ROYAL ENFIELD has unveiled the custom motorcycle built in collaboration with Anthony Partridge of Goblin Works Garage fame, the series seen on the channel Discovery Channel. It’s an absolute carbon-dream.
The custom Continental GT 650 started out life as a fairly standard motorcycle, but given the brief of creating a “thoroughbred racer” the Royal Enfield Twin turned out to be the perfect foundation for Anthony and the team to create something incredible.
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Did you know that Royal Enfield has its own department for Custom Builds?
They seek to collaborate with the best bike-builders in the world to bring a new dimension to their various two-wheeled motorcycles. In this case, Anthony Partridge wanted to “go balls-to-the-wall and turn this lil’ 650 into a bonafide race bike” The resulting carbon Royal Enfield Continental GT is definitely up there as one of our favourites.
By all accounts, it seems like the 650cc Twin from Royal Enfield is an extremely attractive option for a bike builder to use as the foundation for a custom build. A mass of electronics on any bike build can be enough to trip up even the most experienced bike-builder, literally, but the straightforward nature of the Continental GT means less time spent rehoming complex sensors and wiring looms, and more time crafting the ultimate dream. You'll see tonnes of Continental GT customs out there for this exact reason, plus the motor is pretty tasty.
What have we got on this Continental GT racer, then?
It’s made up of quite an extravagant selection of parts.
First off, all of the stock parts (bar the frame, motor and any necessary wiring and electronics). They were removed to strip off as much weight off the bike as possible, enhancing the motorcycle’s performance with the track in mind.
Ohlins’ FGR300 front forks and a TTX GP pro rear mono-shock were chosen for the suspension. BST provided the superlight full Carbon Rapid Tek race wheels and Dunlop EU wrapped the rims in the sticky Sportmax GPA pro soft compound tires, as well as supplying a set of KR4541 race slicks and rain tires for the track.
Galfer floating wave grooved CRW brake discs were fitted at the front and rear. Brembo nickel-plated GP4-RX billet race callipers were installed at the front of the bike, and a Brembo racing CNC P4 34 Nickel super sport rear axial billet calliper was built-in at the back.
Anthony chose to run Magura’s Hymec hydro clutch conversion to keep it both visually symmetrical and for a soft, more consistent ride. The front end was removed and the stock Royal Enfield triple trees, new forks, callipers, and discs were sent to FastTek to machine create a set of new lightweight billet triple trees to house the new front end and incorporate a pocket for a Motogadget digital speedo.
With the help of Gavin from GIA Engineering, a huge 190 rear tyre was fitted and a 5.5-inch wheel in a frame built to take a 130 tyre. Gavin created the lightweight swingarm - including a rear brake hanger, a new rear axle and the progressive linkage. An ally fuel cell was created to replace the OEM gas tank, fitting neatly under the carbon bodywork and welded in the ally flange needed to bolt in the endurance style titanium fuel filler provided by Racefit UK.
As well as chopping the rear subframe and welding in new rear downtube supports and a brace to take the bike from twin to mono-shock, the team notched the frame on the left side 20mm to accommodate the custom front drive sprocket that was lengthened to 12mm to move the chain out for the width of the rear wheel. Chris at Hardknocks Speedshop in Oxford secured the Motogadget electronics and Rizoma lights, as well as clip-ons, rear sets and the final bits mocked up.
You’ll be glad to know the end result is exactly as they hoped, Anthony did a few laps on a stock Continental GT, and then gave the custom a whirl around the track, he said:
“...the difference was night and day. The custom bike feels like a proper race bike - lighter, faster, way more agile than stock and heaps of fun to ride.”
Perhaps this has inspired you to get your own Continental GT, get your custom hat on, and see what happens… If you do, get in touch - we’d love to see what custom beauties you can come up with.
You can watch the full build on catch-up, Discovery Channel - Goblin Works Garage.
