When Royal Enfield released their Continental GT cafe racer last year, they also published this promo clip on YouTube, which drew a bit of skeptimism. Ride a cafe racer a long distance? Yeah, right.
But the made-in-India motorcycle manufacturer decided to prove their machines could handle the long haul last week, when they commemorated the Top to Tip run the original 250 cc Continental machine pulled off back in 1964.
In those days of yore, Royal Enfield took their cafe racer from John O’Groats in the north of Scotland to Lands End, at the southern end of England, in 22 hours, 20 minutes. It’s true, that bike was rumored to have had a little tweaking to pull off that feat, but it was still a great performance.
Last week, Royal Enfield recreated that stunt by taking a few of their new Continental GTs on the same north-south route, raising money for Riders for Health along the way, on the 50th anniversary of the original feat. It’s a neat homage, but also a way to raise some money for a good cause.
For some details of the ride, check out UK adventure riding author Sam Manicom’s website here. The riders even managed a few hot laps at Silverstone Circuit, just like the riders of the original route did.
