Australia's first Royal Enfield concept store closes its doors permanently

The first dedicated Royal Enfield store in Australia has closed its doors for good, with popular dealership Mid Life Cycles announcing its demise via social media.

“After 15 years, we’ve decided to call it a day,” said the statement on Instagram. “The costs of doing business – monetary and personal – outweighed the satisfaction of doing it well and working with a great community of suppliers and customers.”

According to a Reddit thread, the Cremorne-based business was served a Termination of Lease notice by the landlords on February 5. A comment on the thread from Mid Life Cycles manager Michael Catchpole acknowledged the notice and said all bikes were being transported to a workshop so that services and repairs could be completed.

The 1585m2 property in Cremorne, which also houses an F45 gym and the Ms Frankies restaurant, was sold to new owners in August 2023. The listing on realcommercial.com.au says the property has “unprecedented development potential in Melbourne’s strongest commercial precinct”.

The Reddit thread also included multiple comments complimenting Mid Life Cycles and its staff for its expert knowledge and great customer service.  

Mid Life Cycles was established as an independent motorcycle sales, service, repairs, and parts and accessories business, with a strong focus on retro and classic bikes.

The store had the distinction of becoming Australia's first official Royal Enfield concept store in 2016 and has been an important hub for the local Royal Enfield community ever since.  

Owner and operator Michael Catchpole is now set to “return to motorcycling as a rewarding experience – riding, designing, and building”.

The company’s social media post said “thank you to all our customers and suppliers, particularly to Royal Enfield. We’ve shared the rise of this brand in eight short years from fun classics to some of the best mid-range motorcycles money can buy”.