India's Royal Enfield made some noise and more at the eighth edition of Wheels and Waves 2019, at Biarritz, France. Wheels and Waves is one of Europe’s iconic motorcycling festivals, all centred on classic as well as custom motorcycles, surfing, skateboarding and the culture that goes with it – music, visual arts and other forms of expression.
With this year's theme of Wheels and Waves being ‘Back to roots’, Royal Enfield took the covers off the new BAAK Motocyclette build and Nought Tea GT, along with five other custom motorcycles. The Chennai-based motorcycle manufacturer's team also participated in riding events. The 'Two Smoking Barrels' nitrous-boosted drag-racer showcased the capability of the 650 Twin motor in the Punks Peak Rally, and a Himalayan took to the dirt for the Swank Rally event.
The custom builds presented at Wheels and Waves 2019 reinstated that Royal Enfield motorcycles are the perfect canvas for customisation. Their pure and simple construction making them ideally suited for expressing creativity through unique expression of the best custom builders across the globe. This year’s customs are as follows.
BAAK Motocyclette: Built jointly by Royal Enfield and BAAK Motocyclette, this all-new build takes the Interceptor 650 in an absolutely new direction, displaying craftsmanship and attention to detail. The build harks back to the past, with a 'bathtub'-style rear fender concept, but expresses it through uniquely modern proportions. This blending of old and new to create timeless builds is a hallmark of BAAK’s style, and is a perfect match to the back-to-basics purity of the Interceptor 650.
Nought Tea GT: The Nought Tea GT is based on the Continental GT 650, developed in collaboration with the chassis experts at Harris Performance. The Nought Tea GT takes the stock Continental GT 650 and prepares it for the racetrack. Custom lightweight parts and Ohlins suspension highlight the serious potential of the build. What also stands out is a graphic to represent the flow of air over the motorcycle.
Two Smoking Barrels: Using the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 as its base, the stripped-down, lean-and-mean drag racer has been developed in collaboration with Sinroja Motorcycles. Instead of trying to add more power, Sinroja decided to strip as much weight as possible, getting the build down to only 150kg. Designed to race against the high-horsepower competition, RE says Two Smoking Barrels is a real David in a field of Goliaths.
MJR Roach: Designed to survive all apocalyptic situations, is MJR Roach is inspired by video games. The MJR Roach takes the base Himalayan adventure bike and makes it the most it could be, with enormous chunky tires, a formed aluminium, single-sided swingarm, and – surprise of surprises – a Garret turbocharger! This one's for the fast and the furious.
All carbon body and rims are complemented by top-spec Ohlins suspension and custom-made chassis parts. The signature Rough Crafts black-and-gold treatment ensures that this endurance racer-inspired build is fit for a king. At least that's what Royal Enfield wants us to believe.
Malle Rally Royale: Showcasing the long-distance potential of the Interceptor 650, these two dedicated Rally builds were designed specifically for completing the Great Malle Rally in 2019, an end-to-end ride the length of the UK.
One lucky winner, from a competition run in collaboration with Iron and Air magazine, will get to ride the black #1 bike, while the red #2 version will be the dedicated ride support vehicle. Both builds have long travel suspension, custom-made Harris chassis parts and a host of other adjustments to make them the ultimate rally Interceptors.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
