The thirty second annual Yokohama Scorching Rod Customized Present is kicking off in Japan as we converse. For guests, it’s a cornucopia of visible delights, that includes the most effective handcrafted machines that the scene has to supply. For {custom} bike builders, it’s the last word proving floor.
However the HRCS (or ‘the Mooneyes present,’ because it’s generally recognized) isn’t simply a possibility for solo builders and workshops to flex. Main OEMs have turned to it, and different reveals, lately—punting their wares to a captive viewers to show simply how customizable their bikes are.
The usual at Mooneyes is sky-high—so should you’re going to point out up, you’d higher are available sizzling. Royal Enfield has the fitting concept. This yr, they turned to common Mooneyes award winner, Sureshot, to ship a {custom} Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 like no different.
Based mostly in Chiba, simply east of downtown Tokyo, Sureshot is run by Takuya Aikawa. Aikawa-san has a number of Mooneyes trophies in his cupboard—together with a ‘Finest Particulars’ nod and a couple of ‘Finest in Present’ award. So Royal Enfield knew that the Shotgun 650 was in good fingers.
In case you’re not but aware of the Shotgun 650, it’s a barely extra aggressively styled model of the marque’s Tremendous Meteor 650 cruiser. Each make the most of the identical good 648 cc parallel-twin motor because the Royal Enfield Interceptor—however neither is more likely to be described as ‘rowdy.’ Sureshot’s mission was to alter that.
Takuya calls this a ‘compact efficiency chopper,’ nevertheless it’s truthfully exhausting to pigeonhole. And that’s actually a testomony to how deep he went on this construct.
For starters, little or no of the Shotgun 650 body stays. Takuya lower out the back and front engine mounts, after which fabricated an all-new tubular chassis round them. The looped rear triangles intentionally mimic the form of the inventory body—however they’re new too.
You’ll discover the unique Shotgun 650 forks and yokes up entrance, though the forks have been lowered. It’s a distinct story on the again, the place Takuya fabricated a gnarly aluminum swingarm, plus a set of linkages that connect with a custom-built shock from RacingBros. The shock itself travels ‘by’ the seat, connecting to an higher hyperlink aft of the tank.
The Royal Enfield’s putting aluminum wheels had been constructed from scratch. The 21” entrance wheel sports activities an outsized enclosure round its hub, hiding an inboard Brembo brake caliper. It wears a DURO HF-301B tire, with a M&H Racemaster drag racing slick wrapped across the 16” rear hoop.
With the rolling chassis sorted, Takuya adorned the Shotgun 650 with handmade aluminum bodywork. An impossibly tiny tank sits nestled throughout the trellised entrance part of the body, holding simply sufficient gas for spurts down the drag strip. A bulbous headlight nacelle and a stumpy rear fender bookend the bike.
Up prime, custom-made clip-on bars mount to aluminum clamps on the entrance of the highest yoke, fitted with a Magura brake management and a Pushed Racing clutch lever. A Koso speedometer sits entrance and heart, whereas {custom} foot controls do obligation decrease down. The battery is a Lithium-ion unit from Skyrich and is housed in an aluminum cage beneath the swingarm pivot.
This Enfield is greater than only a present bike although. Takuya rebuilt the engine with an 865 cc package from S&S Cycle, which included cast connecting rods and a high-performance camshaft. Velocity stacks feed the consumption, whereas gasses are expelled by way of a one-off exhaust system with S&S cans.
Sureshot’s amenities embody a dyno, so Takuya put in a Dynojet Energy Commander and fine-tuned the Shotgun 650 to run pretty much as good because it appears. Earlier than the bike was painted and packaged for Mooneyes, he took it to the fifth spherical of the JD-Star Drag Racing Championship, clocking a time of 12.804 seconds.
Completed off in a sweet black paint job by Rod’s Design, with pin-striping by Rio Studio and fabric by Manabu Yamaguchi Artcraft, Sureshot’s {custom} Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 was lastly show-ready. It’s too quickly to say what accolades it’ll accumulate at Mooneyes—nevertheless it’s protected to imagine that Aikawa-san gained’t be coming residence empty-handed.
Sureshot | Facebook | Instagram | With because of Tadashi Kono
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