You hear it in business seminars all over the world, you need to move with the times, change to suit an evolving market, bring something new to the table to spark new interest from your customers.
Whilst this may be true for the majority of the time there is one legendary motorcycle the Royal Enfield Bullet, which has been plodding along year after year with little change whilst still maintaining interest from a selective market. The Royal Enfield Bullet has had the longest production run of any motorcycle and has been in continuous production since 1948. It is not surprising we are seeing more Royal Enfield Bullet’s as the base for custom motorcycles. Today’s feature is the creation of British motorcycle fabricator OEM Motorcycles a custom Royal Enfield Classic Bullet 500 AKA ‘Fox’. OEM Motorcycles specialize in the design and creation of handmade motorcycles, parts and attire.
Over to Alec from OEM to tell us all about this build “Introducing the first of our Genus builds ( a build of 5) based around the Royal Enfield classic engine and donor motorcycle. Using our previous build the Pup as inspiration for the styling and general feel for this motorcycle we have attempted to recreate the distinctive bobber/board-tracker mix that really appeals to us, yet retains much more of the original bike.
The Fox has been lowered all round by around 2/3 inches requiring significant machining on the front end to achieve the correct stance and the original rear shocks have been replaced with a set of shorter Hagon ones. The classic nacelle has been kept but the pilot lights turned into indicators as well as the headlight being tinted and peaked. The bars may look like your usual ace bars but these are specifically made, hand made nickel plated ‘Sturney’ bars made to fit the Royal Enfield housing exactly as well as incorporating a slight drop in the bars for a more racier and comfortable riding position.
The brooks saddle has been retained to keep the lines of the bike slim and uncluttered, it compliments perfectly the leather knee-pads and brooks wrapped grips. Well hidden LED indicators shade themselves under the seat which leads down to one of our handmade battery satchels and leather covered electrics box.
Minimal tin ware was key in keeping the looks of the Fox clean, so custom short guards with nickel plated stays was the order of the day as well as a highly modified sportster tank with indented leather panels and our own weld in brass filler caps. We also machined our own finned dissy cover to match the fins on the blacked then polished barrel.
The finish over the entire bike was specified by the customer as he wanted a dark blue color scheme. We found a midnight blue metallic paint and powdercoat and went to work blending in the brown leather, brass and gold highlights to achieve a finish that we think is very period for the Fox’s styling but has a modern element to it also.
Overall we and most importantly the customer were pleased with the results. The Fox handles surprisingly well now we have got the center of gravity further down. She sounds glorious and goes well now she breathes through a new Amal carb and a custom exhaust.
The Fox is the first attempt at trying to use one of our high level builds as a basis for a much more attainable build and we are looking forward to see what peoples thoughts are on her.
This is another build in which we are beginning to build a portfolio of OEM aftermarket parts, available soon in our online emporium which is still being built. It is also an opportunity to showcase some other fine business’ products which you will see displayed in our attire section and again soon in our online shop windows.
This build is also the first in which we can offer a Fox build to customers who would like to convert their own Royal Enfield. We think we could do what we have done to the classic engine to both the Electra x and EFI motorcycles too although maybe at a slightly greater expense. Also in development is a staged kit in which we can offer the looks of the fox in stages, which the end result would look similar to our motorcycle although it could not wear the Fox badge as that is reserved for the 5 builds we make entirely in house”.
The finished Fox is a true head turner, the rider of this Royal Enfield Classic Bullet beauty will have a hard time avoiding all the attention!
