Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield

Team: Moto Anatomy Powered by Royal Enfield

Rider: Johnny Lewis

How it all began:

2020 kicked off the relationship between Moto Anatomy ( Johnny Lewis) and Royal Enfield race team. Johnny was hired on to develop the race bike, build and manage the race team in the American Flat Track series under Royal Enfield Adrian Sellers. First time seat on the Royal Enfield FT800 December 2019 in England, Johnny provided a list up request for the UK based development center and Harris Performance Chassis builders to make. The journey was set to begin spring 2020, but covid-19 changed all plans. The world shut down, and the progress was on hold. Fast forward to September 9th, the shipment of the 2020 race bike has arrived at the JFK International airport, 3 hours from a workspace Johnny arranged in PA to be able to build put the race bike together and go race September 11th at the American Flat Track Williams Grove Speedway. Johnny jumped in his box truck and drove into the city, getting to the shipping center just before closing at 8:30pm. Loaded up one crate that was for the race engine, and the second larger crate that was everything else, in pieces.

Returning to his parents house in PA at 1am, Johnny then woke up at 5am to head to the garage space to start the build. Part by part the build continues, installing the race engine, chasing down missing copper washers for the oil lines, installing brake lines, a Rekluse clutch kit, bars, grips, mounting race tires, safety wiring, all in a rush to get the bike complete by 3pm to get to a track to test. But it didn’t happen.

With Royal Enfield North Americans Marketing manager Bree Poland on hand with film crew documenting the build, the mad rush, the unknowns, the bike was completed the night before the race at nearly 11pm. That’s when the film crew sat Johnny in front of the camera for an interview, and the first thing he say’s is, “ I want to win”.

The season didn’t start at round one for the team, it started over half way into a strange season due to Covid-19. Hardly any miles on the schedule, new tracks the series hasn’t raced at, tracks they haven’t been to in years, and alot of unknowns weekly as if they were even going to be able to go racing, not a season for Royal Enfield to make the jump into a professional race series by any means. But with 5 events and 10 races with double headers at all rounds on the schedule starting September 11th for team, it was game on for development.

12 hours after finishing the race bike, the Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield team was pulling into the pits to unload for its debut race, and what a debut it was. Realizing first practice that they were extremely down on power compared to the other riders, you could see the racer in Johnny come out. With all force, he was able to start the Royal Enfields first semi final on the front row. Getting off to a great start, and pushing the bike to its current limits Johnny finished 3rd in the semi to make his and the Royal Enfields first Production Twins main event, a huge accomplishment for the team and everyone involved with the situations that stood in the way over the last few months and the hours leading up to the day. Putting in a solid effort Johnny finished a distant 6th place.

Day 2 provided an opportunity for the team to push the limits a little more. In the start of the semi final, Johnny got off with the previous nights race winner and the 2019 Production Twins Champion, but half way through the race the engine blow white smoke and lost power, shutting down. With the chance to still make the main event, the team rush the bike back to the pits and started to tear apart an race engine they never took apart before. Realizing it was a head gasket, the team called the UK engine development crew and asked for all specs to replace, from the process to even take apart, torque specs, to how to retime the engine once everything was replaced. In a mad rush the team was able to get the bike running with all hands on deck, Johnny never getting a rest from the time he pushed the bike off the track to was starting the bike back up to head onto the track ( roughly 1 hour and 10 minutes). He lined up for the Royal Enfields second main event of its career in dead last. Working his way through the field and coming home a 7th place finish after 21 laps.

To think this was the start of the Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfields first outing after the bike landed in the states just 2 days prior you would have thought this was going to be a long couple of weeks with the next 4 events 4 weeks in a row, well you were right, but there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Two DNF’s in Texas, skipping Atlanta, DNF at Charlotte, with a rain out on day two in Charlotte, you would have thought coming into the season finale Johnny would have been over the development of the Royal Enfield, but nope, he knew this was just the beginning.

That Monday after Charlotte’s rain out, Johnny sent Adrian an email, “We are going to win Daytona”.

Coming off a rough few weeks and into the season finale, Johnny knew Daytona was going to be different, it was a 1/4 mile short track, slick, and a place he won before against the best of the best. Knowing power wasn’t needed, just a bike to finish the race, the team made a few changes to the race bike to make sure the bike finished the day. Both qualifying session Johnny was top three, taking the semi win, and then taking the holeshot in the main and getting Royal Enfields its first professional victory in American Flat Track in just 6 weeks!

Now that is a Covid-19 2020 race season you’ll never forget!

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Motul

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S&S Cycles

Woody Kyle Racing

Cometic Gaskets

Just 1 Racing

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Beringer Brakes  

Solid Performance 

Rekluse

Lightshoe 

EVS Sports

Saddlemen 

NJK   

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