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At Keanu Reeves’ bespoke motorcycle company, even the catalytic converters are custom-made

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by Sue Callaway from https://www.latimes.com It’s easy to see that the new KRGT-1 from Arch Motorcycle is a special machine. Each seat is custom-fit to the buyer. Each key, machined out of billet aluminum, comes in a dramatic case, along with a book chronicling the bike’s build story. The fuel tank, split in half to house Arch’s proprietary downdraft system, is also carved from billet. Fenders are state-of-the-art carbon fiber. As co-founder Keanu Reeves says, every Arch is a showcase of “all the classical moments you look for in a bike.” Much of it is made in-house. Reeves, his co-founder, Gard Hollinger — a longtime custom bike builder — and their team design and fabricate more than 200 components for each bike in Arch’s Hawthorne facility. But there’s also some nifty out-of-house engineering on the KRGT-1 — including one component that could prove vital not just to Arch’s business but for manufacturers of internal-combustion-powered products of all sorts, from lawnmowers and automobiles to barges, trucks and power plants. Acat Global, a Michigan-based company, is the supplier of Arch’s catalytic converters, or “cats,” as they’re called. A two-year collaboration between Arch and Acat resulted in cats that are custom-designed to fit into the KRGT-1’s unique architecture while reducing the amount of noxious exhaust gases emitted from conventional cat designs. They have helped Arch meet not only California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency standards but also stringent Euro 4 emissions requirements. “When we began the Euro 4 process in early 2017, we put together a binder of all the regulatory stuff, and it was 4 inches thick,” Hollinger said. With Euro 4 approval, Arch can now go global. The story of these two companies shows that the path some innovative products take to get to market — motorcycles and components […]

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Thunderbike Kreuzfeuer Crosses German Shapes with Harley-Davidson Power

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com It’s very hard to find a recent custom motorcycle worth talking about. That’s probably because the custom bike industry is much slower at churning out new products, and the number of garages doing stuff to/with motorcycles is much smaller than those handling cars. So, when in the mood for some stunning custom motorcycle, the way to go is back in time. It is there you’ll probably find what you’re looking for – and proof of that is the Kreuzfeuer we have in the gallery above, coming to us from all the way back in 2005. Kreuzfeuer (which is German for Crossfire) was built by one of the most active custom motorcycle garages in Europe, Thunderbike. It was completed so long ago that we don’t really know where it is at the moment, or whether someone is still using it as a daily ride. But it remains stunning nonetheless. Just like a great deal of other two-wheelers made by Thunderbike, this too blends the lines of a custom (albeit mass-produced) frame called Dragster with the power of a proven Harley-Davidson engine, Thunderbike styling, and a crazy Kruse Design paint job to come result in a truly unique build. The frame, one of the about 15 available in the garage’s portfolio at the moment, is equipped from the get-go with fuel and oil tanks, CNC machined aluminum swingarm, rear fender, rear wheel axle, bracket for engine, bracket for battery, and seat plate. Inside it rests a Harley-Davidson Twin-Cam engine, 1,550cc in displacement and good for 88 ps. It is equipped with a Harley 5-speed gearbox and a Mikuni carburetor. The entire finished assembly rides on equally sized (diameter) custom wheels front and rear, and a red-orange-black paint job adorns most of the body of the machine. We

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Harley-Davidson Golden Lowrider Is Why Gold Is Not Cool on Custom Bikes

