Royal Enfield Is Going Racing Against Yamaha And Harley-Davidson!
Modified On Jul 22, 2020 03:56 PM By Zaran Mody for Royal Enfield Interceptor 650
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The brand is going to unveil an Interceptor 650-based flat track race bike to compete in the US
We’ve suspected it for a while, and now it’s finally official. Royal Enfield is going to go racing once more, this time over in the United States. The championship, in question, is American Flat Track, specifically the Production Twins class that was created just last year. The racing is a slippy-slidey affair that takes place on oval dirt tracks usually between half a mile (0.8km) and 1 mile (1.6km) long.
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If you’re still not sure what bike RE is going to field, the name of the class should be a dead giveaway. The yet unseen flat track racer that’s due to debut next month is based on the Interceptor 650, but there will be some key changes. For starters, the race bike will not feature a front brake because the rules don’t allow it! Riders slow their bikes before the corner by using the rear brake and engine braking, to kick the tail out and scrub off speed.
Not having to comply with emission norms means that RE should be able to extract a few more ponies out of its parallel-twin motor, but there’s still a huge mountain to climb. The Production Twins class allows engines displacing between 649cc and 850cc, placing the Interceptor at the very bottom of this range. Nevertheless, last year’s championship was won by Cory Texter aboard a Yamaha MT-07 powered motorcycle displacing 689cc, so RE is still in with a chance.
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As far as appearance goes, the Flat Tracker will look quite similar to some of the Interceptor-based flat trackers created by custom bike-builders in Royal Enfield’s recent build-off. This means a stripped-down barebones appearance with no lights, no instrumentation, and a miniscule fuel-tank just big enough to hold enough gas to complete the race.
The bike’s first on-track appearance will be on August 28 and 29, when Rounds 5 and 6 of the American Flat Track championship get underway. We wish the brand luck in its battle against mighty giants like Yamaha and Harley-Davidson.