Bikes from the Chicago shop are marked by their flawless stance, compact proportions and killer lines. This Royal Enfield cafe racer is their latest work, and it ticks all three boxes emphatically.
The base motorcycle is a 2014 Royal Enfield Continental GT. It’s already a good-looking cafe racer out the box, but when RE North America gave Mike and Peter Müller the chance to tear into one, they saw potential for more.

?Most manufacturers constantly develop new products to compete in the global marketplace. But RE has focused on the same motor they?ve been making for decades, boiling it down to its simplest and most refined form. It?s easily repairable roadside with the most basic skill set and tools.?
Federal set out to make a modernized version of the classic Royal Enfield cafe racer, and started by stripping the Continental GT down to a bare frame. They then lopped off the subframe and tossed it aside, along with the original twin shocks, seat, rear cowl, gas tank, side covers, electrical tray and battery.
This GT is sporting a radically different silhouette near the front too, thanks to a mid-70s Honda CB360 fuel tank. Fitting it to the Enfield’s frame meant completely reshaping its tunnel, but to our eyes, it was worth the effort.
Even though the Enfield’s engine had only just been run in, Federal still took it apart for inspection. Then they refinished the exterior in satin black, with hand-brushed aluminum covers, and swapped all the hardware o...