Royal Enfield GT Continental Style Cafe Racer

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Originally based in Redditch, Worcestershire, Royal Enfield were originally best known for making weapons.

Their logo was a cannon and when they turned their hand to motorcycle production in 1901, they sold the machines with the stirring slogan ‘Made like a gun, goes like a bullet’.

After WW2 the 250cc class was important in the UK as it was the largest engine which a 'learner' could ride without passing a test. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Royal Enfield produced a number of 250cc machines, including the GP racer and the Moto-X scrambler. The Clipper was the base-model tourer but the biggest seller was the Crusader, a 248cc pushrod OHV single producing 18bhp. In its day, the Crusader Sports were regarded as great value for money, showing similar performance to some rival 500cc machines.

The machine on offer began life in March 1960 as a Crusader Sport 250. Starting in 2003 the previous owner embarked on a complete restoration taking several years. He decided to recreate it in the GT Continental Café Racer Style, with the wonderful result you see here.

Over £4,400 was lavished on the restoration by the previous and current owner, with a massive file of invoices to confirm. Showing only 1,856 miles on the speedo since restoration, the engine was rebuilt in 2011 and is still being run in. Whilst in the current ownership the bike has had little use and has been mainly trailered to shows. It comes with the old green log book and later V5 and is still on its original Glamorgan number plate.