There’s dark, black hole dark, blacker than Darth Vadar’s pants dark; and then there is this now not so regal Enfield. Aditya from Mumbai is an industrial designer and owner of Mean Green Customs, a design studio and custom workshop. Royal Enfields are as common a site on Mumbai’s streets as cars or trucks, and the current trend seems to be a tank swap and a bob of the rear end. Aditya wasn’t about to follow suit and set about fabricating a jig around which he’d construct a completely new hardtail frame.
The updated twin-spark, 350cc single is the heart of the build, a simple, tried and tested unit that can be repaired with a hammer and chewing gum. In this case a cone filter and shorter exhaust the only mods with a performance angle, although slashing weight by removing clunky iron parts will have made for a more spirited ride.
A stainless steel battery box sits down on the lower frame rails, keeping the centre of gravity where it should be and perhaps more importantly the angular tail is therefore able to hover over the rear tyre, free from practical encumbrance.
The engine design might be a decades old, but the fork yokes certainly aren’t. Machined from aluminium and doubling as a dash and speedo mount, and of course, black anodised.
The only splash of colour is the yellow tinted headlight, a common touch these days but here the euro-look really works against the menacing background. The front cowl is hand rolled and beaten from sheet steel and took a few attempts before Aditya was happy with it.
The seat and tail is again fabricated from steel, with minimal padding, as if from a giant pair of cycling shorts. LED turn signals discreetly sit in the rearward curve of the seat and tail lights hide behind mesh covered slits. Out of shot is the rather clever use of the slot where clutch and brake cables pass through the levers, amber LEDs have been grafted inside to negate the need for clumsy turn signals, very stealthy indeed.
The angular fuel tank is again, handmade from steel and reminiscent of a combat helicopter. This and the rest of the bike is painted in combinations of matt and gloss black, inspired in part by a character from the computer game, Dota. Nevermore aka Shadow Fiend provided the name to back up the stealthy vibe.
Anything that could be hidden, has been. An aluminium cylinder with machined end caps sits under the seat and masquerades as an oil tank, inside the electrical necessities are stored.
The custom scene in India is gathering some serious pace and with so many skilled craftspeople around expect the floodgates to open. Keep an eye on the Mean Green Customs Facebook page for updates on Aditya’s future builds.
via PIPEBURN
