Spend enough time searching on Google and it won’t be long before the algorithm kicks in, and the advertisements you start to see have an eerie familiarity to them. This type of targeted marketing is here to stay, and while it can feel intrusive at first, we’ve all fallen for it and made that online purchase. One of the recent trends in this area of marketing is the use of cheap and cheerful giveaways that offer a nice house or an expensive car as the prize for a very small investment. Personally, I’ve always kept my cash in my pocket, but now French Moto has come up with an offering we just couldn’t turn away from. Buy one of their T-shirts, and you’ll be in the running for a slick alloy-clad, sci-fi-inspired, 2023 Royal Enfield Interceptor, appropriately named ‘Stellar.’

The French outfit is a family affair, and it’s been a few years since we caught up with the team when they showcased a beautiful BMW. At that time, they were known as FrenchMonkeys, but with their years of experience in the game, a full shop of custom motorcycle parts, and now a service centre and Royal Enfield dealership, they made the shift to the new name, French Moto. Business is good, and they have previously run such a competition where you simply log onto their web store, buy a T-shirt, and that earns you an entry into the motorcycle giveaway.

As the Klingler brothers explain, it’s a win-win for all involved. The consumer gets a nice shirt and a chance to win a dream bike, and “this approach allows us to no longer have any constraints from the client, no more time constraints, no limited budget, no lack of taste on the part of the client.” The only limitation they place on themselves is that the end product must be able to pass the strict French road registration laws. They supply the paperwork to the winner so they can enjoy the bike to its full potential, not just have a nice museum piece.

For nearly a decade, Florian had the design for this bike swirling around in his head, but to give them a template from which to work, the French Moto boys had Barbara Customs bring that idea to life in an incredibly detailed digital rendering. Now the brothers could begin work on the brand new 2023 Interceptor 650, tearing it down to a bare frame. To build things back up, they completely stripped the front forks and rebuilt the internals before fitting adjustable tops to dial things right in. These are then affixed to the RE frame by way of a super trick set of USVracing machined triple clamps.

The rear suspension is even more trick, featuring a pair of stunning Nimbus oleo-pneumatic shocks. The combination of air and oil on the inside gives a truly progressive stroke through the full travel of the shock, resulting in a magic carpet ride-like effect. To ensure the braking department was just as special, the guys spent a cool €3,000 on all the best bits from Beringer, and now both ends have brutal stopping power. To finish off the chassis, the riding position has gone from sit-up-and-beg to seriously aggressive, with the use of low-mounted clip-on bars and a set of beautifully machined rearsets.

For the bodywork, the digital design was sent to Jake Apiata from Apiata Metal Shaping, a Kiwi who calls France home and happens to be a magician when it comes to moulding metal. The two companies have worked together many times in the past, and Jake always delivers. The full aluminium fairing is absolutely stunning, and you can only marvel at one man’s ability to take a simple flat sheet and construct such gorgeous curves. Then, to really add to the sci-fi effect, LED daytime running lights illuminate the polished alloy. The rest of the lighting is from Highsider, with a low-mounted headlight and a 3-in-1 for the tail end.

The next challenge for Jake was to craft an all-new fuel tank, and not only did the lines have to be equally stunning, but the French Moto brothers had some tricks of their own they wanted to add. To ensure it was all fully operational, the fuel pump was relocated, before the twin recesses on the top were filled with purpose-built digital dashes.

They’re both controlled by an onboard computer, with one displaying the normal instrumentation and the other relaying back to the rider all of the key notifications like fuel range, engine light, and customisable messages. George Jetson would be in heaven, and the alloy moon discs and vintage rubber are right from his era too! The final piece of Jake’s metal magic is those brilliant side covers that act as heat shields for the exhaust that flows behind them.

The custom stainless 2-into-2 system was built in-house, ensuring the parallel-twin engine has a meaty roar. Adding to the list of materials used on the build, the seat is a sleek suede piece, and the tail unit was handcrafted by the Klingler brothers from a piece of Linden timber. The wood finish is also used on the grips, which sit next to state-of-the-art switchgear, Kustomtech levers, and an Accossato Racing throttle, with the brains of the bike being a Motogadget m.unit.

Following strict French lottery rules, the motorcycle is valued at €40,000, and for all our European friends, you have just under five days to get onto the French Moto website and buy a T-shirt. Then hope and pray it’s your name that’s drawn from the barrel so that you can be doing warp speed on ‘Stellar,’ never having to worry that any other motorcycle will ever look the same as yours.

[ French Moto ]