Flat observe mad scientist Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa delivers a spicy Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 flat tracker as scorching because the chili pepper it is named after.
Peaking at 2.2 million Scoville models, the Carolina Reaper is broadly thought of the world’s hottest chili pepper. But it surely did not get that approach by itself. It’s a hybrid, spliced collectively by infamous chili professional Ed Currie to be hotter, fiercer, and meaner than something nature meant.
This Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 hits simply as onerous. Rebuilt right into a featherweight flat tracker by the enigmatic Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa, it earns its ‘Carolina Reaper’ moniker with a razor-sharp stance and incendiary livery.
Imaginative flat trackers are Osawa-san’s jam. Based mostly in Tokyo, Japan, the person is a visionary and the brains behind the ‘Have Enjoyable’ flat observe racing occasion. So he is aware of what works and what would not.
“In Japan, flat track is usually run on brief tracks,” he tells us. “With that surroundings in thoughts, I aimed for a extra compact chassis and geometry optimized particularly for short-track efficiency. The rear was lowered and the front-end dimensions re-worked to realize a decrease middle of gravity.”
As with all of Cheetah’s {custom} builds, the Guerrilla was designed to be thrilling to trip and to take a look at. “The idea was a fusion of retro and trendy, and of pure racing efficiency and {custom} bike creativity. I got down to create a motorcycle that mixes the slim profile and shroud-style bodywork of contemporary motocrosser-based DTX flat-trackers with the highly effective, genuine character of framers; flat-track racers constructed round devoted metal frames.”
“It is a bike that conveys the playful but critical angle of American racing tradition from the Nineteen Seventies—evoking the flat-track machines and race automobiles that after battled for U.S. Championships.”
To get the proportions good, Cheetah fabricated a brand new subframe and swingarm, however left the Guerrilla’s foremost body intact. Constructed from chromoly tubing utilizing brass brazing, the brand new swingarm does away with the unique rear suspension linkage in favor of a direct-mount setup. Cheetah designed it with three decrease mounting factors, in order that the rear-end geometry may be tweaked rapidly to swimsuit observe circumstances.
WP Suspension forks do responsibility up entrance, gripped by KTM 390 Duke yokes. The Royal Enfield now rolls on 19” wheels with Maxxis DTR-1 tires. A single Brembo rear brake caliper retains issues in test, mounted on a custom-made bracket.
Handmade aluminum bodywork sits atop the Guerrilla 450’s bones, divided into two items. The polished aluminum gasoline tank stands aside, designed with a beneficiant cutout for the Royal Enfield’s chunky new air filter. The tank is cradled by a gorgeously sculpted one-piece unit that features the bike’s facet fairings, quantity boards, and tail bump.
Cheetah constructed the bike for race use solely, so the cockpit wears little greater than a set of Mika Metals handlebars and the important controls. A quantity board mounted up entrance takes the place of a headlight, whereas, decrease down, {custom} foot controls put on Bates rubber pegs.
Cheetah additionally handled the bike to a stainless-steel exhaust header and an IXRACE muffler, earlier than turning his consideration to the Guerrilla’s finishes. S Paint Works laid down a base coat, however the scorching flame job was all Cheetah’s handiwork. Finer particulars embody sporty upholstery from Atelier Tee, considered purple highlights, and an engine-turned impact on choose aluminum elements.
Sizzling, compact, and unimaginable to disregard, Cheetah’s Guerrilla 450 flat tracker delivers each little bit of the fury its identify guarantees.
Cheetah Instagram | Photos by Kouki ‘Uribou’ Kato
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