You don’t typically see customized outlets collaborating. However as they are saying, a rising tide lifts all ships—and a three way partnership between two main builders from the Netherlands has resulted on this wild café racer idea primarily based on the BMW R9T.
When you’ve been using together with Bike EXIF for some time, you’ll probably know one of many builders: Arjan van den Increase of Ironwood Bikes. Based mostly within the capital metropolis of Amsterdam, he’s constructed a number of the most attention-grabbing customs in Europe, with a hard-edged fashion and an aggressive method to stance.
The opposite man behind CNCPT Moto and this R9T is Timothy Somers of Powerbrick. He’s 70 miles down the street from Arjan in Rotterdam, the second largest metropolis, and focuses on customized components for outdated and new BMWs.
Most R9T customs amp up the retro vibe, however ‘Cloud 9’ is a imaginative and prescient of the longer term. It’s an uncommon and extremely conceptual construct, and never surprisingly, it didn’t occur in a single day. Plans had been shaped two years in the past, however because of Covid, progress was gradual—till a deadline to make the Bike Shed present in London popped up.
Arjan describes the look of this R9T as ‘neo futuristic.’ “I assume it’s our idealistic method to the way forward for customizing, a teleport into 2084,” he says.
“We determined to go for a monocoque-style physique in ASA thermoplastic, with edgy repeating outlines on the body and engine.” However regardless of the superior seems, the physique was formed first in conventional clay, earlier than being digitized after which 3D printed.
The monocoque impact is an phantasm. “The physique is in two items, in any other case it’s not mountable,” says Arjan. “There’s a rear part with the seat, and an higher entrance piece. It’s mounted onto the inventory mounting factors, which is what we wished.”
The airbox association can be fascinating. Take away the black grill, and off to the facet is a DNA filter in a 3D-printed filter field. However you possibly can stick your hand proper by means of the opening. (“Maintain my beer!”)
The brand new bodywork meant a brand new gasoline cell. So a shoebox formed cell was welded up from aluminum, and designed to make use of the OEM pump and connectors. Then lenses for the lighting had been printed up from artificial polymer resin, with highly effective LEDs hidden behind.
Arjan’s common offsiders helped with the specialist jobs: the slimline seat pad was upholstered in leather-based and Alcantara by Silvermachine, and the ghostly silver paint was shot by Jacco from Royal Kustom Works in Dordrecht.
Different visible mods embody CNC’d valve covers, and a brand new entrance cowl for the boxer engine. The forks have been upgraded with hydraulic cartridge internals from Matris, plus carbon tubes provided by CeraCarbon. (The monoshock is from the Dutch maker TFX.)
Light-weight 17-inch carbon wheels from the Slovenian specialist Rotobox
drastically scale back the unsprung weight, they usually’re shod with ultra-sticky Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks.
Cloud 9 is completed off with an entire customized stainless-steel exhaust system—proper right down to the mufflers—with a hand-bent aluminum plate stomach pan aligning with the decrease pipework.
The bars are dressed with new controls and a speedo from Motogadget, plus Beringer brake and clutch masters. And people pops of shade? They had been supplied by native heroes Brothercoating, simply across the nook from the Ironwood workshop.
It’s an intriguing outcome coming from what Arjan describes as a ‘serviette design.’ However then once more, the perfect concepts are sometimes scribbled on the again of an envelope.
“Seeing this venture coming to life, going from clay to printed polymer, was a satisfying course of,” he says. “Nonetheless, our brainchild is a prototype—and just the start of larger issues to come back.”
When you’re going to BMW’s large Pure & Crafted competition in Berlin at first of July, you’ll be capable of examine this R9T there. Even higher, it’ll be on the market afterwards—simply contact Arjan for particulars.
CNCPT Moto Instagram | Ironwood Customized Bikes | Powerbrick | Photos by Paul van Mondfrans Lindén
