You’ve got some cash burning a hole in your back pocket, but you can’t decide whether to go the sensible route and buy a brand new motorcycle or follow your heart and choose a tasty custom. But GRID Motorcycles on Queensland’s Gold Coast has come up with a very clever way to ensure you can literally have the best of both worlds. As Royal Enfield Gold Coast, GRID’s new Interceptor 650 Signature Series offers a limited-run custom complete with dealer servicing, genuine parts support and, importantly, the full factory warranty intact. Better still, the changes aren’t purely cosmetic, with the finished bikes shedding a substantial 23kg, and delivering a booming soundtrack to boot.
The project is very much a Gold Coast affair, and much of the work happens under GRID’s own roof. Brawldonny Metalworks’ Dylan Brown operates from within the GRID Motorcycles facility, with Jesse Robinson again joining Dylan on the project, while nearby Purpose Built Moto and Timeless Auto Trim contribute their own high-quality locally made pieces. GRID Managing Director Tobin Page sums up the brief simply: build something with the individuality of a custom motorcycle, but retain the reliability, servicing and ownership experience of walking into a dealership and buying a new bike.
Dylan and Jesse are hardly strangers to modifying Royal Enfield’s 650 twin, although their previous collaboration sat at the opposite end of the spectrum. The pair handcrafted GRID’s RE1000, the Busted Knuckles Build Off winner that saw the 648cc parallel twin stretched to 1002cc and installed in a custom chromoly chassis. There are no such engineering fireworks this time. The challenge with the Signature Series is arguably one of restraint: identify the parts of the Interceptor that can be improved, remove unnecessary mass and leave the proven mechanical package alone.
That process starts at the back, where BDM shortens the rear hoop and eliminates the Interceptor’s substantial factory tail assembly in favour of a compact tail tidy. At the opposite end, a BDM shorty front guard removes more visual bulk, while Purpose Built Moto supplies its tiny Dome three-in-one LEDs front and rear along with PBM Scrambler mirrors. K-Speed Diablo side covers replace the standard panels, with their smaller, vented design exposing more of the frame and helping to visually tighten the centre of the motorcycle. Importantly, the Interceptor remains immediately recognisable rather than being buried beneath an entirely new set of bodywork.
Another local Gold Coast operation, Timeless Auto Trim, takes care of the upholstery, with the bikes wearing combinations of black diamond cross-stitching and distressed brown ribbed seats. Each follows the shortened rear profile closely, allowing the motorcycle to effectively finish above the rear wheel rather than continuing into the original guard and lighting assembly. GRID’s Signature Series paint schemes and individual numbering complete the bodywork, while different combinations of cast or spoked wheels, polished or black engine finishes and upholstery give each machine its own character within the common template.
The biggest mechanical departure is BDM’s exhaust system. The bulky standard silencers disappear completely, replaced by custom headers feeding extremely short outlets tucked beneath the engine, with Cerakote used as a protective finish. GRID says the freer-flowing arrangement gives the 648cc twin a deeper, throatier exhaust note and improves its breathing, but there is no attempt to turn the Interceptor into a highly strung engine build. Instead, Dylan and Jesse have concentrated on the other half of the power-to-weight equation.
Across the complete conversion, GRID says 23kg has been removed from the Interceptor’s tare weight, a significant reduction on a motorcycle powered by a 650cc twin. Lose that much mass and the engine has considerably less motorcycle to accelerate, without needing cams, high-compression pistons or extensive internal work. Combined with the freer-flowing BDM exhaust, GRID reports that the Signature Series feels noticeably quicker than the standard machine, while the factory engine, fuel injection and fundamental running gear remain untouched. And because these aren’t customer bikes modified after purchase, the finished motorcycles leave GRID with their full Royal Enfield factory warranty.
Perhaps the smartest part of the Signature Series is knowing where to stop. Dylan Brown and Jesse Robinson have already demonstrated with the RE1000 what can happen when almost nothing is off limits; here they’ve concentrated their efforts on fabrication, weight and proportion while leaving perfectly serviceable factory hardware alone. Add the work of fellow Gold Coast outfits Purpose Built Moto and Timeless Auto Trim, and GRID has produced something distinctly local: a numbered, 23kg-lighter Interceptor built and sold from the same facility, backed by a factory warranty and carrying an $18,000 ride-away price.
[ Grid Motorcycles ]