Arjan van den Boom of Ironwood Motorcycles: “The Meteor meets a lot of requirements, and it was our job to spice it up a bit. As a basic package, the Meteor is hard to beat for the budget-concious rider. Ultimately, we wanted this important element of accessibility and entry into the world of motorcycling and customizing motorcycles, which the Meteor offers, retained – but of course add our unique ‘Ironwood creative touch’ to this particular build.



Hitting the streets of Amsterdam
We received a Meteor Fireball Yellow from the team at Royal Enfield and immediately rode it through the streets of Amsterdam as much as possible to get used to the feel and ergonomics of the bike before taking it apart.
Because the seating position is super comfortable and the balance refined, we wanted to preserve as much of the original Meteor DNA as possible. Motorcycles with a smaller displacement engines are too often classified as ‘entry-level engines’, which is really unfortunate. Our goal was to give the Meteor a sprinkle of the Ironwood sauce and an overall more powerful look by upgrading a number of parts, while ensuring that the Meteor’s core identity would remain intact.”

Clear vision
Continuing: “We had a very clear visual identity what we wanted to develop. This was largely inspired by our love for all things Star Wars! We decided to blacken many of the parts so that the fantastic “Meteor Rain” paint from Royal Kustom Works on the tank would really stand out from the rest. The black fork protectors, the black supercross handlebars, custom fenders, the fat thick rubbers from Continental and the piggyback shock absorbers from YSS compliment what we consider to be a very exciting look
The CNC manufactured saddle support, our signature floating bobber saddle, further adds to the true custom look of the motorcycle. The diamond pattern on the saddle is all hand finished by our good friend Marcel Miller of Miller Kustom Upholstery.

The Biltwell grips, Motogadget turn signals in the front and the Kellermann 1000DF taillights, combined with the custom piping that breathes through an Akrapovic muffler, result in a beautiful little Urban Cruiser that exceeds expectation.
Each time you start this air-cooled one cylinder engine, a nice growl comes out of the racing exhaust and you feel like hitting the road.

Mission accomplished!”

Royal Enfield’s view
Adrian Sellers, Head of Royal Enfield’s Custom Programme, reacts: “Ironwood’s creative minds have followed the assignment we gave them more than perfectly and we are very happy with the end result. Importantly, the core identity of the Meteor 350 – a motorcycle we know provides a fantastic basic platform for creative expression – has been retained and embraced.

This project reinforces how important accessibility is for us as a brand, and how much can be achieved with a little imagination. All credit to Arjan and the Ironwood team – this is the first custom build we have done with the Meteor, and it marks an important and exciting milestone for this 350 engine platform”

The Ironwood Custom Meteor 350 will be on display at the EICMA 2021 in Milan at the end of November.

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REPORT: Café Racer Fest 2021 by Café Racer Club Bulgaria https://bikebrewers.com/report-cafe-racer-fest-2021-by-cafe-racer-club-bulgaria/ https://bikebrewers.com/report-cafe-racer-fest-2021-by-cafe-racer-club-bulgaria/#respond Fri, 24 Sep 2021 10:40:12 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1942   Back in 2020, BikeBrewers were invited to join the first edition of the Café Racer Fest in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. Unfortunately COVID had paralyzed the world and travel restrictions caused us to miss out on that event. We followed the happening on social media while the enthusiasm of participants, visitors and bike builders vibrated through [...]

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Back in 2020, BikeBrewers were invited to join the first edition of the Café Racer Fest in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. Unfortunately COVID had paralyzed the world and travel restrictions caused us to miss out on that event.

We followed the happening on social media while the enthusiasm of participants, visitors and bike builders vibrated through our screens. We knew we missed out on something special! We made a promise there and then, that we would do everything to make it to the 2021 edition. As we are always true to our word, there was no reason not to make the trip this time.

To team members Ron and Adnane it felt nearly as good as going on a road trip even though two flights, three cars but no bikes were involved in getting from Amsterdam to Kyustendil.

