That those two companies are in the same hands is just happy coincidence. One is, of course, Royal Enfield, while the other is Harris Performance, both of which are owned by Eicher Motors. Eicher Motors bought Hertfordshire-based Harris four years ago and the firm has already developed the chassis for the Himalayan and the Continental GT. But, with Twins FT, officially unveiled to the world at last month’s EICMA event in Italy, this is an interesting project not simply for bringing two famous names together, but for the question it raises: is Royal Enfield going racing?
For the FT in the name, of course, refers to ‘Flat Track’ and Royal Enfield does, after all, have an illustrious history in motorcycle sport. With the success of flat track series backed by Indian and Harley-Davidson, not to mention the races contested by other marques, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to imagine that Enfield might have bigger plans in mind. Right now, the company is making no comment on that suggestion with Royal Enfield’s industrial design boss, Adrian Sellers, saying; “Inside Royal Enfield, we like to have a bit of fun, so we’ve started working on ‘Factory’ builds, to push the limits of our motorcycles’ capabilities.” So far, those builds have included a record-breaking Bonneville Salt Flats racer (a highly modified Continental GT650 which clocked over 150mph on the salt this August, setting a new record), two drag bikes, two retro racers and now this new Twins FT flat tracker.
This story is from the Issue 254 edition of 100% Biker.
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This story is from the Issue 254 edition of 100% Biker.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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