10 celebrities who ride Royal Enfields
Royal Enfield has finally returned to the world of twin-cylinder motorcycles with the new Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. However, during the time it concentrated on single-cylinder engines, numerous celebrities from Hollywood and Bollywood megastars to talk show hosts and cricketers, all have been seen riding Royal Enfield motorcycles. In this list, we take a look at 10 of these celebrities spotted riding these classic thumpers.
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is better known for riding around on an Intruder 1800M, a massive cruiser built by the brand he promotes – Suzuki. So when Bhai decided to ride around on a Royal Enfield Desert Storm 500 in Manali, while filming Tubelight, there were quite a lot of surprised faces on social media. The Desert Storm is powered by a 500-cc single-cylinder fuel-injected engine that produces 27.2 Bhp and 41.3 Nm of torque, and is paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
John Abraham
John Abraham is one of the biggest petrolheads in Bollywood today and his love for bikes is very well documented. John Abraham’s Royal Enfield of choice is a one of a kind board tracker called Lightfoot which was built by Jaipur-based custom bike builders Rajputana Customs.
Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan, the son of Bollywood director David Dhawan, made his acting debut in the 2012 movie Student of the Year alongside Alia Bhatt and Siddharth Malhotra. Dhawan is a recent convert to the Royal Enfield cult and can be seen riding on his Bullet 500, which features a custom green paint job.
Aditya Roy Kapoor
Actor Aditya Roy Kapoor is best known for his role playing the male lead in Mohit Suri’s romantic drama, Aashiqui 2. The actor has two cast iron-engined Royal Enfields and has been spotted riding them on different occasions. The actor’s two Royal Enfields include a cast iron 500 in black, and the AVL-engined Machismo 500 LB.
Jackie Shroff
Actor Jackie Shroff, best known for his roles in movies like Parinda, Ram Lakhan, Tridev and Border in the 80s and 90s, is another Bollywood actor with a custom Royal Enfield. Shroff’s Royal Enfield, which is called Skeletor, is a custom motorcycle made on commission by Varenchi Customs’ Akshai Varde. Skeletor is a bike that would look right at home in a Ghost Rider movie and is quite a wild beast to look at.
Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes, the former South African cricketer, often regarded as the greatest ever fielder to have graced the game, and is best known for his heroic catching exploits at backward point and for his famous diving run out of Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup.
Rhodes is a former fielding coach of the Mumbai Indians and his connection with India is quite deep, considering he named his daughter after our country. His ride of choice is a Royal Enfield Classic 500, and he has often been spotted in India riding the retro motorcycle.
Nana Patekar
Nana Patekar is a very well-known Bollywood and Marathi actor best known for movies like Ab Tak Chhappan and Apharan. Patekar is another actor who has been spotted riding around on a Desert Storm 500, on the streets of aamchi Mumbai.
Mohanlal
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s acting career is now in its 40th year and he has been spotted riding Royal Enfields in many of his movies. This megastar is also the proud owner of a Royal Enfield Classic Chrome 500, which costs Rs. 2.32 lakhs on road, in his current city of residence, Kochi.
Gul Panag
Gul Panag is an actress, TV show host, model and former beauty queen who is also a certified pilot. The actress is also a big fan of motorcycles and loves her cast iron Royal Enfield Electra 350. She’s a purist who has even gone on record to say that she prefers the steady thump of cast iron engined Royal Enfields to the hollower note of the current UCEs.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt is perhaps one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood and is best known for movies like the iconic Fight Club, the Ocean’s Trilogy, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Moneyball. When not busy acting or producing movies, Pitt can often be seen riding motorcycles including an old-school Bullet 350.