Opening the email each week has become a sought-after task here at CRM as the bevy of customized Royal Enfields rolling in for our Custom Contest are taking everyone here by surprise. Not only have we heard from some of the top professional motorcycle designers and builders in Royal Enfield’s native India, but an array of groundbreaking modified bikes have surfaced from at least seven different countries. This issue marks the final selection of entries we’ll bring you before next issue’s final feature where the two prize winners are presented. Those machines – one from North America and another from overseas – will be selected by our staff and team of judges for a variety of criteria, including mechanical complexity, originality and execution of design and good old fashioned roadworthiness – what good is a beautiful custom motorcycle if it doesn’t zoom down the road, we always ask?
That said, take in these selections provided by proud Royal Enfield builders and owners from around the world, and let us know which are your favorites by emailing us via rockersrule@caferacermag.com.
Jets Forever Royal Enfield 700GTC Mistral
England’s Hans Korge shared his vintage RE 700 twin, a breathtaking street tracker built by the crew at Jets Forever. The shop in Poole, Dorset, UK has been bending the metal of classic British and Japanese bikes for years and shop owner Jeff Duval dreamed up the Mistrial as a replica of beach scramblers ridden in So Cal during the 1960s. The frame is a re-worked version of a BSA A10 model made with stiffer 7/8” chromoly tubing with Nickel plating and Ceriani forks fitted.
The engine was rebuilt by Enfield specialist Andy Berry who added a set of Amal MkII concentric carbs and a new, high-performance cylinder head. Beringer brakes are mated to a pair of alloy wheel rims sporting Avon Roadrider III tires.
1960s Ton Up Perfection
The second classic Enfield is a true, ton-up cafe racer built by Clint Mercer of Grand Junction, Colorado. Clint is an at-home customizer who bought the 1965 Series 1 Interceptor from an ad seen in a local newspaper in 1995. “It was listed as running, but having timing problems. After bringing it home I found there were no pistons in the engine,” he recalled. Undaunted, Clint tore into the project, adding ceramic-coated pistons with Teflon skirts and a lightened and re-balanced crank as he’d intended it as a land speed racer. After losing momentum and sending a kid to college, the project was re-started in 2021 with slightly modern updates. “I was still on a budget, using mostly what I had available,” Clint says. He shortened a set of KTM forks 7 1/2” inches to fit and laced a chrome, Kawasaki front wheel rim to the KTM hub with a set of Buchanan stainless spokes. The clip-ons are factory Ducati bars left over from a previous bike, while the cafe seat was made from a 3/16” plate that Clint bent and molded fiberglass over urethane foam. The fuel tank is a modern reproduction part imported from India and painted with original Enfield colors.
Baxter Bobber
Out in Marne, Iowa, Royal Enfield dealer Baxter Cycle pieced together a brilliant, blacked-out 2024 Super Meteor in neo-scrambler guise. Built by the shop’s manager Vincent Seufert with help from custom designer AJ Richter of Richter Machining, the showroom-fresh 650 looks more urban assault vehicle thanks to a set of oversized knobby dualsport tires on the 10-spoke mag wheels.
The generous use of ceramic Cerakote finishes on the engine components lends the Meteor a stealthy attitude while a seriously bobbed rear fender with chromed mini taillight is a classic touch. Built to show customers what sort of customization is possible using Royal Enfield’s own parts and accessories catalog, the machine is currently for sale at Baxter Cycle.
There’s more delicious examples of hand-crafted Enfields in Cafe Racer magazine’s February/March issue, on sale Feb. 10.