Behind the Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor Street Tracker handlebars
It’s 03pm. Two motorcycles, engines started, are heating up under the workshop’s courtyard. One of those is Marc Antoine’s one, and today is our last occasion for a test ride before he picks it up at the workshop. Let’s go !
Marc Antoine lives nearby Annecy in France. After many years far from the motorcycle universe, he decided to get back on track to enjoy the environment any motorcycles enthusiast would envy him : the Alps roads right in front of the house. For this project, he wanted a machine that is easy to handle to gently feel the two-wheels pleasures again, an assertive and different aesthetic, for this man born and raised in a petrolhead family. After many discussions with our craftsmen team, the Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor sounded like the perfect base. A pleasant engine character, a smallsized machine, and a Street Tracker version drawn in our minds that would make Marc Antoine a happy man !
(Re)Discover our parts for Royal Enfield 650
For this test ride, we didn’t have the pleasure to hit the alpine roads, instead we went for a tour through Lyon city at the sunset.
For this ride, our Triumph Thruxton 1200 Tracker joins Marc Antoine’s Royal Enfield. Helmets fastened, we engage the first gear and leave the workshop.
Riding under the first tunnel let us enjoy the sound made by our Short exhaust. The tone is deeper, without making the motorcycle too noisy. The experience lived behind the handlebars is highly different then.
During this lockdown period, the empty streets of Lyon leave us some space to fully appreciate the handling of this 650 Interceptor : Reassuring, sharp, you immediately feel confident riding it. The controls find a natural place thanks to our Flat Track handlebars kit that is the warranty for a more comfortable position and better handling.
After a few minutes enjoying these two motorcycles, we make a stop to stare at those beasts and share our experience together. On the Interceptor, you can find the aesthetic codes that make the singularity of our work. We put much efforts in the global harmony of the lines. This build isn’t extravagant, it’s enjoyable when looking at every little finish detail : the headlight plate straps matching the leather seat, saddlebag and fork gaiters, the moulded edges at the end of the mudguards, the clean front end featuring our Mini speedometer and underbar mirrors offering a clear view on the road, the deep blue metallized painting…
Even if the Tracker spirit is also developed on the Thruxton 1200, those two machines are strongly different, in terms or aesthetic and feeling once the first gear is engaged. The Thruxton is more impressive because of his powerful engine and his size, it’s as exciting as the Interceptor but requires to be taken out of the city to be fully enjoyed.
We’re here riding two motorcycles TO BE LIVED, then it’s so difficult to get back to the workshop and end this ride. A time for escape that marks a step in Marc Antoine’s history with his new motorcycle, that they will keep writing together.
