With a Japanese Flair, this retro looking model is called Kai; the modification is done by AN-BU custom motors based in Nagayo
Royal Enfield bikes are one of the most common rides used by modding enthusiasts in the country because of the scale of modifications possible. Every now and then, images of some tasteful mod of a Royal Enfield pops up on the internet and the enthusiast community loves it. One such modified Royal Enfield is this lovely retro looking custom made Continental GT 650.
This modification is done by AN-BU custom motors based in Nagayo, Japan and is called Kai (inspired by the word Kaizo which means modification in Japanese) and is inspired by enduring racing motorcycles from the era of the 70s and 80s.
This modification is done by Koichi Fujita from AN-BU. In a YouTube video released by Royal Enfield, Koichi talks us through the thought process and the ideology behind the Kai. Koichi started racing motorcycles early in his life. He loved customising motorcycles according to his liking and quit racing to learn about machining parts and components and he then started his workshop in 2000.
Koichi wasn’t keen on building a bike for showcasing purposes only. He believes that the bike should look cool when you ride on it on the streets. That’s the goal he went with and came up with this design. Koichi stripped down the Continental GT 650 and bolted the tubular aluminium tubs upon it.
The clip-ons and pegs are set for an aggressive riding position. He wanted to design a race bike for the streets from the 70s and 80s and not a race bike for the track and that’s exactly why he chose to keep the aluminium tubs naked as they are without any paint or stickers to exude a retro look because as Koichi quotes ‘it would be weird in it being all sparkly’
The aluminium tub design continues towards the rear and as well and provides symmetry and continuity visually witnessing a full fairing. Koichi states that he didn’t want the cowl to be all carbon fibre and hence he gave a smoked-out matte black finish because he believes going overboard with carbon fibre to attract eyeballs is cliche.
Koichi has further sourced front and rear suspension from Kayaba and has tuned the forks with a set of custom triple trees for agile handling on a track. He has further added a two-in-exhaust for the stock 648 cc engine and the final touch is the offset headlight at the front which is a significant AN-BU element.
The Kai has debuted at the Osaka Motorcycle show and will further be showcased at the Tokyo and Nagoya Motorcycle show.
