Flat Out: Jillian Deschenes’ Royal Enfield flat tracker
Minnesota native Jillian Deschenes is not a pro custom motorcycle builder: from Monday to Friday, she’s a hospice nurse in the suburbs of Minneapolis. But on the weekends she’s a flat track racer?and a fierce one, too.
In just her second year of racing, Jillian’s already the number one plate holder in the women’s class in her AMA District. Her success piqued the interest of Royal Enfield, who invited her to test out their Himalayan-based flat tracker?the FT411.
Jillian?s affable nature left such a mark on the team, they earmarked her for future projects.
One of those projects was ‘Build. Train. Race.‘?a grassroots female-focused flat track program. Royal Enfield picked four North American women motorcycle enthusiasts, and hooked them up with a new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 each?to transform into a race bike and ultimately take to the tracks.
Despite having no bike building experience, Jillian made the cut. In no time, she had a brand new Interceptor 650 in her garage?but she also had a three-month deadline, and an eight-year-old daughter and full-time job to juggle.
Through hard work and a significant lack of sleep, she delivered a flat tracker that looks like it rolled out of a pro shop.
Jillian had a pretty solid team supporting her, too. Her father Jim Deschenes owns Superior Tool Grinding, and helped to machine a number of custom parts. And she roped in her fiancé and fellow racer, Erik Moldenhauer.
What makes this a kill...
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