Royal Enfield to go flat track racing in the US
The Royal Enfield 650 twin is to take up a place on the grid in the America Flat Track series entry
ROYAL ENFIELD is to take up a place on the grid with its Interceptor 650cc powered flat track racer!
The machine has been built in collaboration with ace frame builder Harris performance, a company that Royal Enfield’s owner, Eicher Motors brought a few years back. Harris is also the company that was behind the building of the Interceptor 650 race bikes that romped to victory in the café racer class at the Bike Shed Festival last year. Unlike that machine though, this is meant to go as fast as possible in an anti-clockwise direction as it will compete in the Production Twins class.
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The new machine is going to be based on the bike you can see here, which was originally built as a design exercise between Royal Enfield and Harris Performance to push the boundaries of R+E’s machines.
The bike’s frame is classy looking brazed steel tube, and the steering head angle can be adjusted with steel sleeves to help dial in the handling dynamics the rider needs. The yokes can also be adjusted 4mm backward, with the swingarm pivot can be adjusted vertically by 5mm.
All the other chassis parts have been developed specifically for this bike by Harris, including the front forks, which are 41mm telescopic items featuring Öhlins internals.
The forks are matched to an Öhlins TTX rear shock, and the 19-inch wheels are RSD Traction race rims—CNC machined from forged billet aluminum. The tyres are Dunlop DTRs, and there’s obviously no front brake – although the rear wheel is hooked up to a twin-pot stopper.
Royal Enfield’s rider for the series, Johnny Lewis, is suitably happy with the team’s progress so far. He said:
“The Royal Enfield FT concept has already shown promise so far. We’re already seeing great results from the motorcycle. The team at Harris Performance and Royal Enfield have done a great job with the chassis, and we’ve already begun working through small adjustments based on my feedback. With the way the schedule is shaping out with small tracks, we could surprise many people.”
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!
