Royal Enfield’s Slide School

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Getting up to speed on a Slide School–prepped Royal Enfield Himalayan. (Tristan Afre/)

On the morning of the American Flat Track races at Weedsport Speedway, the 3/8-mile short track is deserted and the adjacent field of RVs and factory big rigs is all but silent. On the other side of a chain-link fence cordoning off the paddock, a UTV is doing laps around a D-shaped 1/10-mile go-kart track, churning up the claylike surface following overnight rain. While his fellow AFT pro racers are still asleep, Johnny Lewis is prepping the track for Royal Enfield’s Slide School.

After gearing up for a morning of turning left, a dozen students gather in the shade of the vacant pit garage overlooking the track. The students’ motley mix of gear, from motocross duds to overbuilt adventure-touring gear to waxed cotton jackets and riding denim, represents the range of riding backgrounds typical of Slide School participants.

Lewis, who injured his knee at the previous round at Laconia, sidelining him for the night’s Production Twins race, gingerly dismounts a Himalayan flat tracker after doing a quick sighting lap and comes into the shade to brief the riders.

Elbow up, Richards! To get his point across about the importance of body position, Lewis jokingly told the author he’d look like a moron in photos if he didn’t put his elbow up. He was right. (Tristan Afre/)

“Raise your hand if you know what flat-track racing is,” Lewis begins. A quarter of the students leave their hands in their pockets.

One would suppose that a passing interest in the sport would be the primary motivation to enroll in Slide School, but Lewis says that’s not always the case. “A lot of guys come just because they own a Royal Enfield,” he says.

For Royal Enfield’s part, giving its customers, many of whom are new to motorcycling, a sense of discovery is just the beginning. From inception, Slide School was positioned as the counterpart to its American Flat Track racing program, itself an effort to exhibit the brand’s core values.

Lewis instructs before sending a group out. (Tristan Afre/)

If flat-track racing seems like, well, a left turn for a brand with little recent history of competition and a relatively small piece of the US market share, it alludes to the brand’s ambition domestically and its belief in the global prestige of AFT.

Adrian Sellers, RE’s UK-based head of industrial design and custom projects, says: “Our brand is about engaging with riders and offering an accessible motorcycling experience. We knew that our 650 twin motor had a lot of potential, and flat track’s approachable format very much mirrors our own brand ethos. It seemed like a perfect match.

The Himalyan’s easy power delivery and communicative chassis combine to make this a surprisingly confidence-inspiring bike to learn flat-track fundamentals on. (Tristan Afre/)

“When we decided to go flat-track racing, we wanted to make sure that we not only offered people a viewing experience, but also provided them an opportunity to try it themselves. You can cheer for our racers on Saturday, then go and take a Slide School from them on Sunday.”

That’s where Lewis comes in. He’s Royal Enfield’s factory racer, team manager, development rider, teacher, and brand ambassador all in one.

For nearly two decades, Lewis has been on the professional flat-track scene. In that time, he’s garnered a reputation for developing machinery, giving upstart Euros like Triumph and Ducati success on the dirt ovals of rural America. More recently, he’s branched into rider development. In 2015, Lewis started Moto Anatomy, his training program designed to educate everyone from novices who want to sample dirt for the first time to pros looking to shave tenths off their lap times.

Slide School currently costs $300 for a three-hour class and includes bike rental. In addition to schools during the AFT season, Lewis conducts training at his Moto Anatomy facility in Center Hill, Florida, and other locations throughout the year. (Tristan Afre/)

Not only has Lewis developed a race-winning motorcycle with the INT650, giving the brand its first AMA win in 2020, he’s personally trained around 500 students at Slide School.

In the paddock in Weedsport, Lewis explains the basics of riding a flat track motorcycle and then divides the class into groups based on skill—only he hasn’t seen anyone ride yet. Preternaturally gifted at sizing people up, apparently, the groups are well-matched with the exception of only one or two riders.

Hopping aboard a Himalayan wearing Lewis’ No. 10, we are impressed by how easily the 411cc single has transitioned from utilitarian, budget adventure-tourer to flat tracker. Breathing freer through an S&S exhaust, the Himalayan hustles to the first corner in spite of producing less than 21.81 hp and 20.95 lb.-ft. of torque (as last tested in stock trim on the CW dyno).