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com/ We’re not sure what is it about gold that makes it look so tacky on cars and motorcycles, but it is what it is: although there are some trying to make gold give a noble look to their rides, all they manage to do is make them look completely and uselessly bling. In the world of motorcycles, the Yamaha-based Nehmesis is the perfect example of bling builds. Completed some years ago, the extreme machine would have looked perhaps even greater had any other colors than gold and red velvet would have been chosen for it. Of course, what’s poor taste for some is worth every penny for others. Despite its shortcomings, the Nehmesis is worth around $3 million, making it one of the most expensive in the world and by extension justifying the choice of hue. A lot cheaper, but equally disturbing to look at, is this Golden Lowrider we have here. Created by German custom shop Thunderbike by pairing a custom frame and tons of custom parts with a Harley-Davidson engine, the two-wheeler goes against everything the garage is usually about. Used to being treated with incredible builds wrapped in colors that only enhance the visual look and at times even mean something – courtesy of the shop’s usual partner in this field, Kruse Design – we kind of find this one a disappointment. Sure, the overall shapes and the mechanics that went into it are of the usual German quality, but those are completely outshined by the gold that wraps around everything with the exception of the engine, exhaust, and some other minor elements. The Golden Lowrider was made by the Germans some time ago, and as usual we’re not being told how much it cost. We also have no idea where the

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Thunderbike Gulf Edition Wraps Harley-Davidson Custom Build in Le Mans Colors

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com There are a few car colors in this world that are perhaps more recognizable than the vehicles they are sprayed on. When talking about production cars, who doesn’t know about the Nardo Gray, or the British Racing Green? Motorsport has its share of stars as well. One of them is called Gulf Oil livery, and was made famous back in the 1960s by Ford and its efforts to better Ferrari at Le Mans. It was later sprayed on other machines as well, and it is presently to be found on one of the many versions of the Ford GT. We must admit though that we’ve never seen the Gulf on a motorcycle. At least not until we uncovered the Thunderbike Gulf Edition, a motorcycle made by the famous German shop with the goal of paying tribute to the “absolute cult in racing” color scheme. The bike itself is the usual blend of a custom frame (in this case one called Dragster RS) and the power of a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle engine. The two were paired to a wealth of custom parts that look great, but are made stunning by the color wrap. We’re not told who handled the paint scheme, but knowing Thunderbike it was probably Kruse Design. The specialist really outdid itself this time, somehow managing to closely replicate the blue and orange scheme seen on the Le Mans racers. The entire frame of the bike is blue, and so are the fuel tank and fenders. An orange stripe runs smack down the middle, from the right fender, over the fuel tank and seat, and ends on the rear fender. Both shades seems to be the proper ones, and look amazing with the black of the engine block and the wheels. We are not

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The Only Harley-Davidson Bits on This Dragster Bike Are the Engine and Transmiss

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Like it or not, the name Harley-Davidson is the dominant one in the world of motorcycle building. You get bikes made in Milwaukee either in factory-form or as one of the countless interpretations made by garages across the world. But you also get Harley DNA in most of the otherwise full-custom motorcycles out there. That’s because the hardware made in Milwaukee – and that includes first and foremost the engine and transmission – is suitable for all kind of projects, provided you have all the required parts to accommodate them. And Thunderbike, one of the major players in the custom bike segment in Europe, sure does. The motorcycle you see in the gallery above is called RS-O. Just like other builds made by the Germans, it is based on a frame called Dragster RS – one of the about 15 such frames available in Thunderbike’s portfolio. The frame, and pretty much everything else, with the exception of the engine and transmission, are custom made. But first things first. The Dragster RS is more of a kit than a simple frame. It comes in thick-walled steel tubes and CNC-milled side profiles, oil and fuel tank, aluminum swingarm with battery holder, rear section, rear wheel axle, motor bracket, and seat plate. Inside it, the shop fitted a Screamin’ Eagle engine and tied to a Harley 5-speed transmission. The unit gets its jolts from a custom fuel injection system, and breathes through a custom exhaust. The bike is wrapped in a graphic signed by the shop’s usual partner in this field, Kruse Design, and we must say it really sticks out in the crowd: the bright orange on the bodywork looks even better offset by the blackness of the engine block, and the chequered pattern adorning the fuel

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Thunderbike Smoothless Custom Motorcycle Is the Snow White Beauty of Dubai

