RE Continental GT

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyr-BUalWxw

I believe we should do everything we can to encourage manufacturers to continue developing such beautiful retro machines. Perhaps by changing the concept of ‘historic racing’ to ‘classic racing’ which could include this type of machine? I am disappointed that the capacity is 535cc, I’d have preferred to see it at about 499cc as applied to the old ‘senior’ race machines. My own race bike is a Mk3Seeley/commando 850, and I’d love to race it against the Paul Smart Ducati retro. I believe machines with the old two valve air cooled four stroke technology are still worth developing. If I was building a 500cc classic racer , I would love it to look like this Royal Enfield. I get the adrenalin rush simply by looking at it. Well done, India ! At least somebody in motorcycle manufacturing has got some smarts.
 
we have a RE dealer here now in Cebu City, I checked out the Continental GT and the quality is completely different compared to all the other available models, they must be built at a different factory,
the quality and standard of finish is right on up there , same cant be said for the other RE models, Yep I'd love one but I dont have the time to ride my other project as it is.
 
Royal Enfield built a new factory due to increased demand.
The old one is still used also (iirc - magazine article)

I personally like the older engines compared to the late FI version.
Super tough,reliable and a hoot to ride when kept on the boil.

RE Continental GT


Boil being more like a high simmer,you still had no problem dragging the pegs in the sealed high passes.
Some things are best left as they are to enjoy the experience.
Less really is more,there is probably no other modern bike even close to the RE ballpark,only someone who has spent some time on one will know.
You might want to ride one first as far as putting one anywhere near a race track. :lol:
Maybe they will start a class for stock Morris Minors also.
 
I find it really exciting that the Indians actually discovered how to build a café racer. It actually looks the way it should. I think there have only been two other retros which were close to correct - the Ducati Paul Smart Replica, and the Kawasaki ELR1000 Eddie Lawson Replica. I would like to own any of them.
 
£5200 when sold in UK and £2000 when sold in India, even taking into account 20% VAT that is some rip off.

And these Ace Bar experts need clearing out, 110 mph on a 250 Continental GT in the sixties ?
 
I saw one a few months ago at BVM in Stroud and the finish was truly awful. The frame looked like an old british frame that had rusted badly and then had a bad stove enamel job. I hope that it wasn't representative and it sells.
 
FastFred said:
I saw one a few months ago at BVM in Stroud and the finish was truly awful. The frame looked like an old british frame that had rusted badly and then had a bad stove enamel job. I hope that it wasn't representative and it sells.

I think there have been complaints from their few buyers.
 
acotrel said:
I find it really exciting that the Indians actually discovered how to build a café racer. It actually looks the way it should. I think there have only been two other retros which were close to correct -

Apparently they commissioned some Brits to design and build the prototype.
Magazine articles on it compare it to the Triumph and Guzzi V7 retros.
And notes the price advantage.

As someone with an old rigid Enfield classic thumper, this looks a gazillion light years ahead of it.
Hmmm.
Wonder if I could just bolt my engine/gearbox into a similar type frame. And paint it bright red.
Hmmm.
 
Rohan, Two questions :
How would you feel if someone bought your beautiful genuine old Enfield and built a classic racer out of it ?
How would you feel if someone bought an new RE Continental GT and put number plates on it and went classic racing ?
You got freaky when I suggested that a 30s street Guzzi could be made to resemble a racer, and you were right to be like that. Classic racing doesn't achieve much except providing fun, and destroying a lot of valuable old bikes which should rightly be restored.
Another question:
Where are the bikes to come from to sustain classic racing ?
In the end, fifty years from now young guys will never experience the joy of riding REAL motorcycles. Years ago I rode the real deal 1961 500cc Manx - unmodified. I found out why they were loved so much. I'm eternally grateful to the owner for allowing me to ride it. In 2064 where will anyone find an authentic and original 50s road racer to test ride. Even now they have all been 'improved'.
The RE Continental GT has no real value - thus it is worth racing and developing.

I suggest that people like yourself should actually pay owners of genuine and original 50s racing machines to give them a ride. The purpose would be to simply to gain the experience of what they were really like. You can read whatever you like, and ride bikes like your featherbed Inter - you get no idea of the reality. I raced Tritons for years believing they were good things - unmodified manxes are infinitely better. I'm certain that on a big circuit over a long distance nobody on a 650cc Triton would ever beat me on a good 500cc Manx.
 
"I'm certain that on a big circuit over a long distance nobody on a 650cc Triton would ever beat me on a good 500cc Manx."

IYHO! :shock: :lol:
 
Alan, If someone wants to pay me $$ for my Enfield, they are welcome to it. !!
With all iron engine, 6" front brake and little/no damping in the front end, it would take some serious upgrading to make it competitive with a B33, let alone a manx !
It makes a nice old road iron though, if you are not in a hurry and travel with other similar old bikes.
Enfields made thousands of them, and Guzzi made only hundreds of whatever we discussed before, so its not quite the same thing.
Enfields in the 1930s made some 3 valve and 4 valve and all-alloy motors, now they were supposed to be fast.
Not to mention the Fury of the 1960s, which in factory tune could see off a goldie scrambler (but are somewhat rare).

