Photo: Royale via Pipeburn
Modern Royal Enfield twins have been embraced by the custom bike community for quite some time now, and have been transformed into all manner of bobbers, scramblers, and café racers. The conversion we’re about to look at doesn’t fall into any of those categories, but ventures pretty far down the racer path. It hails from Hamilton, New Zealand, put together as a side project by the folks at Royale.
Far from your traditional bike-modding shop, Royale is more of a car and motorcycle dealership that serves their local area. Either way, they clearly know what it takes to pull off a great custom project, because their Continental GT 650 racer is pretty awesome. It was built in 2022 for the Busted Knuckles Build-Off competition hosted by Royal Enfield, and honestly, we absolutely love it.
Once the donor was stripped down, the real party began with some extensive structural modifications to the rear. Royale attempted to convert the rear suspension to a monoshock setup, so they ditched the stock swingarm in favor of an alloy replacement sourced from a Honda. The new part is attached to an adjustable piggyback shock supplied by Ohlins, and a new custom subframe can be seen up top.
Naturally, the front suspension has also been upgraded to suit, with upside-down forks from a Triumph Daytona taking things to the next level. Along with the premium forks, Triumph itself has donated its own front wheel, Nissin brake calipers, and floating rotors to the Royale’s cause. Out back, you’ll find a 17-inch wheel with a wave rotor and Brembo caliper.
Both wheels are wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires for ample grip, bringing the updated chassis to a full circle. Then there’s the GT 650’s fabulous bodywork, with the only stock part still in play being the gas tank. Everything around it has been built from scratch, including the sharp half fairing up front and the spiky tail unit mounted further south.
A custom-made undertray also sits beneath the engine, as does a new fender over the front wheel. Comfort isn’t a priority when it comes to a powerful race bike, so Royale has used a thin seat cushion rather than a luxurious cover. The ergonomic package also features adjustable billet aluminum footpegs and clip-on handlebars, creating the ideal riding position for attacking the track.
As for the powertrain, the changes have only affected the intake and exhaust. Air is now drawn in via custom intake pipes and the factory exhaust has been replaced with a hand-built stainless steel module that ends in a CV Racing Silencer. Finally, the color scheme chosen by Royale is mostly black and gray, along with orange and white details.