Arriving close to midnight, the organizer of the Café Racer Fest and spiritual father of the event, Ivan Mushev of Bull Moto Custom, had kindly arranged transportation from Sofia airport to the ski resort up in the mountains about half an hour up from town up a dark and twisty country road with al sort of wildlife crossing our headlights.

Early start
In order to make the most of the day breakfast was served early and we took off to the centre of town. The empty square would soon be the stage of an extraordinary event, attracting an sizable crowd of both participants and spectators. On the plaza of this nearly 40.000 inhabitant’s rich city, volunteers were busy setting the stage for things to come.

The Café Racer Fest harbours not only custom bikes but also offers a stage for vintage motorcycles and cars from all makes and years. There was quite a collection of incredibly beautiful Pre-Perestroika MZ’s, Jawa’s and Ural sidecars. Truly as if time stood still.

Talking about time, it is funny what the years do with your sense of beauty. Bikes that were considered hideous in the 60’s and 70’s Western Europeans are now considered attractive by the same crowd. Thanks to younger demographics, discovering the fun in riding, Eastern Bloc classic icons such as the 60’s MZ have now grown from being more hideous than the word itself to ultra-cool! We bet there will be quite some young urban riders who would not mind to be spotted on one of those former ‘monstrosities’, were it not that in most large European cities, those two-strokes will never be seen spewing their distinguishable blue exhaust plumes again.

Ride out
Prior to the start of the event, a number of bikers and bike builders met at the local gas station for a ride out to the venue. Little over 150 bikers, nearly of which were modified in one way or another, joined in this brotherly gathering. The atmosphere was incredible; there is something quite special about seeing cafe racers being used for they were built.

Choices, choices
There were three contemporary categories; Modern Classics, Scrambler & Brat, and Café Racers. BikeBrewers were given the task of selecting the Top 3 in the “Café Racer” category. We were given about twenty projects to choose from and had about an hour to finalize our task.

As we always do when judging bikes, we put together a matrix awarding points on a scale of 1-10 for elements such as the ‘Wow!’ factor, originality, quality of work & amp; paint, and craftsmanship and set out separately to do our first independent judging.

You’d expect this to be easy and give clear comparable results. No such thing! We had quite a hefty discussion and with the clock ticking away it required a final walk around to re-evaluate our choices. At the ‘strike of twelve’ we managed to come up with a Top 3 we could both fully subscribe to.

And the winner is…
A 1994 Yamaha XV1100 had scored high points on both our lists and was chosen ‘Best of show’ in this year’s Café Racer category. Its owner, Borislav Alexsov, has put quite a lot of hours in building this machine and is rightfully proud of the result. 2nd place went to Vencislav Angelov with his stunning 1984 Honda CBX 750, and 3rd place went to Kaloian Ivanchev Chekelev with his very cool BMW R75 which saw daylight in 1982.

All top 3 finalists were showered with gifts from local sponsors. To top it off BikeBrewers’ came bearing gifts from our partners Felix Auto Moto and SA1NT! adding a helmet and a sought after twill trucker cap to the basket of each of the category winners!

Come rain come shine
Bulgarians have been spoiled with loads of sunshine over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, rain was predicted during the hours of the event. The start of the award ceremony for the café racer category was launched with a clap of thunder followed by a slight drizzle. That made us feel like home instantly.

Luckily the audience was not scared away that easily, and there was quite a cheer from the several hundred people on the square. According to the organizers, the total attendance during this year’s edition the audience grew with 20% to around 2.500 visitors who meandered amongst all the beauty displayed on the town square this morning.

The next edition
Writing this post just before the party organized by the Cafe Racer Club Bulgaria, we are already spoiled by the kindness of the Bulgarians we met on the way, especially by the members of the café racer community.

As much as we love attending established events in Western European countries, we are always on the lookout for new, exciting and more grass roots experiences. This scene is way bigger and vibrant than you would ever dare to imagine. Everyone we met was proud of the results of their labour and insights are shared freely among this close-knit society.

