ROYAL ENFIELD UNVEILS SG650 CONCEPT MOTORCYCLE AT EICMA 2021

SG650 Concept motorcycle marks beginning of a new chapter to Royal Enfield’s 120-year history.

Milwaukee, WI (Tuesday, November 23, 2021) – Royal Enfield, the global leader in the middleweight motorcycle segment (250cc – 750cc), opened its showcase offering at EICMA 2021 today with the unveil of the Royal Enfield SG650 Concept motorcycle—marking another chapter in the brand’s 120-year journey of creative expression and conceptual development.

The SG650 Concept is the result of a challenge set to Royal Enfield’s Industrial Design Team by Mark Wells, Chief of Design. At its core, the message underpinning the concept build was about celebrating “transition.” The aim, through this challenge, was for the Royal Enfield team to embark on a new creative journey with the SG650 Concept, starting from within Royal Enfield’s classic design sensibilities and pushing into a whole new era of what Royal Enfield motorcycles of the future could look like.

Royal Enfield Chief of Design Mark Wells describes the motivation behind the challenge. “We are a company in transition. So long a representation of the analog age and now developing new products that keep that same pure soul, yet are fully integrated into the digital present. To celebrate this, we wanted to develop a project that really gave our design team an opportunity to stretch themselves creatively.

“The goal: to build a unique concept motorcycle that pays homage to Royal Enfield’s rich history of custom motorcycles, but one that wasn’t encumbered by the past. A neo-retro interpretation that pushes the boundaries of what a Royal Enfield motorcycle could look like, but at its core still celebrates that iconic Royal Enfield DNA.

“The advances of today are often inspired by the imaginations of the past—the mobile phone, the smart watch or even space travel. That desire to look forward with optimism and imagine the possibilities is fundamental to the progression of our culture. And so we started this concept with a context rather than a question—imagining a world in the not-so-distant future and our brand’s place in it. A cyber, neon-saturated, urban jungle took shape, where old meets new in a tangle of concrete, metal, bright lights and shadowy streets, where the analog and the digital intertwine and blend—setting that felt both familiar and alien to us, and in doing so foster an environment that would force us to think differently about how we approached the aesthetics of a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

“We believe that the resultant concept motorcycle, unveiled for the first time at EICMA 2021, inhabits this world fantastically well and offers up something very new, very original and entirely unique to fans of the brand and motorcycle enthusiasts more widely. The design team have done an amazing job in retaining the analog soul, those classic Royal Enfield lines and design nuances—subtle nods to the past—while creatively pushing the boundary of what the Royal Enfields of tomorrow could conceptually represent in form and function.”

Says Adrian Sellers, Group Manager, Industrial Design and lead for the SG650 Concept project, “We’re really excited to unveil this concept and write another chapter in the rapidly evolving story of Royal Enfield design. It is always exciting to design for a ‘What if…’ scenario, and the brief to create a motorcycle that would both be recognizably Royal Enfield but at the same time push what a Royal Enfield could be was a real challenge. This was a wonderfully collaborative and rewarding project to develop, as it required the creative input of many different aspects of the design team—from Industrial Design to Color Trim and Graphics and CGI—each contributed a piece of the puzzle to bring this other world to life.

“The key concept of transition is conveyed throughout the motorcycle; from the choice of aesthetic finishes to the materials that we used. From the heritage-inspired polished aluminum front end, flowing into the futuristic, digital graphic on the tank, this was about bringing the old and the new together and resulting in something timeless.

“There are some really special elements to this motorcycle that are a first for a Royal Enfield concept—many of the component parts have been individually, one-off fabricated or designed exclusively for this motorcycle. The tank has been CNC billet machined from a solid block of aluminum, as have the wheel rims with integrated ABS, bespoke designed brake calipers and dual front brake discs. The upside-down forks, integrated aluminum top yoke / nacelle unit and low rise extra-wide bars with all aluminum switch cubes all add elements of originality and design progression to the concept—while the twin rear shocks, mounted to the classic chassis loop, hand-stitched black leather floating solo seat are a clear nod to our past.

“Graphically, the blacked-out 650 Twin engine and exhaust system complement our imagined near future, while the polished aluminum forms transitioning with a ‘digital transformation’ graphic across the motorcycle speak to the progression of the brand. We’re delighted with the end result and truly believe this brings something completely new, in our 120th anniversary year, to the ever-developing story of Royal Enfield.”

About Royal Enfield

The oldest motorcycle company in continuous production in the world, Royal Enfield made its first motorcycle in 1901. A division of Eicher Motors Limited, Royal Enfield has created the midsize motorcycle segment in India with its unique and distinctive modern classic motorcycles. With its manufacturing base in Chennai, India, Royal Enfield has been able to grow its production rapidly against a surge in demand for its motorcycles. Royal Enfield is a leading player in the global middleweight motorcycle market.

Royal Enfield North America (RENA) is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is developing a growing network of more than 140 dealers in North America, including the contiguous U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. RENA currently offers the all-new Meteor 350, Himalayan and the 650 Twins (INT 650 and Continental GT 650) motorcycles, along with a range of Genuine Motorcycle Accessories and apparel.

For more information on Royal Enfield North America, visit www.RoyalEnfield.com/us/en/, www.Instagram.com/RoyalEnfield_NA, www.Facebook.com/RoyalEnfieldNorthAmerica.