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Motorcycle customisation has grown to greater heights in India with the likes of Rajputana Customs attracting international recognition. They built the world's first custom Harley-Davidson Street 750 and now Royal Enfield has commissioned them to custom build a Continental GT 650. (Source: Bikeexif)
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The result of the build is a fabulous-looking cafe racer with a neat finish and proper attention to detail. Nicknamed 'Vigilante', this Conti 650 has a personality far sportier than its stock form, but it retains the 'Royal' of it through a beautiful grey and gold paint job.
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“When Royal Enfield commissioned us, it was a matter of great pride—and a sense of ‘acceptance at last’,” shop boss Vijay Singh told Bikeexif, adding: “This is the first time we’ve had a chance to build for an Indian manufacturer. And we were given the new GT 650, which hadn’t been released to the public at that point.”
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Vijay and his crew decided that the frame and geometry of the Continental GT 650 were fit for cafe racer build, so they rebuilt the rear subframe and gave it a single-sided trellis swingarm. The team added Showa forks from a Ducati 848 EVO to give it a more aggressive stance and agility.
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Over to the rear, the custom shop replaced the stock suspension of the Continental GT 650 with an Öhlins TTX GP shock. Other mods include 17-inch Marchesini rims and Pirelli Diablo Superbike slick tyres. The brakes have been updated as well with Brembo and it gets K&N air filter, along with a custom GP-style exhaust system.
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Vijay took the bike to the Buddh International Circuit. “We were able to put the bike through its paces on a state of the art track. The slicks, coupled with a mid-range SBK suspension setup, were unbelievably planted—with tons of grip on offer when on the brakes, entering a corner, or barreling out on the gas,” he said.
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