Royal Enfield Continental GT makes an impression

What's it like to ride the new Royal Enfield Continental GT? "Fun!"

The Real Rider First Impression:
David Garcia and his Continental GT
By Jeff Azcona of Royal Enfield of Fort Worth.

We had the unique opportunity to interview a customer who jumped off a 500 Bullet to the new Continental GT. It’s interesting to hear the differences between the two models straight from the source.

David Garcia explained to us how light and responsive the GT is, packed with the newest technology, “it’s a completely different bike from the other RE models.”

He goes on to explain how “the GT still has the retro look and feel while offering more confidence in the corners and at highway speeds.”

David has a pretty simple method for picking his motorcycles and cars: “It’s more fun to drive a slow vehicle fast than drive a fast vehicle slow.”

He is the perfect candidate for the Royal Enfield motorcycles; David finds the simple things in life, the things that slow you down in a culture that is moving so fast.

“You can see the world with only 22 horsepower.”

I think David is in good shape with the Continental GT packing 29 hp, especially with it only weighing 403 pounds. When we asked David to describe the new 2014 Continental GT in one word, his word of choice was “fun!”

If you ready to experience the “fun” David is experiencing, call us immediately!

(Jeff's office phone is 817-834-1392. He was kind enough to write this Guest Post for RoyalEnfields.com )

Royal Enfield bobber from a World War II bike

Here's a retro looking Royal Enfield that really is old.

The Retro Write Up blog features a custom bobber made from a World War II Royal Enfield military motorcycle by OneOne Customs of South Africa.

What do I like about it? For once, here is a retro-style bobber they didn't have to strain to make look old fashioned. It was already a rigid, with stark good looks.

Dubbed "Lady Luck," this machine certainly meets the modern interpretation of the bobber look. An original bobber would have been achieved by trimming original parts instead of stretching to include new ones, and might have included some hard-earned nicks.

This Royal Enfield custom appears beautifully finished, with brass plating used to brighten many bits.

The frame is stretched 10 inches, requiring the chain to reach a long way to the rear sprocket. There's no chain guard, of course. The primary case is delicately cut away, so the primary chain, too, breathes fresh air. Watch your pants cuffs, please.

The Harley-Davidson peanut tank used here sits high. But it does show off the always classic Royal Enfield motor.

A box under the seat holds the battery. The War Department wouldn't have tilted it like that.

The 1945 ex-Army Model WD/CO 350cc retains its original girder forks, according to Retro Write Up. Original 19-inch wheels and drum brakes are used.

The machine takes a giant step into the past with a hand shift. The white-wall tires roll the calendar back even farther. Where's the bulb horn?

There are more photos on the Retro Write Up blog.

Ace takes Royal Enfield performance to the limit

This is not your average Royal Enfield Bullet motor.
(See end of the article for full caption.)

For April Fools Day 2012 I joked that Royal Enfield experts Ace Engineering could soup up NASA rockets to get humans to Mars faster.

I was only joking.

But the fact is that Tom Lyons and Sumanth Janardhan, creators of the Ace Fireball 535 kits for Royal Enfield Bullets, continue to tackle every challenge imaginable.

"I want to emphasize that we are not limited to what we put out in kit form," Lyons told readers recently on his Ace Engineering Yahoo board.

"The kits are simply a way for people to get a system that is tested and set-up in a package that will be easy to install for the average user.

"However, much of our work is custom work that is outside of the parameters of the kits we produce. We can meet these needs," he wrote, and he went on to give examples:

• "We have produced head mods with roller rockers and chamber modifications and porting for a highly competitive racing Bullet.


• "We are also involved in a land speed record project for a 700cc twin Super Meteor/Trailblazer.


• "We have recently accepted a job with the AVL head modifications, and are putting big valves and porting in that, and we also have the capacity to put roller rockers with high ratio into the AVL heads on request.


• "We can put the regular valve size or big valves into the UCE heads, and do chamber mods on it too, as well as the porting for various applications.


• "Roller rocker systems for the UCE are upcoming.