Unless this GT was built with competition in mind, I'd imagine that it likewise would need some serious upgrading.
Road bike engines rarely make good race motors, without some serious sessions of breaking things and then making them stronger along the way.
Thats what distinguishes race bikes from road bikes.
Norton twins had been flogged around tracks for nigh on 25 years before your Commando engine was born, so the weaknesses had almost been sorted out !

It was mentioned too on another thread here previously that a 650SS Norton would do a Manx on a short circuit.
Several folk mentioned manx owners that tried the new model when it appeared, and reported/confirmed this.
May be a different matter on a long track where the manx could really get into its stride, but 650cc against 500cc is a fair old mismatch to begin with.
And the 650SS with full fairing was campaigned by Dunstalls and several other entrants, in some of the big races of the 1960s...
 
Rohan, If you look at your Enfield, you might not actually recognize what it is and try to make it better. I once had a WD 500cc Indian - a most uninspiring bike performance wise, however a beautiful design and very well engineered. In those days we were all into performance, and I graduated to hot 650cc Triumphs which made the Indian look stupid as far as performance went. These days we have guys racing old Indians fitted with 5 speed Triumph gear boxes and Joe Hunt magnetos. They still don't perform, and I wonder at the guys doing that. In full original road trim they are a really beautiful bike and better than any Harley ever was. The old bikes have intrinsic value - better restored than raced.
I've ridden what is probably the best 650cc Triton, a really great bike - however a manx is much better when push comes to shove. I raced my 500cc short stroke Triton against that 650 for 12 years and having ridden that good 1961 manx, I know I could beat it on a tight circuit over a long distance with the manx. The manx was slower in a straight line than my 500cc Triumph, however I lapped faster on the manx, on a power circuit. On a tight circuit it would be brilliant, and you would be able to sustain the pace.
The thing about the RE Continental GT is that as a classic racer most of the build has been done. It needs the 8 inch Enfield TLS brake, clubman bars, non-reservoir rear shocks, a carburetor and number plates. And you are there with a really good entry level bike for $9000. What else can you build for that money with so little effort ? A lot of things in motorcycle sport depend on 'critical mass' for viability. Racing the bike could really help the Indians succeed and help the rest of us as well, especially if the bike actually developed into something really good..
I really get irritated at the way some really good old road bikes get cut up to make non-competitive racers. It might make the owners happy, however I think they'd be better off buying MX bikes and going paddock bashing. It is just as bloody stupid.
 
Same sort of old garbage. Really beautiful - does it have a price ? I really believe classic racing should go this way - not for 'historic championships', just for an easy class for the average punter to get into and learn the craft. We don't seem to have that these days. I hate the thought of chopping up good old bikes just to stagger around a race circuit, not achieving very much. I also believe that using a genuine manx, goldie, 7R or G50 for anything other than a Lansdowne Series or Goodwood is sacrilege - like getting an Egyptian mummy pregnant.
 
Some nice Egli frames there Matty.
Now to put some race winning engines in them - a KTM perhaps ? - and have a really sporty class.
Wonder how they'd go against a Moto3...., and cost wise....
 
Rohan, The problem is the black and white mentality of many people. If what you are proposing is constructor's class classic racing with limited rules based mainly on technology and capacity differences, I am all for it. However if your suggestion involves historic or country of origin confines - forget it. I would love to race a bike such as Matty has put up, however the 'historic' guys would go ape. The BEARS guys would find something wrong with it or include you in races against the Desmosedici. You would find people trying to run 'one make' classes. Every time we try to start a new concept for race classes, idiots immediately think about what should be excluded, instead of how we can get full race grids.

That Egli Enfield is clearly a classic however like a lot of excellent bikes there is really no good race class for it, and that is due to the entrenched mindsets. When you look at what is available in frames and engines these days, we exclude a lot of very good opportunities to play and have fun. A good KTM motor in that Egli frame could be an excellent ride, however we will never find out.
 
Matt Spencer said:
RE Continental GT

EGLI ENFIELD SUPER BULLET 624 . 1995 .
RE Continental GT


EGLI ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR 750
RE Continental GT


Elgin has the royal enfold concession for Switzerland I think.

Looks great, but what a waste of a great frame.

Mind you the 700 engine is a very handsome motor and thast suits the frame nicely.
 
One thing which I never saw, however really loved was the endurance racing of the 70s. Have you seen the bikes that came out of that ? A friend has a Moto Martin frame with a Z900 engine - a most inspiring bike. It looks like a 70s GP bike, not the usual superbike style and it handles superbly. It gets into historic racing, however many of those bikes would be excluded because of the trick frames.
 
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