Royal Enfield featuring historic motorcycle recreation in Milwaukee's Third Ward
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- With hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists in town, UK motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield is reopening its Experience Center to the public, with a recreated piece of history at the center.
Starting Thursday in the Third Ward, you can come down to the Royal Enfield Experience Center, where they have a replica of their first-ever bike made in 1901.
"Our engineers at our Royal Enfield UK Technology Center designed and built this from scratch, without any technical drawings, over a period of about 18 months," said Royal Enfield's official historian Gordan May.
May says since none of the original 1901 Royal Enfield motorcycles survived, they decided to preserve the history in a unique way, with a recreation dubbed Project Origin.
He says it was a challenge for their engineers because pictures were all they had to work with, and the original had more in common with a bike than a modern motorcycle.
"Because the technology is so different from anything that people work with today," said May.
The motorcycle itself has a 250cc engine, gets up to 35 miles per hour, and doesn't have a clutch or throttle.
While May won't be riding it in the US until a few weeks from now, he has gotten a chance to ride it in period-correct clothes in the UK and India.
"So, what this sounds like is quite amazing, it goes 'dof, dof, dof, dof, dof'," explained May. "It's a real challenge to ride, but great fun."
Royal Enfield American Region Head of Marketing Nathan Kolby says they're excited to be able to welcome so many motorcyclists over to their Experience Center over the next few days to see Project Origin and other historic Royal Enfield bikes.
"It's all about inviting more people into the sport of motorcycling," said Kolby.
"You can come to see those, as well as the beautiful new Royal Enfields that are here," said May.
You can come see the replica of Royal Enfield's first bike through the 16th. Officials say they'll be reopening the Experience Center for normal business hours later this month.