Evolution of the PANDO MOTO x Royal Enfield Collaboration

From a spark lit three generations ago has come an innovative collaboration between fashion forward motorcycle apparel brand PANDO MOTO, and world renowned motorcycle manufacturer, Royal Enfield.

PANDO MOTO: A journey steeped in history

Marius Bieliauskas, the founder and CEO of PANDO MOTO, is a third generation motorcycle rider. For him, the love of motorcycles is an inherent trait passed down by his father and grandfather. It has shaped not only his personal life, but his career and company too.

“The whole idea of PANDO MOTO was born in my infancy because my father and my grandfather used to ride bikes and I would say that comes from generation to generation.” 

Founded in 2011, PANDO MOTO is guided by three unique principles; safety, function and style. Marius and his team incorporate all three in the apparel the brand produces, with a special emphasis on technology and innovation. There is an understanding that motorcyclists and their needs continue to evolve, with many present day riders using their bikes for their daily commute, rather than simply for fun as was the case in the early 2000s.

Authenticity guiding Royal Enfield’s future

Royal Enfield is also a company with a rich history in motorcycling. It has been around for over 120 years producing many iconic models, including the Royal Enfield Bullet and Royal Enfield Flying Flea.

Like PANDO MOTO, Royal Enfield has three key values that guide what they do; desirability, authenticity and accessibility. Honing in on the concept of authenticity, Mark Wells, the Chief of Design at Royal Enfield, expressed this best.

“There has to be a reason for us making a product. It’s not good enough that there’s an opportunity in the market or another company selling a load of bikes in that segment. It has to mean something to us.”

That desire for an authentic story found a match in Marius Bieliauskas and PANDO MOTO.

PANDO MOTO’s connection to Royal Enfield

PANDO MOTO can trace its origin story to Marius Bieliauskas’s grandfather, who initiated the family’s love of motorcycles.  During the 1930’s he owned a Royal Enfield motorcycle, a bike Marius still holds pictures of today. For Marius, his first personal interaction with Royal Enfield was an incredible 15 day adventure through the Himalayas in Northern India, riding a Royal Enfield Himalayan model. The motorcycle was rugged, durable and reliable, yet maintained a certain sense of style.

Finding common ground

The collaboration between PANDO MOTO and Royal Enfield began with links from the past and a respect for one anothers’ history. But, to move into the future, inspiration needed to be drawn from common ground. After much discussion it was decided that the project would center around PANDO MOTO’s values and one of Royal Enfields most iconic motorcycle models.

“…The whole idea was just to try to merge the points that we have in common between Royal Enfield and Pando Moto and that’s why we call this concept SFS; safety, functional, style. We take Royal Enfield Interceptor as the base and we’re adding our ideas and our design on top of it. That’s when we are trying to connect these points between PANDO MOTO and Royal Enfield.” – Marius Bieliauskas, CEO and Founder PANDO MOTO

Once the design philosophy was decided, work began on analyzing the values and how they could be practically incorporated into the design of a customized Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

Understanding the SFS values

When designing something new PANDO MOTO always includes features to make the product meet their SFS values. These core principles help ensure the company’s latest innovations remain relevant to riders and meet their needs on the road.

In terms of safety, the rider should be able to rely on their gear and motorcycle, knowing it’s safe to use time after time and will help to protect them if something were to go wrong during a ride. 

It should also be functional, meeting the demands of the city streets and open road, creating the flexibility to be able to ride the morning commute as well as take weekend trips.

Finally there’s style, something that helps riders look and feel their best, expressing their personal aesthetic and appreciation of the heritage of motorcycle culture.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

The purpose of this collaboration was to apply the SFS principles to a Royal Enfield motorcycle in order to create a sleek modern tourer. The motorcycle ultimately chosen for the task was the Royal Enfield INT 650.

