Royal Enfield café racer looks ready to run

Special touches make this Royal Enfield racer really red.

Doug Nassif, of Bismarck, N.D., is the proud owner of a 2008 Royal Enfield Bullet with the café racer kit, customized to his liking. He was kind enough to share these pictures of his red racer. He gives a lot of credit to the unusual Royal Enfield dealership that built it for him:

"Bob Pilz at Scoots4u in Lakemoor, Ill., and his staff are geniuses at the conversions; he bought all the remaining iron barrel bikes he could, so I bought one as the donor bike and he landed the kit.

"Took about three months through the summer. I didn't like the (kit's original) flyscreen, headlight ears or the air filter, so I changed them with Bob's help. I always put a grill over the headlight and I always put Norton 'S' exhaust covers on; two easy pieces of 'gingerbread.'

"Pieces that were easy to powdercoat were sandblasted (mild grit) and made red.

"The plan is to show the machine at 2011 Spring bike shows, then, when North Dakota finally warms up, ride the thing.

"We Royal Enfield enthusiasts love these bikes; much better than today's fare, which sound like vacuum cleaners or hair driers.

"As for myself, I'm in the shale oil and minerals business in North Dakota. Always loved motorcycles and I believe that to a certain extent, everyone does. It is a carryover from the day of the horse. First bike: Allstate (Puch) 250."

Red mesh over headlight really catches the eye.

Bob Pilz of Scoots4u confirmed Doug's story:

"Scoots4u is an authorized Royal Enfield and Ural dealer," he wrote me. "My staff and I come from a motorcycle back ground. All of us have ridden for years. Some as kids and all as teens. Currently, I have two friends that I've known since the mid '70s working with me. We met while all of us were working at a Harley and Honda shop in Elgin, Ill. To supplement the motorcycle business, I am also a sailboat dealer. We are dealers for Catalina, Precision, Hobie Cat, Honda and Nissan Marine. I own and operate a 94-slip marina on the Chain-O-Lakes here in Northern Illinois.

"As to the shop, if you check my Scoots4u website, it pretty well explains the philosophy. We came from an old school, mom-and-pop kind of shop. I have carried that experience here to my shop. Nothing fancy, polished, or slick about Scoots4u.

"We presently have about 15 new Royal Enfields in stock. When production of the cast iron motor stopped in 2008, I bought what the U.S. distributor had left for myself. We have four new cast iron Enfields left in stock. We also have some AVL powered Enfields in the the old style frame. The kits that are available for the cast iron bikes will also fit the AVL models.

"We also have three used Enfields in stock. One is an AVL model and two are cast iron. The two cast irons are pretty sweet to begin with. One is a new and unregistered 2003, I think, with a Trials kit on it. The other is a 1995 Military with about 2,300 miles on it. Both would be four-speeds with kick start only.

"The café kit as offered through Royal Enfield USA runs about $3,200 and includes rear sets for the footpegs to get you into a bit more aggressive riding position. Labor for us to install the kit is around $2,000. If a person is reasonably handy, they can install the kit themselves but it does take some patience and modification even though it is called a kit. New cast iron bikes that we have in stock are running about $5,500."

I did enjoy reading Pilz' introduction on his website, which emphasizes that, while he'd be glad to meet you if you drop by his store, he "won't remember your name" and won't call you later to try to hound you into a purchase!

"You'll probably have to tell me if you want to make a purchase. I like to sell the way I like to be sold," he writes, on the website.

What a terrific attitude.