Stunt legend Lee Bowers switches to Royal Enfield power in 2022
Europe's most famous stunt motorcycle performer is switching to Royal Enfield power, with custom-built Himalayan adventure bikes and 650s
ROYAL Enfield has teamed up with globally renowned stunt motorcycle rider Lee Bowers for 2022 and beyond. The move sees Lee leaving the world of sports and naked bikes, with a fleet of custom-built Himalayan adventure bikes and 650cc parallel twins at his disposal.
Having been stunt riding professionally for over 15 years, including roles in Top Gear, James Bond, Mission Impossible, and Kingsman. And that is on top of the multiple Guinness world records and countless UK & European Freestyle championship titles.
The shift over to Royal Enfield will see Bowers riding smaller capacity twin and single-cylinder engines. To accomplish this, Bowers worked closely with Royal Enfield’s UK Technology Centre and at the team at Harris Performance. Between them, they developed a fleet of one-of-a-kind custom stunt bikes, in the form of full-customised Royal Enfield Himalayan adventure bikes and Interceptor 650s.
Speaking of the news, Bowers said:
“The team at Royal Enfield proposed a challenge I simply couldn’t resist - to collectively design and build a stunt bike the likes of which had never been seen before! Royal Enfield brings prestige and unrivaled British heritage to the project - along with the most important aspect - an awesome selection of base bikes. Harris Performance (with whom I’ve had a fantastic working relationship with since 2007) offers a wealth of expert fabrication knowledge and I have my unique experience in specialist stunt skills - I knew instantly that this would be an amazing collaboration!”
The showpiece of the fleet is the Freestyle Stunt Bike - taking the Interceptor 650 as the donor motorcycle, Harris Performance set to work turning the Interceptor 650 into an extraordinary stunting machine capable of performing Lee’s most technically and physically demanding tricks.
The list of modifications as follows:
● Royal Enfield modified seat, side panels and front mudguard
● Royal Enfield modified, reinforced fuel tank to Lee Bowers specification
● Harris bespoke clear coated frame constructed using T45 tube with fully bronze welded joints
● Harris bespoke billet aluminium front engine cradle
● Harris bespoke seat subframe, crash cages, footrest assemblies, and oversize stunt pegs
● Harris bespoke full stainless steel race exhaust system
● Harris bespoke billet triple clamp assembly and bar risers
● Harris bespoke steel underbraced swingarm running 2:1 Harris linkage system
● Harris bespoke billet chain adjustment system
● Harris bespoke aluminium front mudguard mount and Harris flush fitting fuel cap
● Ohlins USD front forks, stanchions reinforced at base & Ohlins TTX rear shock absorber
● GPR rotary steering damper
● Dymag forged wheels running Harris block type cush drive assembly
● Maxxis 180 section rear tyre & Michelin 120 section front tyre
● Brembo 320mm twin front discs, 260mm rear & Brembo Stylema twin radial front calipers
● Brembo Stylema twin radial rear calipers mounted on a bespoke Harris caliper carrier
● Brembo 19x18 front master cylinder
● Bar mounted 19x20 rear master cylinder linked through a foot-operated twin feed rear
● HEL braided brake lines
● Renthal Carmichael high handlebars & Renthal grips
● Renthal 520 sprockets & Tsubaki chain
● RSC easy pull clutch lever
● Setrab 13 row oil coolers & Spal cooling fans
● Super B lithium battery & KOSO EX-03 digital dash
The second motorcycle in the stunt fleet took the Continental GT as the base and then was turned into a specialised Drift Bike -designed for high-speed stunting and sideways drifting. The intention with the Drift Bike was to keep as many of the stock specification parts on the Continental GT as possible (again including the 650cc Twin engine) in order to retain as much of the aesthetic integrity of the base model as possible - however Harris Performance made certain modifications as suggested by Lee to maximise the ergonomics of the machine and increase its stunting capabilities; including a customised reinforced fuel tank, a Harris bespoke rear brake carrier, and chain adjustment system, S&S race 2 into 1 exhaust system, Harris bespoke crash cages, a wider Maxxis 180 rear wheel, RSC easy pull clutch, Renthal 520 sprockets, and a Harris bespoke aluminium swingarm extended 200mm over stock length.
Adrian Sellers from Royal Enfield said:
“Royal Enfield has a very strong custom culture - this is something that we’re really proud of and as a brand, we’re constantly looking to develop further. When we talk about customization, we aren't just talking about aesthetics, but also of pushing the function of our motorcycles to the limit. The DTRA Championship winning Twins FT flat track racer is a beautiful example of this, and in fact, it was this very motorcycle that Lee saw while visiting Harris Performance and instigated the first conversation about making a ground-up stunt bike from a Royal Enfield Twin 650.
These stunt bikes are another chapter in this story, and a challenge we have relished taking up. We’re delighted with the way they have come out, blending functional modifications with incredible craftsmanship as only Harris Performance can. They have worked their magic once again and we’re all very excited to begin this next adventure, and see how far we can push new boundaries together for the brand.”
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Review 2021
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
