Royal Enfield, has been the spoilt choice for many custom bikers and builders around the globe. They are mental, and they are a gold find for its simplistic construction and the liberty for customization. You can chop it up and put them together, and they will carry a whole new charm.
With the soul of ’go anywhere, do anything’ taking up a new meaning every time it goes under the axe, folks from KR Customs in Chennai (the same place Enfields are made these days) have couped up a retro bobber out of the bullet maker’s best-selling model, the Classic 500.
Calling it a “pure Bonneville hot rod” Triumph captured the American way of the ‘30s when they launched the brutally beautiful factory custom Bonneville Bobber back in 2016. The motorcycling world loved it for its authentic retro looks, and it soon became the best selling model for the legendary British marquee.
Taking cues from this, KR Customs, the brainchild of one Krish Rajan, hatched up a plan to convert their donor bike to an authentic bobber that beamed retro but still had all modern mechanicals like the motor, fuel-injection, the original forks, and a few other bits. ]
It is a Classic 500 motorcycle that has been stripped apart, chiseled, painted, replaced and put back together to form a Bobber silhouette, and it looks gorgeous for one. The frame, to begin with, was altered with extended swing arm and to accommodate a monoshock unit that sits underneath the seat. Speaking of which is a new cantilevered leaf spring mounted solo seat designed in-house.
At the front, a custom three-point pivot system gets tethered to the ‘dual monoshock’ units. The front headlamp unit was switched with the Bates-style lights, and the wheel arches adorn new mudguards. At the rear gets a minimalistic tail lamp sits on the mudguard.
The minimalistic approach works beautifully at the dashboard too with the handlebar seeing traditional drag ones fitted with Biltwell Inc grips and levers. Switches are now a simple push-button setup in billet aluminum machined housings, and the simplistic speedo unit keeps it all raw. A Honda CX500 triple tree setup has been incorporated for its small notch making it easier for the speedo to fit in.
After replicating multiple tank units, Krish found it fitting to make use of a standard Triumph Street Twin unit which was then modded at the bottom to accommodate Enfield's fuel injection pumps. This made the tank sit a couple of inches higher than usual giving a better stance to the build. Don’t miss out on the custom rear view mirrors bolted to the bar ends. It seems functional too.
There isn’t much change with the mechanicals of the motorcycle, and it still runs on the 499cc Single Cylinder, 4 stroke, Twinspark, Air cooled power mill that can produce a healthy 28 hp power and 31 lb-ft max torque. However, the custom open exhaust piping very much resembles the slash-cut mufflers of the Triumph's.
Get all your attention now to the vintage Firestone rubber that has been laced up with an 18” front and 16” rear combination. Notice that KR Customs have made use of drum brake setup at the front, replacing the disc setup to enhance the old-school aura, and honestly, it is working. The disc brake is now at the rear instead modded to work with the sprockets.
Finishing off the project, they went ahead with choosing a simple black and white paintjob with coachlines on the tank. Black fenders, exhaust and wheels look stunning and the engine castings gets blasted and polished.
Only if I could throw a leg around and ride this element of craftsmanship that has charisma written all over it. Everything just compliments everything else. All in all, it is a well put together package maintaining a classy and simple design with fantastic detailing.
If you don’t want to ride this in a heavy downpour-not that we’ll blame you-you can grab a cup of coffee, put your legs up only to stare at it, and you’d be no less disappointed.