Mid Life Cycles: Royal Enfield 650 Sabre Salt Racer

Mid Life Cycles in Melbourne is one of Royal Enfield’s top Australian dealers, and is famous for its customised versions of the Indian company’s models, most notably its RE350 Brass Rajah single which achieved global acclaim a couple of years ago [see photos]. It’s currently selling the new range of Royal Enfield 650cc parallel-twin Interceptor and Continental GT models just as fast as it can get hold of them, with more than 80 examples so far delivered to customers, and another 12 currently on order awaiting further supplies from India. Just over 60% of these have been Interceptors, the rest GT650s.

- Alan Cathcart

Partly to keep the promo bandwagon rolling, and partly as a means of developing aftermarket performance parts for its customers, Mid Life Cycles has now constructed a Royal Enfield Salt Racer aimed at setting new Land Speed Record marks at the annual Aussie equivalent of the Bonneville Speed Trials, held on South Australia’s Lake Gairdner salt lake on March 2327. There, it’ll be trying to capture the 650 M-F class record currently standing at 119.961 mph/193.059 km/h, and set in 2016 by Nat Gagan on a four-cylinder Suzuki. Mid Life Cycles CEO Michael Catchpole unveiled the low-slung but stock framed bike, named the Sabre, at the 2020 Island Classic at Phillip Island, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest Historic racing event.

“The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 motor really lends itself to performance modifications, so our Technical Director Charlie Hallam and I set out to build a Salt Racer using the standard Interceptor frame, but with a modified engine,” says Catchpole, 64. “This has been built for us by Hallam Racing Australia, headed by Charlie’s dad Andrew, who’s one of Australia’s top performance tuners. But for the Modified Production class we’re competing in, it’s still at the standard Interceptor’s 648cc capacity, using a Hallam Racing camshaft and other turning parts specially developed for this engine. We’re also developing performance kits for the Interceptor and GT 650 road bikes based on using this cam, in Stage One, Stage Two, and Stage Three versions. The camshaft for the Salt Racer is going to be directly applicable to a fast streetbike.”