2024 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 ‘Top Gear’
Owner: Royal Enfield
What you’re looking at is the result of a year-long build project for Top Gear Magazine’s global audience. The plan (if you could call it that) was to turn a bog-stock Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 into a never-been-done-before crossover custom: a café racer with panniers and practicality.
Using a standard air-cooled 650cc parallel-twin Continental GT 650, and with the help of the Royal Enfield’s custom department (led by Adrian Sellers), various geniuses, craftspeople and suppliers in the bike community came together to make the project happen. The Continental GT 650 is finished in a paint job inspired by Alexander Calder’s 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL Le Mans car (with matching Hedon helmet), and Royal Enfield’s colour, trim and graphics department created a unique and vibrant graphics package to give the illusion of speed while static.
Central Wheel Components laced up a pair of wider, hand-made, spoked wheels, while Harris Performance offered a mixture of off-the-shelf CNC billet aluminium yokes, clip-ons and rear sets, as well as a prototype race fairing.
Nitron fitted three-way adjustable shocks, Baak provided a lighter and fruiter exhaust, and Scottish-based former sushi chef turned seat guru Tom Hurley made a completely custom seat.
The Top Gear Magazine Conti GT is intended to be ridden far and wide, so Fastec Racing and Malle London gave it an adventurous edge, with a functional, locking luggage solution. Finally, Urban Rider and Max Vanoni helped fit finishing touches, braided brake upgrades from HEL and a tracker from BikeTrac.
Power: 47bhp | Top speed: 105mph | 0-60mph: 5.5 seconds