We will be back for sure and hope the organizers can look forward to an even bigger crowd in 2022. Being the only international visitors this year, we share our experience with the knowledge that this is likely to be the last time we enjoyed this exclusivity.

Given the fact that there is a very lively local scene and magnificent twisty country roads and awesome virgin off road tracks to be travelled freely, it is likely many adventurous bikers from the West will be heading East next year.

Photos by:
Georgi Georgiev Photography
Kalina Kalcheva
BikeBrewers

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FIRST RIDE: 2021 Royal Enfield Meteor 350 https://bikebrewers.com/first-ride-2021-royal-enfield-meteor-350/ https://bikebrewers.com/first-ride-2021-royal-enfield-meteor-350/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2021 17:48:18 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1936 The Meteor has landed The warning had been out there for quite some time, but while everyone was looking towards the sky, a swarm of Meteors came to us from the East. Without causing damage, they landed in the middle of cities, bearing colourful names such as ‘Fireball Yellow’, ‘Stellar Black’ or ‘Supernova Blue’. Interestingly [...]

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The Meteor has landed
The warning had been out there for quite some time, but while everyone was looking towards the sky, a swarm of Meteors came to us from the East.
Without causing damage, they landed in the middle of cities, bearing colourful names such as ‘Fireball Yellow’, ‘Stellar Black’ or ‘Supernova Blue’. Interestingly enough it is the urban environment where the Meteors fit like a glove.

Based on a heritage from decades ago, the newly designed 350cc platform inherits the name from an iconic Royal Enfield motor in the early 1950’s. Launched at the end of 1952 the Royal Enfield Meteor was a magnificent touring motorcycle with a reputation that stood the test of time.
In those days the segment for touring bikes was not yet dominated by those bulky 1000CC+ engines like the ones we seem to need today. Let’s be honest, life was easier and quite a bit slower in those days.

British heritage
The Indian manufacturer has a strong British heritage, and portrays the Meteor 350 as an “easy cruiser which carries Royal Enfield’s signature styling, but with many firsts and is set to be an equally outstanding machine for our times.”
We could not agree more. The BikeBrewers test team had the pleasure of riding this little thumpers for a full day in both urban circumstances and on lovely twisty country roads.
The weather was spectacular and the smiles on our faces could not be wiped away no matter how hard you would try to polish them off.
The Royal Enfield technicians have managed to produce a single 350cc engine which will run without hardly any vibrations whatsoever. They have done a truly remarkable job at balancing the crankshaft.

New engine
At the heart of the Meteor is a ‘J series’ air-cooled 349cc SOHC engine. It has a characteristic long stroke, producing smooth tractable power (20 BHP) and a bottom-end torque of 27Nm. Now this may not sound very impressive when we are surrounded by torque packed machines which launch you from one traffic light to another, but that’s not what this bike is about.
The Meteor is about finding yourself enjoying the ride and the world around you. No need for speed, no adrenaline rush, just pure riding fun like they used to have seventy years ago.

It’s the perfect bike for some laid back cruising. It hums like a sewing machine and handles smoothly. The fuel consumption is amazingly low at a whopping 100mpg or 40 km/l! The maximum speed of around 120 km/h is manageable.
With an enhanced chassis setup, sporting a new double-cradle frame, accessible riding position (this was much appreciated by our lady rider!), advanced braking ability, high specification suspension and responsive power delivery, the Meteor is potent enough to provide you with a smooth ride around town or on a winding country road. It is fast enough to feel secure on the highway too, but when you are on a bike like this you are likely to take the ‘long way home’ on any given day of the week.

It is a truly agile machine with very light handling and no compromises on rider comfort. Royal Enfield produced a machine that is expected to be massively popular in Asia, where small displacement motorcycles are far more popular than in Western countries. But also in new markets such as Argentina, Colombia and Brazil.

