Modern motorcycles offer reliability and performance, but usually at the cost of simplicity—and that makes them harder to customize. Which is exactly why bikes like the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 are making a splash in the custom scene.
“It’s simple, clean and not overly complicated with a mass of electronics,” says the man behind Partridge Design in the UK, Anthony Partridge. “Bikes like these are the best to work with, as I get to focus on my craft, without having to plan around rehoming complex sensors and wiring looms.”
Anthony’s wanted to tear into one of Royal Enfield’s new twins for a while, but the timing has never quite worked out. So when he needed a project for the second season of Goblin Works Garage, the Discovery Channel TV series he co-hosts, he put in a call to Royal Enfield. Their head of industrial design, Adrian Sellers, came onboard with a simple brief: “I want you to build a thoroughbred racer.”
“Those words were music to my ears,” says Anthony, “because at the heart of everything I build is performance. That’s where my passion lies. I love to race and ride hard whether on road or track, so naturally all my builds are performance-based.”
“In my opinion if you don’t make a bike lighter, faster and more fun to ride (than the manufacturer originally built it), then there is no sense! Sticking to my performance ethos, I wanted to go balls-to-the-wall and turn this lil’ GT 650 into a bona fide race bike.”
Anthony had a laundry list of go-fast parts planned for the Continental GT 650, but he wanted it to look flash too. So he stripped the bike down and asked his friend Paul of Ziggymoto fame to 3D scan it. From there, the pair designed a body kit that could fit any stock Continental GT.
“I wanted to show all the folks watching the TV show that they can customize their own bike with my body kit,” he explains, “and transform the look fairly quick and easy. I also wanted to make this a commercially viable project, hoping to claw back a little of my investment and also provide Royal Enfield with even more return on theirs.”
Mark Angus at 3Dcnc then machined a pair of bucks for molds, which Anthony modded slightly before sending off to his go-to mold maker. The final parts were shaped in carbon fiber, while GIA Engineering built a custom fuel cell, adorned with a Racefit cap.
GIA also fabricated a burly monoshock swingarm for the bike, which is hooked up to an Öhlins TTX GP Pro shock. There’s a set of Öhlins FGR300 forks up front, held in place by custom triples from FastTec, who also supplied a set of GP-style quick-release axles. The wheels are carbon fiber units from BST, and the tires are Dunlop Sportmax GPAs.
For the brakes, Anthony has combined nickel-plated Brembo race calipers with Galfer discs, Venhill lines and a Magura front master cylinder. And he installed a Magura hydraulic clutch system too, just for kicks.
The work at the back included modifying and bracing the subframe. And since the rear wheel’s now wider than stock, the front sprocket needed an offset—which in turn meant that the frame had to be notched to make room.
The GT 650 was also treated to a 750 cc big bore kit from S&S Cycle, along with a handmade exhaust system, foam filters and a Power Commander.
Before Anthony could finish the project, he had to fly to Albania to shoot another episode of Goblin Works Garage. So he left the bike with Chris at Hard Knocks Speed Shop in Oxford to handle the remaining work.
Finishing touches include a handful of Motogadget electronic bits, Rizoma clip-ons, rearsets, mirrors and turn signals, and a Highsider LED headlight. There’s also an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery, and switch clusters from Reese Racing.
For its final shakedown, Anthony pitted his hopped-up Royal Enfield against a stock version on a sketchy, icy track—with the GT 650’s designer in attendance. “The difference was night and day,” he says. “The custom bike feels like a proper race bike: lighter, faster, way more agile than stock and heaps of fun to ride.”
“So it’s safe to say I managed to fulfill the brief… I stuck to my ethos and built a bike I really like!”
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