Royal Enfield shows off new cafe racer

By
CMG Staff
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With bikes like their new cafe racer coming out, and their new factory, Royal Enfield is gearing up to take on the world.
Here’s Royal Enfield’s new cafe racer, coming in 2013. Its frame, motor, and suspension have been upgraded over the company’s standard offering – it’s not just a set of clip-ons and some bodywork.

Royal Enfield unveiled a new motorcycle at the Long Beach motorcycle show last week, the 2014 Cafe Racer.

The new bike will arrive in North America in the summer of 2013. It’s an interesting push in a growing market – chopper-scorning hipsters are cutting up old Japanese bikes and turning them into mangled, half-finished cafe racers in urban centres all over the world. Now, if you’ve got about $7,300 US, you can simply buy your way into that scene (skinny jeans not included).

The bike has an overbored 535 cc motor that puts out 36 hp, up about 33 per cent from the company’s standard 500 cc motor. The double-cradle frame was designed by UK firm Harris (no relation to our editor, that we know of). The single-disc front brake (by Brembo) has a floating caliper; there’s also a single disc in back. The front forks are larger diameter than the standard Royal Enfield units, and rear shocks are from Ohlins (some say they are Paioli units).

Like any good cafe racer, it has twin instrument pods, clip-on handlebars, and adjustable footpegs.

Will it come to Canada? We don’t see why not …

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12 COMMENTS

  3. Love it, Love it, Love it, just a bit on the pricey side. The US site used to show a conversion kit but it was taken down sometime back, likely to make way for the complete bike. Wonder if she will sound like a typical British one lunger with a reverse mega?

  4. Can’t comment on the motor overbore. Frame, brake and suspension upgrades to contain 36 unleashed horsepower ? Appears to be engineering overkill. Tank and seat I think have always been available as a kit from the factory.
    Looks nice though

  6. $7300 seems a trifle dear for a 36HP single ? Build a Ryca Suzuki Savage, or by an old SR500 or a new Honda 500 twin and get better bang for the buck IMHO…

    • The new Honda doesn’t evoke the same nostalgia. The Ryca might (still doesn’t have the Royal Enfield name, though), but if you’re comparing apples to apples – by the time you buy a brand new Savage and install the kit, I would bet you’re spending quite a bit more than $7,300.

      • So the SR500 is the way to go then?. I happen to have one – flat bars, seat redone by Sargeant’s, put spoked wheels from an XS650 on it, Koni shocks, ZX7 footpegs, K & N air filter, oil cooler, braided brake lines, single-walled header with a Supertrapp. All for under two grand including the price of the bike.

        • How is parts availability for these old beasts? Can most of the important bits still be gotten from Yamaha or is it becoming a matter of turning to the aftermarket to keep it running?

          • Mostly aftermarket or boneyard, although Yamaha did make the 500 and sell it in Europe and Japan well into the 1990s. They still make an SR400 for the home market so you can get on the Interweb and source parts overseas. Pretty easy to get stuff really and there’s several SR500 forums with lots of info.

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