Model: 2014 Royal Enfield Continental GT
Builder: Designed by Tori at Poler , built by Thor at See See Motorcycles.
Owner: Poler & See See
Thor here on run down of build:
Ok doke.
Tori was lead designer of the bike, I would hold up a part and ask her if she liked it or not. Most of the time we would both agree it needed to be an off-roader with design cues from 1987. Off road bikes are tricky because they get roughed up on a regular bases. The start of the project was to get some of the bulk off the bike.
“First thing that happened was I accidentally destroyed the stock headlight top triple combo trying to figure out how to push the handlebar mount forward.”
First thing that happened was I accidentally destroyed the stock headlight top triple combo trying to figure out how to push the handlebar mount forward. This mistake led me to use the only single cylinder front end I know… The SR500.
Some Bearing graphs and serious hammering I was able to use a complete 1978 SR500 front end. One look at the 19" mag and the path was as clear as a summer day. We would need to figure out how to run front and rear mags. The rear mag gave me a little more heck. Being that Royal Enfields are of British decent they have a right side drive. Flipping the tire reverse was easy but I needed a miracle to get the rest to work.
My prayers where a answered when I measured the space in the frame where the swing arm mounts. Turns out it's 8" the same as the SR500. I had to bore the swing arm axle to a 5/8" and flip the disk brake stay. A small spacer to line up the chain and I was on my way to a full set of new legs. Moving the bottom rear shock mounts 2" back gave just enough space for the really nice Fox shocks I had in mind to clear the frame. The stock rear brake on RE is a drum, it was a little bit of a process to convert it to a disk but a couple hours of brake bleeding and a few swear words later we had it working like a dream. The seat was designed to hold one big butt or two small ones. New Church Custom Motorcycle Seats makes the best covers so we had her whip up a nice cowhide cover with arch pattern to match some of the design cues on the bike. The snake tung shape of the seat make it easier to pull the removable luggage rack closer to the front of the bike. We both agreed we didnt like luggage racks that hang way off the back.
“We worked with Cooper Smithing Co. out of Washington to make some custom hand made fenders.”
We worked with Cooper Smithing Co. out of Washington to make some custom hand made fenders. The fenders are built to fit a 19" front and 18" rear. A skid plate was fashioned to keep the power plant safe from the potential hard hits. The front heal light is an old spot light fitted with high and low beams. The rear lights are two small bullet style lights tucked nice and tidy inside the frame. The paint and powder coat was a tribute to the ol' PK Ripper bmx bikes we loved as teenagers. We wanted to make something flashy and bright to contrast the heaps of black bikes. What else… Aggressive tires. Removed all plastic, slip on cone exhaust. Removed storage boxes and modified air box to hold all the electrical stuff. Some metal plates to cover the sides and give it a vintage mx feel.
Tori final touches:
Adding the Vibrant colors of the Poler Spring 16 line and die-cut stickers, the Poler #adventuremobike or bile is ready to roll, just add the Poler panniers a tent or two and a companion and you've got yourself some #campvibes to conquer !!
We really appreciate the RE and had so much fun building as quickly as possible!
Thor & Tori