Royal Enfield Slide School: Flat Track Coolness Delivered

Be it a car or a bike, getting the thing sideways is one of the coolest things you can do with them. After all, there’s a reason we love watching the Climb Dance with Ari Vatanen behind the wheel on YouTube on repeat. But on a bike, and on grippy tarmac, one would need monumental amounts of skill to both ‘back it in’, or drift the motorcycle out of corners. Since most of us are mere mortals, and not as gifted as we would like to believe, well, we have hitherto failed to deliver cool. Especially on social media.

All that is in the past now. Because now with the Slide School, Royal Enfield has finally put cool well within our reach. And as it turns out, I had the opportunity to attend this maiden ‘school of cool’. 

What is the Slide School, you ask? It’s an introduction to the world of Flat Track. All it involves is two corners; hard packed dirt; a motorcycle with no front brake; and turning left. Sounds easy, right? It is till you add speed to the equation. Then it’s panic and prayer.

And those prayers are answered in the form of drills.  

 Now, the first thing that strikes you as unique about the School is that it’s only three hours long! You have one classroom session so to speak, which is essentially an introduction to the Flat Track school of thought, basic body positioning, and the ideal line one needs to follow.

Then it’s time for a track walk. This helps the student understand the surface he or she will be dealing with. It also helps them understand the lines, which were spoken about in the classroom, better.  And it helps the students pick their reference points - where to brake, where to downshift, where to look, and when to get back on the throttle.  

 Finally, the students are asked to watch their fellow riders go around the oval so that they can pick the good and bad, to better understand the drill. This last bit is another unique thing about the Slide School. 

The FT411 or the Flat Track 411 is your Royal Enfield Himalayan in some really tasty clothes. Let’s first tell you what hasn’t changed from the stock Himalayan. The FT411 still uses the same chassis and suspension; it has the same fuel tank; and the engine - at least in displacement - continues to be unchanged as well. And though there’s no change to the gearbox, the final drive is now shorter to better suit the Big Rock Dirt Park oval.   

The top differences between the FT411 and the stock motorcycle, meanwhile, include bodywork, brakes, wheels and tyres, and seating ergos. The FT411 loses all the glass work including head and tail lights, indicators, mirrors, and the instrumentation as well.  

 The stepped seat and the rear luggage rack are replaced by a good-looking, custom made, one-piece seat. And though the footpegs are exactly where they are on the stock bike, the flatter and wider Renthal handlebar along with the new seat make the stance sportier than the regular Himalayan.

Finally, the wheels on the FT411 are 18-inch rims borrowed from the 650 Twins. The tyres meanwhile are proper flat track block tread ones from TimSun. And yes, the FT411 doesn’t have any front brake - no rotor, no caliper, and no lever on the right hand side of the handlebar either.  

 According to our chief coach Johnny Lewis - a well-known Flat Track racer - the front brake has been given a miss for two reasons. One, given the lean a flat tracker carries on dirt, even a tap of the front brake can cause the front to fold under the rider. And two, if the front doesn’t fold, using the front brake will try and get the bike to stand up.

Both results, he says, are undesirable for a Flat Tracker. So, why have the temptation at all. Not that the absence of the front brake could stop me from crashing. I did so on two occasions, and both in spectacular fashion. But, we will get to it in a bit. 

Our on-track coaching, meanwhile, was split into drills. The first drill of the day was to get our reference points in place. Without the front brake to help shed speed, it became paramount that we got our throttle roll-off point spot on. Too early, and we had to get back on the throttle before the late apex; an undesirable result. Too late, and well, we were running into the fence with panic and prayer running shotgun; definitely undesirable.  

 But, get the delicate dance between rolling-off, downshifting, and gingering the rear brake right, and the end result was surreal. The FT411 would get its rear to step out, but only just. And it kept its rear hanging out almost till we got to the apex if we had enough entry speed. And then, because we were already pointing in the direction we wanted to go, it also allowed us to get on the throttle liberally. The brave amongst us even got its rear to wag handsomely as a result.  I decided to be brave on two occasions as well. A few laps in, having gotten the roll-off-downshift-rear-brake dance going well, I decided it was time to show all and sundry who was the cat’s whisker in this game. So, I moved my reference point for it all a bit deeper into the turn. Naturally, I found myself carrying more speed into the turn than usual. Naturally, the rear hopped a bit more under the aggressive downshift. And naturally, given my right foot is as sensitive as a block of wood, instead of feathering and progressively applying pressure on the brake pedal, I stomped on it. And then I didn’t.  

 Two things happened as a result. First, I got the coolest picture of the day with me fully sideways, kicking up dirt, and looking the part. Seconds later, courtesy using the rear brake as an on/off switch instead of a regulator, I had highsided. But here’s the good thing - I told them I looked for a silver lining in everything but they never believed me - because I was in first gear (so pretty slow), and because hard packed dirt is still softer than tarmac, I could walk away with just a torn jersey, a mild ache in the ribs, and a bruised ego after the crash.  

 I was later told that apart from being clumsy with the brake, I also needed to use my inside leg as the guiding light as early as possible in a corner. It would not only help me lean the bike more, but if I ever got into another awkward situation with the brake, it would help me keep the bike down instead of it standing up and throwing me off like an ill-tempered bull. But too much of anything can be bad. And not only did I find myself using the inside leg to help lean the bike, I forgot to pick it up early enough at corner exits. The end result? Another highside. This time on the throttle with the bike pivoting around my still firmly-planted inside leg.   

But like they say, all’s well that ends well. Two highsides later, I only had an embarrassing look on my face, but no broken bones. I did take it easy post the crashes, of course. But, once I started putting everything we were taught earlier in the day together – from where to roll-off, to where to look, to when to get on the throttle, and how to sit on the bike, and what to do with the inside leg – I was having the time of my life. I was even managing small slides going into the corner, and a bit of drift coming out of them. And before I knew it three hours were done and dusted.  

That’s the thing with fun, it gives time wings. But, one thing is for certain; I am definitely going back and doing it all over again. Okay, maybe I will skip the crashes this time round, but going sideways is definitely on the agenda. And some cool insta and fb pics, of course. What’s more, it’s pretty affordable. Three hours on the FT411 will set you back by Rs 2,500. Do it on the regular BS6 Himalayan, and you can save Rs 500. Bring your own bike and that’s another Rs 500 off the price. My recommendation though, would be to spend the extra and go with the FT411. The tyres, and not having the front brake can make a world of difference.  

Photography by Kapil Angane