The Interceptor 650 is an air-cooled parallel twin motorcycle inspired by Royal Enfields own history. In the early 1950’s they released a 500 twin which evolved into the Constellation and eventually became the Interceptor. The Interceptor itself underwent a few reinventions before being discontinued in the 1970’s. Over the years it remained a popular design, so when Royal Enfield started the twins platform the decision was made to create a modern version of that original Royal Enfield Interceptor.

Adrian Sellers, Head of Custom and Motorsport, works out of the Royal Enfield Technology Centre in the United Kingdom. The facility was created to support the design of new Royal Enfield models, and was the birthplace of the Interceptor 650. Having worked alongside the engineers, designers and product planners, he has an intimate understanding of the purpose behind the creation of this new Interceptor.

“It was designed for people who really want that pure simple motorcycling experience, retro feeling, getting back to the 60s with just a basic ride. It’s a retro roadster. And so it really fits well in with this sort of trend towards retro riding and retro style, not just in motorcycling, but in clothing and in all the other aspects of life that’s very appealing to people right now. And so we wanted to design a product for that.”

With the core values and bike chosen, it was time for PANDO MOTO and Royal Enfield to move forward with the design process and determine what the final product would be.

Creating a custom motorcycle

As well as creating new models, Royal Enfield also has a custom build program. It allows customers to showcase their creativity and individuality by taking the stock Royal Enfields and customizing them to create something new. 

“We design our stock motorcycles here. We have a vision of what it can be, but we’re also very interested in your vision, the customer’s vision of what a motorcycle can be. So it’s very exciting for us to see what people take our idea and turn it into.” – Adrian Sellers, Head of Custom and Motorsport Royal Enfield

For the PANDO MOTO collaboration, the decision was made to take the classic stylings of the Interceptor and make them a little more modern. The challenge in this was to make it stylish, while keeping it functional and safe.

PANDO MOTO X Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

Looking at the outcome of this collaboration, it’s clear that the SFS design philosophy has been made a reality. Each part of the customized motorcycles has a clear purpose, making the machine safer, more functional or more stylish.

Safe

When it comes to motorcycling, a huge aspect of safety is being able to rely on your machine. It needs to move and work exactly as you intend it to, with good traction and consistent performance. Royal Enfield are known for their simpler motorcycle design and reliability, with the safety of this particular custom model being enhanced further by the inclusion of features such as the exhaust guard and high quality upgraded parts.

Functional

Worked into the model were additions and changes made purely to enhance functionality. The custom tail fairing and front fairing look good, but also serve as a functional windshield. The rear suspension has been upgraded to an Öhlins shock absorber and the tyres have been changed to a set of Continental TKC80, which have a proven record on and off the road. The digital dashboard is by Motorscope and the exhaust has been changed to an Italian made Zard system.

Stylish

As a hands-on CEO, Marius Bieliauskas remained one of the key people involved in the design of the PANDO MOTO X Royal Enfield Interceptor. His understanding of the brand’s aesthetic as well as the involvement of designer Justinas Beneckas, who has worked with PANDO MOTO for almost a decade, helped keep the style aspect of the custom Interceptor on point.
“…From the style point of view, it’s a sleek futuristic black matt design that would really stand out from the rest of the design concepts of raw metal. We don’t like to put a lot of details in our products, and usually we say it’s cut to the bone design, so it means that we don’t add any unnecessary details on the product. So that’s why the same thing is happening with this custom project. We don’t have any added details that are not having some sort of function in this bike.” – Marius Bieliauskas, CEO and Founder PANDO MOTO

Made for the rider

Coming to the end of this journey, Justinas Beneckas expressed a sentiment shared by many involved when asked how he hoped riders and motorcycling enthusiasts would receive the final product.

“…My hope is that when they see the bike, they think, okay, I can ride that and I can look good with that bike.”

Together PANDO MOTO and Royal Enfield have created a modern motorcycle that is sure to turn heads for all the right reasons. It is functional and safe, without sacrificing style, created by motorcycle lovers for the modern explorer.