Inspired By Custom, For Custom. That’s the official tag line for Royal Enfield’s Shotgun 650, the Indian firm’s latest incarnation of their globally-popular, parallel twin lineup. The Shotgun was released last summer and immediately seduced custom motorcycle enthusiasts with its voluptuous lines, frisky performance and easy adaptability. RE kept things real with the Shotgun, avoiding a complex engine water-cooling system and wedging it into an old school, double cradle frame that makes modifying remarkably straightforward.
We’ve been busy scouring the ‘net for some fine examples of customized Shotgun 650s lately and it’s downright mind-altering to witness the level of mechanical ingenuity, cleverness and just plain fun these motorcycles have generated. Naturally anything with two wheels bearing the Roya Enfield label will enjoy serious levels of enthusiasm on the Indian subcontinent, a place where RE is as highly regarded as Harley-Davidson is here at home. The difference between the two brands and the two countries is how young and imaginative the Asian designers and builders are.
Check out this crazy, boundary-bursting Shotgun that emerged at last year’s Motoverse Show from
Naveen Nandal’s crew at TNT Motorcycles. The twentysomething team invested some 500 hours developing their Shotgun special as it received loads of parts designed with a 3D printer and other 21st Century tech. Their CNC-made aluminum single-sided swingarm holds a staggering 240mm rear wheel while girder forks and handmade bodywork grace the trophy-winning machine.
We also had to wrap our noggins around the brilliant engineering that created the Denim 650 from Bangalore’s Bulleteer Customs. The extended swingarm and walloping 12-inch wide rear tire lends it the look and feel of a Dirty South street dragger like you’d see (and no doubt hear) at the annual Blake Bike Week rally at Myrtle Beach. The original Shotgun fuel cell has been modded for a slimmer, sleeker shape while up front a pair of handmade girder forks makes for a seriously retro feel. We especially dig the wild re-imagining of the bike’s rear end with a custom swingarm and monoshock conversion setting the rear ride height even lower than before.
Spend enough time scrolling through the seemingly endless web pages and Instagram accounts and jaw-dropping motorcycles like these are quite common around the world, proving there’s so much more happening with modified motorcycles than we generally see here in the States. Best of all, the CRM team will be customizing a Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 over the next year’s issues and we’ll be soliciting ideas from some of India’s top designers along the way. While we tend to focus our custom projects on relatively simple, bolt-on mods the average mechanic can perform at home without the need for a welding torch or English wheel, there’s a booming parts aftermarket emerging for this popular ride, as well as talented contributors who are already weighing in with plenty of cool, timely ideas.
Keep an eye on CRM for more.
