India is one of the top motorcycle markets of the world, 1 in 25 Indians are on two wheels and that number is still growing. It is therefore surprising that this is the first custom motorcycle we have featured from India. Rajputana Customs Royal Enfield 500cc Classic named Assault is the feature of the day.
The Jaipur based custom shop Rajputana Custom Motorcycles is igniting the spark of the custom scene in India and has been crafting some serious bikes. There is a reason they say Incredible India, my visit to India in 2004 was one of my best holiday experiences. India is known for it’s population, vast cultural diversity, exotic food, vibrant color, organized chaos, Bollywood, and of course the extreme love of cricket! Motorcycles are also an important part of daily life in India. In the hustle and bustle of that life its hard to imagine having the chance or opportunity to build a custom bike.
We asked RCM owner Vijay to give a brief background on Rajputana Custom Motorcycles “Building bikes here at RCM has always been an eventful learning process. We are pretty much self-taught due to the fact that we weren’t lucky enough to have a generation before us to lend a helping hand or advise us correctly. We have learnt quite a bit about building custom bikes over the last few years and have only begun to scratch the surface as far as the potential for growth is concerned. There is still a whole lot left to learn and implement over the next few decades, which will only add to our aesthetic sense and functional skill in the years to come.
To sum up our build philosophy I feel we are complete ‘newbies’ in this trade who relish steep learning curves and are looking to build 10 odd old school custom bikes a year. As a team we have 4 metal fabricators, 1 machinist, 1 mechanical engineer, 1 shop foreman, a lady who handles the administration, & myself to oversee the whole lot.
Assault was built on a Royal Enfield 500cc Classic for Mr. Kumar Kundan from New Delhi. He came to us looking for a bike, which would be raw, minimal, and subtly painted. It took us 2 months to complete in which time we gave her (Assault) a new set of rims & tyres, KTM Duke front suspension, clip-on handlebars, CNC machined headlights, custom gas tank, extended rear swing-arm, customized the rear frame, rear fender, seats, & added a few details to the gas cap etc.”
This build was not all that complicated as we have previously worked on Royal Enfield 500’s with minimal frame modifications. Machining the CNC headlight and then getting it to mount the KTM fork required a little thought but it was pretty straight forward other than that.
My personal favorite on this custom Royal Enfield 500cc Classic has to be the matte paints, tyres and the bikes lines. I feel all 3 go really well together.
Going forward for the future our plan is to concentrate on the bikes and let the rest take care of itself. We are not too clued up with the business aspect of RCM at this point. We are concentrating all our time and effort on making the bikes more functionally sound and aesthetically appealing. It is a very organic process of evolution which requires a lot of my involvement and we plan on letting it expand at its own pace.
Royal Enfield 500cc Classic specifications:
Bike: Royal Enfield 500cc Classic
Engine: Royal Enfield 500cc
Bars: Custom built in house
Exhaust: In house
Paint: Matte green & matte black
Frame: Extended swing-arm and a few chop/welds at the rear
Front Suspension: KTM Duke
Rear suspension: Stock RE 500
Seat: In House (Brown Leather hand etched design)
Grips: Stock
Throttle: Stock
Wheels: 19×3 Front & 16×3.5 Rear
Tires: MRF 110×18 Front & Avon 5.00-16 Rear
Fuel tank: In House (Capacity 8 Liters)
Oil Tank: Oil is housed within the engine