New fans
Still, we are convinced that this new 350cc platform will attract a whole new crowd of fans in European countries too. From young professionals who need to zoom around town from one meeting to another, to young riders who are looking for a carefree bike to take out on weekend trips, exactly as can be seen in the tasty sepia coloured video on the manufacturer’s YouTube channel.

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/SKK2Xwhwf2c” width=”800″ title=”Royal Enfield Meteor 350″]

To get you from A to B efficiently, Royal Enfield have added the new Tripper Navigation system to the Meteor also. Quite a treat to have a machine in a price range which is just below the € 5K mark which comes with this feature in its standard package!

It is a system powered by Google Maps and the Royal Enfield designed App. It faultlessly connects any smartphone with the motorcycle through Bluetooth. It then becomes a sophisticated navigation solution, rich in features and specially developed for motorcyclists that indicates directions through an intuitive display system.
Increasing the fun is a USB charging port to make sure your phone can continue to direct the Tripper system until you reach your destination. We had ample time to test this device and we love its simplicity. It does exactly what you want it to do, without unnecessary frills or other complicated stuff that are initially invented to make life easier, but in fact fail to do so in real-life.

Final verdict
Little discussion was required to reach consensus. This is a funky little bike that will definitely attract a whole new audience in Europe too.
Looking at the success Royal Enfield have had over the last couple of years with their new 650cc models, we are pretty sure that the Meteor will follow in those footsteps without missing a single (cylinder) beat.

Photography by @itsmenubbs and @pienmeppelink

#royalenfield #royalenfieldclassic #royalenfieldmeteor #puremotorcycling #ridepure #motoshare #bikebrewers #saintunbreakable #rarebirdlondon #stylmartin #belstaffmotorcycle

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Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 by Sold Out Motorcycles https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-interceptor-650-by-sold-out-motorcycles/ https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-interceptor-650-by-sold-out-motorcycles/#respond Tue, 29 Jun 2021 09:06:10 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1931 Sailing solo After building more than 150 motorcycles for someone else over the past 15 years, Shaun Walker decided it was time for change. He was dissatisfied with the lack of ‘involvement’ het got from the company he worked for when it came to the subject of building bikes. As far as BikeBrewers are concerned, [...]

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Sailing solo
After building more than 150 motorcycles for someone else over the past 15 years, Shaun Walker decided it was time for change. He was dissatisfied with the lack of ‘involvement’ het got from the company he worked for when it came to the subject of building bikes. As far as BikeBrewers are concerned, the best decision our British friend from Barnsley (South Yorkshire) could make.

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
Instagram
Facebook

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Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt-cafe-racer/ https://bikebrewers.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt-cafe-racer/#respond Tue, 26 Sep 2017 03:51:21 +0000 https://bikebrewers.com/?p=1688 Royal Enfield has an interesting chapter in motorcycle history. But ever since the bike production and license went to India, it never really got a proper grip on the "western market". And that's a pitty, because I really love the big, punchy 500cc single engine. The Continental GT is a really cool modern cafe racer [...]

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Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer 2

Royal Enfield has an interesting chapter in motorcycle history. But ever since the bike production and license went to India, it never really got a proper grip on the “western market”. And that’s a pitty, because I really love the big, punchy 500cc single engine. The Continental GT is a really cool modern cafe racer of its own, but the crew of OK Easy Shop from Bangkok, Thailand, went the extra mile (or two!) with this awesome build.

The stance looks perfect! A complete flat line from the front to rear with a beautiful custom (removable) seat and gas tank combo and rear light integrated into the frame. The front suspension was ditched and replaced with the front end of a GSX-R. The rear suspension also got a set of aftermarket, adjustable shocks/ The big headlight unit underlines the cafe racer in it. Beautiful laced wheels with some serious racing rubber wrapped around. I’m just trying to give some words on what I can see, but let’s just take a look for yourself:
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer 3 Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer 6 Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer 5 Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer 4

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