• "We have the GP head conversion with billet rocker boxes and alloy roller rockers with high ratio for the Iron Barrel models, which include specialized high port design with flow far exceeding anything else from anywhere else in the world.... We can do it on the Big Head too."

Enough, already? No.

He goes on to advise that Ace plans to offer options for Aniket Vardhan's V-twin Royal Enfield Musket including "fire breathing" modifications and even custom frames if needed.

More recent postings from Lyons have considered the possibility of developing four-valve heads for the Bullet and even water cooling.

Will all this really happen? Lyons' attitude is that it just depends on demand. Are there really enough people out there who want to spend the money it will take to go really fast on a machine that leaves the factory as a beloved but notorious slow poke?

"Our custom modifications are limited only by your imagination and budget. All you need to do is inquire," Lyons wrote.

As for the Ace Fireball 535:

"It's available right now, it has years of solid performance record behind it, and has over 30 running examples on the roads of five continents of the world right now; it's almost universally loved, has shown longevity for over 40k miles in some bikes so far, gets great fuel economy, and does the Ton and cruises at 75-80 mph. Everything has been worked out to 'the T.' Top to bottom."

The prices I've seen quoted for Fireball items seem reasonable. They don't include your labor to take apart the motor and install them. They also don't include the cost of perfecting the bottom end of your motor, without which  it will not endure the power the Fireball parts generate at the top end.

What is included is the personal touch. Here is Lyons' response to my request for a price list:

"The best way top handle the scope of available work and pricing is to ask readers to inquire about a quote for your needs. We have so many things which we can do that are not part of the kits, even as minimal as a valve job on their head that would improve performance. We could give the best answer if the customer inquires and we can tailor something exactly to his need."

What's that picture of at top? Lyons explains:

"Super Fireball Big Head showing the high-ratio roller rocker package on our custom valve spring stack with beehive springs, titanium retainers, custom big valves, in a Big Head which has our raised port with flow-matched manifold and all the Fireball features, in situ on a Bullet in the UK. This... has all our proprietary features which  are not available anywhere else in the world. This has the highest valve lift, highest port flow of any Bullet ever on record, and as far as we know, it is the most advanced and highest performance Bullet head in the world today, and in history. Made to be competitive with Manx and G50 racing singles on the track or street."

Royal Enfield Continental GT has classic look

Royal Enfield Continental GTs of 2014 and 1965 share a moment at Brooklands.

The look of the new Royal Enfield Continental GT cafe racer was clearly inspired by the original Contiental GT, built by Royal Enfield in 1965, in Redditch, England.

There was British input into that decision, from Mark Wells of Xenophya Design, widely credited with design of the new Continental GT. There's even a short YouTube video of him explaining how he shaped the new bike's fuel tank.

But there's more to the visual similarity than that, so I was interested to read "Royal Enfield: The Next Chapter," by author Steve Wilson in Classic Bike UK.

It's an earlier article, written before the new Continental GT was revealed. Wilson quotes Xenophya's Wells discussing the appearance of the UCE motor that powers all Royal Enfields.

Turns out that the 250cc Crusader motor used in the original Continental GT back in the day was the model for the look of today's Royal Enfield power plant. Here's Wells talking:

The unit constructed motor of 2014, left, and 1965, right.

"The new engine had to be less Japanese-looking. We bought an old G2 Bullet, and since the new one was a unit, I got old 250 unit Crusader cases from Hitchcocks, and we introduced the Crusader's winged motif; I replicated the points cover with it for the starter motor."

It's an interesting example of how the world turns, isn't it?

Wilson's article was pointed out to me by reader Beau Lethbridge, who found something else interesting in it:. Wilson hints that there would soon be a parallel twin Royal Enfield motor from the factory in India — with two side-by-side 350cc cylinders, like the Royal Enfield Constellation made in the 1960s in Redditch,

"Sources very close to the factory confirmed to me a long-held Royal Enfield rumor. A twin-cylinder model, which has been under development for several years, is nearing finalization and the firm hope to release it before the end of 2015."

That hint is now two years old — and it was "a long-held Royal Enfield rumor" even then. If it's true, that "2015" time table has probably slipped a little.