Designer customized Royal Enfield but preserved its spirit

Royal Enfield Bullet 350 custom.

Here is a Royal Enfield motorcycle that shows how subtle changes can accomplish expressive results.

It is the work of Vaibhav Gadade, 32, an industrial designer who leads design work at Mahindra Navistar, builder of big, high performance trucks, in Pune, India. He calls this motorcycle "Dark Matter."

I commented when I saw the pictures that the subdued paint and markings tend to pull the eye toward the brilliant polish of the mechanical parts at the center of the motorcycle.

Just because the design elements are low-key doesn't mean they were easy to accomplish, however.

Horn covers and signals provide dabs of color.

Vaibhav was kind enough to share the story behind the certain something in the appearance of this motorcycle.

"I have always wanted to ride the Royal Enfield, for it is a cult bike here in India, especially the standard 350 with the right shift. Not everyone could kick start one, nor could everyone find their way out of the false neutrals. I looked up with awe and admiration to those who rode one.

"After a few months of savings, I picked up a used 1996 standard in decent shape with an OK engine. I did some cosmetic upgrades to it, got new rims and wheels and that served me well for a couple of years 'til I learned to ride it well and realized I needed an engine job. Changed the block and piston and that lasted a couple of more years.

Just a bit of paint outlines the front brake.

"Finally, 10 months back, I said to myself, I need to make this as good as new and better. I stripped it all, down to the last nut and bolt, and thought of applying some of my design skills to give it a new spin.

"But it is easy to go overboard with design. Some of these chopper-like mods done here in India butcher the soul of the Bullet. I knew one thing: that it had to look like essentially the same classic British thumper

"I thought of doing a pearl white metallic, but then decided to take the risk with flat black. Applying flats can be very tricky as touch-ups are impossible in case you get any dust or nick something while painting. I had a local painter with a paint shop but he had no experience doing a flat. I had theoretical experience developing flat black color for the bumpers of our trucks, so I took the risk anyway.

There's constant interplay between flat black and shiny parts.

"I thought of anodizing the engine covers, but to find a supplier to do a one-off job was proving time consuming. Hence I decided to keep it buffed and the rest of the parts, like the exhaust pipe, silencer, turn indicators, side stand, crash guards, etc. were kept chrome. One, this would give a rich offset to the flat black, and, two, all those parts would be easy to replace from the market in case of damage.

"The tail lamp is the phantom style and sort of popular as a mod job on Bullets here. Kind of takes away the bulk of the stock tail lamp and number plate cluster and adds sleekness to the rear end, especially if you are wanting to put on a solo seat.

"The seat itself was brought off the shelf and is well made and quite comfortable. The stickers were again purposefully subdued in color to blend in with the color and are sandwiched between the clear coat and base coats.

"It now also has a new block and piston and new bushes for crank and gudgeon pin. Any play between these components was removed and also new SKF engine bearings were put in instead of the OEM bearings. The SKF's were five times more costly, but then, I thought, if I am at the innermost component, and God knows I don't want to be here again for a really long time, then what the heck. The last item added was a new carb; all possible attempts to service the old one failed.

"All in all, I like the way it looks, and it for sure rides better than new. I have been stopped a couple of times by admirers during my daily commute to work and Sunday morning rides. Feels good. Big credit to my mechanic and painter.

Vaibhav and his customized Royal Enfield.

"You are right about the subtle changes that transform the bike so beautifully. It is all a matter of retaining the bike's spirit."