The adjectives associated with Royal Enfields usually comprise classic, handsome, affordable, and simple but almost never “fast”. And this is exactly what Parisian custom shop Bad Winners wanted to change by building a stupid-fast drag racer based on the Royal Enfield’s flagship product, the Continental GT 650.

The result? Well, a manic non-road-legal Conti GT 650 racer, with loads of performance mods including NOS!

Custom Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Drag Race Bike By Bad Winners

Dubbed the ‘Pegasus l’Étalon Noir’ (Pegasus The Black Stallion), the project was initially signed off by Royal Enfield Europe in 2019. It almost went to the bin, thanks to the pandemic in 2020, only to get restarted one year later.

With the brief history lesson aside, let’s get to the bike. As we mentioned above, the basis of the project was a Continental GT 650 but none of it is stock anymore. Gone is the likable old-school flavored bodywork and in comes, a 3D printed fuel tank cover, front number board, and tail section made entirely from carbon fiber. Plus, to keep the weight in check, the redesigned fuel tank only holds half a gallon, enough juice for just a single pass.

Like the bodywork, the chassis has gone under the knife too. For starters, Bad Winners chopped the subframe and fabricated a new mount for the Öhlins mono-shock replacing the OEM dual shock setup. Post this, the team stretched the swingarm, bracing it with steel sections and moving the pegs as far back as possible. Topping all this is a super-low clip-on handlebar and 17-inch Dymag wheels wrapped in Pirelli Supercorsa tires.

With weight reduction and the chassis work sorted, it was time to tackle the bike's Achille's heel: Performance. Bad Winners equipped the stock 648cc engine with a big bore kit from S&S Cycles, upping the cubic capacity to 865cc.

Meanwhile, reworked cylinder heads, upgraded camshaft, reinforced clutch, and a two-into-one freeflow exhaust take the performance to new heights. If all this doesn’t cut it for you, the crown jewel is the insane Nitrous System which makes this more than capable of starring in the Fast & Furious movies (enough poke to give the cars a run for their money).

For the final touches, the bike gets a custom Renthal handlebar and grips, as well as a custom braking setup and levers from Beringer. Additionally, Bad Winners has left the exposed carbon fiber as is, something enthusiasts will surely drool over.

Can You Buy It?

This part remains unclear for now as the bikemaker hasn’t shed a light on it. However, if you're put up in the UK, be sure to check out the Pegasus in the flesh at the Bike Shed London show, and send us some close-ups, will you?

How would you rate this custom Continental GT 650 from one to ten? We’d give it an eleven!