Front brakes not included. (Tristan Afre/)

“At first I was kind of nervous about using these bikes,” Lewis admits, “but they actually work really well for what we’re doing. They’re heavy, which makes them planted. They have good torque but aren’t so powerful that they’ll get someone into trouble if it’s their first time. The overall geometry is really good as well. All we do is put on a flat-track-style seat, cut off the buddy pegs, take off the lights and turn signals, and replace the 21/18 wheels with 19-inch wheels front and rear.”

The first tentative laps around the oval won’t feel entirely foreign to anyone who’s grown up riding a dirt bike in their backyard. Slipping to the high side of the seat as the bike leans into the corner, there’s ample traction and the bike’s easy power delivery and communicative chassis encourage unwarranted self-belief. Confidence notwithstanding, Lewis’ keen eye spots flaws in technique immediately. Minor details, like keeping the outside elbow up, can’t be a big deal, one thinks. In fact, the whole game is about minor details.

The kart track at Weedsport Speedway. Lewis says that one of the advantages of flat-track training is that it requires neither a lot of space nor a ton of effort to set up a track. In 2021, he quickly built a track in the infield of Texas Motor Speedway for a four-day class. (Tristan Afre/)

After each session, Lewis gives personalized feedback as time permits and introduces the entire class to a new fundamental to focus on during the next session. After the first exploratory laps, it’s: Shut the throttle before turn-in and don’t touch it until the exit. Then it’s: Add rear brake when you get off the gas to settle the suspension. Don’t forget to keep your outside elbow up. Lean back on corner exit and down the straight. When you stick your leg out, put your foot down pinkie first.

“It’s not just going around a circle,” Lewis says. “There are many pieces with overlapping actions, and you have to do every single step. You can’t skip a step. People skip a step on motorcycles and they get hurt. The mindset applies to everyday riding.”

Lewis aboard the Royal Enfield INT650 AFT Production Twins racebike. (Tristan Afre/)

There’s no secret code to riding a motorcycle quickly and safely. It’s all fundamentals: throttle control, braking, body position, choosing the right line. While the particulars are different from discipline to discipline, the fundamentals are universal. Thanks to the dependability of the laws of physics, Lewis can hop on a superbike and go quickly right out of the box, and Márquez and Rossi can swap grand prix prototypes for flat trackers and still ride like, well, Márquez and Rossi.

The dirt oval’s simplicity of form benefits multitime world champions and the greenest of novices alike. A few sessions at Slide School reveal how the oval facilitates a rider’s ability to focus on technique, rather than getting sidetracked by a roadracing circuit’s mix of a dozen or more corners with different apexes, cambers, and braking markers. On an oval, riders hit the same corner over and over again, not only, say, five times a session. It’s riders-versus-themselves instead of riders-versus-track.

Johnny Lewis in race-prep mode. Lewis says: “I don’t care if you become a flat-tracker. I just want you to have a safer, more controlled experience on a motorcycle. It’s neat to me that the sport I race can provide such a wide range of knowledge for other riders.” (Tristan Afre/)

“Flat track is a powerful tool for becoming a better rider—it’s a sport essentially built around controlling a loss of control,” Sellers says. “So whether you have a desire to go racing or not, attending a Slide School will better prepare you for your daily riding—with the added advantage of putting a big ol’ grin on your face while doing it.”

By the end of the morning, none of the students looked like Mert Lawwill out there, but there wasn’t a glum face to be seen. Exhausted and excited, every rider grew in confidence and gained a new appreciation for what a Royal Enfield can do. Whether or not students came in as fans of the brand or of flat-track racing, no one left without falling in love with one or the other.

Royal Enfield has already made quite a splash in the flat-track paddock. (Tristan Afre/)

Later that evening, Lewis hands over the Royal Enfield twin racebike to up-and-comer Cameron Smith, who he’s trained for several years. Smith finishes the Production Twins race in second place, proving he may be deserving of the second factory seat, but also showcasing just how good of a racebike Lewis has developed.

While Royal Enfield’s AFT racing program is finding its groove on America’s out-of-the-way dirt ovals, Slide School is going global. Lewis has already gotten schools up and running in India, England, and Brazil with more to come. Royal Enfield’s flat track program and its global plans for Slide School complete the circle between brand and consumer, novice and expert, American pastime and global phenomenon. It just goes to show: There’s a lot more to going in circles than turning left.

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