– Modified Continental GT

It is pointless to mention the affinity Royal Enfield owners share with the aftermarket industry. By now our readers might be well acquainted with why Royal Enfield bikes are so popular with aftermarket custom shops, thanks to countless examples of modifications.

The latest example is a custom bike built for the drag strip by a Parisian workshop in France. This outlet is run by its founder Walid Ben Lamine and is known for some exquisite customisation works over the years. This project has been officially commissioned by Royal Enfield.

Royal Enfield Pegasus 650cc – Styling Highlights

Based on Continental GT 650, this custom bike has been rechristened as “Pegasus l’Etalon Noir” which translates to ‘Pegasus the Black Stallion’. The images are a testimony that serious updates have taken place on the donor bike to give it this avatar. The bike sits much lower than the stock cafe racer and is draped in handmade black-coloured carbon fibre clothing.

The carbon fibre body panels including front registration plate, tank cover and tail section have been derived from 3D-printed prototype parts. In addition, fuel is stored in a custom-made aluminium reservoir mounted under the actual fuel tank. The custom handlebar has been positioned as low as halfway down the front fork. The cockpit has been stripped to bare essentials including a Koso speedo and Beringer levers.

Updated Hardware

On closer look, one notices the angular edges on its panels that reflect the sole objective of building this motorcycle- to go fast. Since this bike has been specifically built for a drag strip, the aim is to go fast in a straight line and hence the wheelbase has been elongated substantially. To achieve this, the stock swingarm was stretched and braced it with new steel sections laced with chrome.

Other changes to the hardware include a new suspension setup comprising an Öhlins mono-shock at rear replacing the stock twin-shock arrangement. For this, Bad Winners has fabricated a new upper shock mount and subframe. It also gets new footpeg mounts connected with new footpegs. Further, the bike rolls on Dumas UP7X aluminium rims wrapped with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa slicks which provide required traction.

New Heart

Stopping duties are handled by a Beringer single disc and calliper on both front and rear wheels. Major tweaking has been done on its powertrain with a custom-built 865cc twin-cylinder heart with a big bore kit sourced from S&S Cycle in the US. This unit consists of an upgraded camshaft, Carillo connecting rods and a reinforced clutch. Modifications have also been done on the cylinder heads.

The stock airbox has been swapped for a pair of velocity stacks. For an additional boost, a canister of nitrous system from Nitrous Express has been added making it a lethal weapon on the drag strip. However, official output figures from this setup haven’t been revealed.

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