Coming soon: The sexy new Enfield Cafe Racer

After launching the 500 cc version of the Thunderbird, Royal Enfield is set to bring to India its iconic Cafe Racer model.

Made like a gun, goes like a bullet! The cannon is back in action and ready to fire! The latest version of the smashing Cafe Racer has been announced for a 2013 launch and this has sent a wave of excitement amongst Enfield-enthusiasts. Classic even in its shining new state, this model of Cafe Racer 500 does not require getting any older to be called a legend. Although it would be incorrect to say that it has undergone a complete overhaul, it would be really unfair not to mention the starkly evident alterations that Royal Enfield has worked upon this new model of Racer.

Unveiled earlier, at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo, this motorcycle was outshone by another member of its own family, the Thunderbird 500 which is not very surprising seeing the dashing looks of the Thunderbird. But now that the Cafe Racer 500 is back in the limelight once more, there is no denying the fact that this beast is not one to be ignored.

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Claimed to be the lightest of the rides from the retro maker till date, the Royal Enfield Cafe Racer 500 has shed many of its older attachments and gone through some rigorous remoulding to achieve its present sporty avatar.

And to highlight that particular sportiness factor, the designers of the Royal Enfield have smartened the Cafe Racer 500 up with a megaphone exhaust that sweeps slightly upwards while the front gets a newly-styled tank that goes from being exceptionally broad in the front to being recessed in a slim shape where it meets the driver's leather seat which is, mind you, spacious enough only for one rider.

But, at the same time, the wasp tail single seat has been shaped perfectly to allow the driver to assume a typical racer's posture bent over the tank when s/he goes for a racing sprint -- a feature that is sure to be admired by speed-maniacs.

Plus, the dropped-down clip-on handlebars, rear set foot-pegs, a light-weight frame and contours that help in maintaining a superior grip on the ride during high-speed driving and cornering bring out the true racing spirit of the Cafe Racer.

As if all this was not sufficient to draw plenty of eyeballs, Royal Enfield stylists have given this latest model a very retro touch by placing the rear view mirrors at the edges of the handlebar, not to mention the old style tail lamps, trendy fenders, an uncluttered instrument panel (totally different from the other modern-day bikes) and an overall polished and refined appearance which are a total stunner for a retro-fan.

Even beyond all these alluring traits, there is something else about this Racer that would attract a lot of biker attention and that is the fact that not only is this the first ride out of the stables of Royal Enfield that is receiving an all new chassis in the past half century, but this is also going to be the first of the Cafe line-up to be completely designed, developed and released in India.

Rumour has it that the new of Cafe series will be manufactured at the soon-to-be-inaugurated production site of the Redditch Company at Oragadam, off Chennai.

As for the price, that too is nothing more than a rumour just yet but speculators place the price of the Cafe Racer 500 close to the Thunderbird 500 which means somewhere around Rs 1.60 lakh.

Fascinating on the outside, the Cafe Racer 500 is brilliant on the inside too.

Loaded with a 500cc single-cylinder Bullet UCE mill, the mechanicals of this Continental GT Cafe Racer have been cleverly tweaked to deliver a higher power and torque output as compared to its existing versions. While the body of the Racer has been styled exceptionally well for a superior handling, the braking system also gets an efficient pair of disc brakes for the front and rear wheels making it safe besides total fun.

To top it all, all the new variants will be arriving with a manufacturer's warranty which would surely add to the reliability factor of the ride. Blessed with all of these amazing characteristics, Cafe Racer has seen such a wild craze over its lifetime that fans across the globe are getting other Royal Enfield bikes transformed into Racers.

In fact, there are special conversion kits available that help in getting any old Royal Enfield changed into a glittering Cafe Racer.