As semi-fictional as this short movie is, it is still one of the best advertising videos I saw in some months. And being made for the good-old Royal Enfield bikes only makes things even more interesting and worthy of your time. The story is as simple as it is old: bikes are made for riding, and not for bragging and showing off.
Three riders, two guys and a girl embark of a brutal 11,000 km (6,835 miles) trip which will take them from the iconic Ace Café in London to another café, Madras, in Chennai, India, close to the very place where these bikes are being manufactured as you’re reading this piece. The symbolism is really sweet and is not at all shy of a hefty dose of nostalgia.
The trip links the birth place of the café racer culture and its most modern expression, in the shape of the new Royal Enfield factory. And since the new-generation Continental GTs have been chosen for the trip, the message is as clear as it gets: really cool things never die, not when it’s about bikes and riding them.
Even more, this romanticized trip brings together the century-old heritage and the modern technologies Royal Enfield uses in their flagship bikes, a proud statement which reads the fact that the very essence of motorcycling never changes.
You should enjoy this video thoroughly and leave aside the first thoughts related to what long-range touring looks like. After I’ve watched the first scenes I was ready to rant about the gear and the bare-chested riding and all.
However, waiting to see this video end changed my mind. Neither this video or the Contonental GT are about how to cross continents and how to plan a trip: they’re about the sheer pleasure of riding far with wind in your face, and experience life and the world in ways only tourers can. Cometh spring!
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