When Royal Enfield launched the Hunter 350, it wasn't just releasing a motorcycle; it was providing a gateway into the brand for a younger, urban audience. Built on the 349cc J-platform, the Hunter is a punchy, agile roadster that trades the stately poise of the Classic 350 for a more responsive, street-focused geometry. With 20.2 hp, it’s a modern-retro commuter that begs for a bit of mischief.
In Gujarat, India, Jay D. Patel and his team at JD Customs specialize in that very mischief. JD Customs has built its reputation on a rigorous "in-house" philosophy—whether it’s hand-beating a fuel tank from sheet metal or rendering a 3D part for a VMC machine. So, when Royal Enfield commissioned Jay to build a custom Hunter for their "Hunterhood" tour representing the North East of India, the team knew they had to build something that could survive the "Seven Sisters"—the rugged, untamed terrain of the North Eastern states.
The North East of India is a land where hills fold into valleys, and forests swallow the roads. "This land doesn’t adapt to machines; machines adapt to this land," Jay explains. The first order of business was to strip the Hunter down to its core, discarding the urban plastics to find the "torquey, rumbling character" hidden beneath.
To transform the city roadster, now named "Konyak", after the warrior tribe of Northeast India, into a backcountry scrambler, the suspension required a total rethink. The JD team raised the front forks and, in a significant engineering departure, converted the twin-shock rear into a monoshock configuration. The swingarm was modified to accommodate the new geometry, significantly increasing ground clearance and giving the Hunter a taller, more confident posture. A custom subframe was then fabricated to support a high-mounted seat, pushing the rider into an upright, commanding position designed for technical off-road control.
While the mechanicals were being sorted, the design team delved into the culture of the Konyaks. The influence is most striking in the front fairing; the stock 7-inch headlight was ditched for a custom assembly housing twin high-output LEDs. The fairing itself is an abstract interpretation of a Konyak face—raw, aggressive, and finished with a high-mounted front mudguard.
The storytelling continues at the fuel tank. A custom brass fuel cap was handcrafted to resemble a Headhunter’s necklace. Historically, these pieces represented strength and identity, and on this build, it serves as a meaningful anchor for the bike's personality. The exhaust is equally purpose-driven: a handcrafted, stainless steel high-mount system designed to stay clear of the mud and rocks of the Nagaland trails.
The final phase of the build was the paint, which Jay describes as a vivid tribute to the lush green belt of India’s North East, stretching from the rolling tea gardens of Assam to the region's dense, preserved forests. The bodywork is drenched in deep green hues that serve as a natural base, sharply contrasted by a set of striking gold rims that add a touch of premium flair.
To ground the bike in its tribal inspiration, the tank and side covers feature freehand shading modeled after traditional Konyak tattoo art. These graphics were executed with an intentional imperfection, mirroring the authentic, hand-worked nature of the tribe's cultural markings. Finishing the aesthetic, ivory tones were selected for the borders and Royal Enfield logos, while thin, dark red pinstripes provide a subtle, somber nod to the brutal warrior history and the "headhunter" legacy that defines the Konyak culture.
JD Customs didn't set out to build a "flashy show bike." They’ve created a scrambler with a backbone—a machine that respects the heritage of the Seven Sisters while proving that the Hunter 350 is a far more capable platform than its "urban" label suggests.
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