Legendary explorer Nick Sanders partners with Royal Enfield for 30,000km European epic on a Bear 650

Round the world motorcycle explorer Nick Sanders has partnered with Royal Enfield on a 30,000km adventure around the edge of Europe on a Bear 650 retro twin.

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Setting off at the end of March, the 11-time round-the-world traveller is riding anti-clockwise, hugging the coastline where possible. He’ll go as far north as Nordkapp, Norway, within the Arctic Circle, and skirt round the edge of Ukraine.   

It’s Nick’s first adventure with the Royal Enfield since his original round the world route on a Bullet 500 in 1992, with Sanders returning to the brand after a 25-year partnership with Yamaha.

“I feel like I’ve come back to the beginning,” Sanders told MCN ahead of the ride. “The reason why I chose Enfield in the very beginning was because the bike was full of character, relatively understandable, and had that 1950s look to it.

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“But now, having come back, I’m completely gobsmacked with the way the brand has changed. It’s completely mad, and they’re selling around a million bikes a year around the world. They’ve got factories all over the place, and the development is top notch.”

Nick will be camping around the route, as well as documenting the adventure on his own social media channels and YouTube page. There will also be the chance to meet him along the route at The Touratech Travel Event in Germany from May 30 to June 1, with the trip coming to an end live at the Adventure Bike Rider Festival (ABR) on June 27-29 in Warwickshire.

“I chose to come back to Royal Enfield and that was very important to me,” Sanders added. “I looked around and didn’t want a Japanese brand, I wanted something very different.

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“Some of the adventure bikes which cost £25,000-£30,000 are almost cars now – they’re bloody big things. This is going back to the essentials and going back to proper basics of motorbiking, and that’s what appeals to me.”

The £6749 Bear 650 being used for the ride was launched by Enfield ahead of the 2025 riding season. An easy-going retro scrambler, it’s powered by their tried and tested air/oil-cooled 648cc twin cylinder engine – producing a claimed 46.8bhp at 7150rpm.

Watch: Royal Enfield Bear 650 first ride video