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Dubai is one of those places where there’s no shortage of extreme and luxury cars. The city’s residents have made a name for themselves as being among the richest on the planet, and this is why here you get to see more high-end products than anywhere else in the world. Having found an undying love for all things motorized, those in Dubai spare no expense in flashing their wealth on the roads and on the dunes. The city’s police force, for instance, drives around in Lamborghinis, Ferraris, or Bentleys. They’re even looking into making flying bikes a reality. What we don’t see so often however are the custom motorcycles made for the local elite. The custom bike you see in the gallery above is one of the bikes that can be found in Dubai. It is named Smoothless, and has been built by German custom shop Thunderbike for one of the customers there. The two-wheeler is custom from front to rear, and despite its name is as smooth as they come. The backbone is a custom high neck frame the garage calls Radical Over Curved. It is more of a kit actually, as it comes with all the extras needed for a successful build: the frame itself, the fuel and oil tanks, a CNC-milled aluminum swingarm with battery holder, rear section with wheel axle motor bracket, seat plate and tank transition. Made from thick-walled tubes and CNC milled side profiles, it offers a steering head height of nine inches and supports the engine. As usual when it comes to Thunderbike builds, we are not given the full specs or the price of the finished product. We do know however that the frame alone is worth a bit over 11,000 euros (close to $13,000). Add the

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Harley-Davidson R-Odynamic Is Screamin’ Eagle Heart in the Right Custom Body

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com If we were to choose between a custom made motorcycle (that means built from the ground up, with different parts made to fit together in previously untried ways) and an extreme conversion of an existing series production model, we’d certainly go full custom. Perhaps that’s owed to the countless hours spent in front of a TV screen in our childhood, seeing the likes of the Teutuls working their magic on metal while fighting each other like they were enemies. Thanks to them and others that go back decades, custom motorcycles are still very hot in America today. Not the same can be said about Europe. There are far fewer shops there, and most of them are involved in bringing back to life old, locally-made models the likes of 1970s-1980s BMWs. Sure, there are shops specializing in reimagining Harleys, as we’ve seen in the recently concluded King of Kings competition, but almost none of them is in the business of mating Harley engines to custom frames, for instance. We said almost because in Germany there’s a very active shop that goes by the name Thunderbike. The group has in its portfolio literally hundreds of Harley builds, most of them based on existing models, but also around 15 frames they have been playing around with for the past 25 years. One of those frames is called Dragster R-Odynamic, and is used to underpin the bike in the gallery above. Specifically designed to work with 21-inch rear tires, it only includes the single-side swingarm, meaning everything else has to be carefully fitted to work with it. First, the engine. The shop went in this case with a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 110. Tied to a Harley-Davidson 6-speed transmission and ignition, it breathes through a Vance & Hines exhaust system.

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Harley-Davidson El Fuego Brings German Heat to the Road

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com A custom, German-made frame, a proven, Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 110ci engine sitting inside, and a paint job to die for – these are the three elements of the custom motorcycle known as El Fuego. Shown in all its glory in the gallery above, the El Fuego is one of the hottest builds coming our way from Germany-based custom garage Thunderbike. Responsible for literally hundreds of custom motorcycles, all based or inspired by the Milwaukee-made two-wheelers, the crew behind this machine surely outdone themselves with this one. First, the frame. Thunderbike has around 15 in its portfolio, meaning it could design bikes to suit all tastes. The one used here is called Dragster RS, and is more of a kit: it includes the frame itself, the fuel and oil tanks, CNC-milled aluminum swingarm with battery holder, rear section, rear wheel axle, motor bracket, and seat plate. Ready for the road, it only needed an engine and some wheels to get it moving. In the case of the former, the shop went for the Screamin’ Eagle 110ci, adn tied it to a Thunderbike exhaust. For the latter, the elements of choice were monoblock wheels, milled from solid aluminum blocks and wrapped in Metzeler tires. The flowing lines and curves of the build would have been nothing without a proper paint job. As usual, Thunderbike turned to Kruse Design for the visual tweaking, which in this case translated into a hot combination between the black on pretty much all parts of the motorcycle and the metallic orange on the tanks, fenders, and wheels. Thunderbike does not say how much El Fuego cost to make, but you should know the Dragster RS frame kit alone is worth close to 12,000 euros. That’s about $14,000 at today’s exchange rates.

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Freestyle Harley-Davidson Blue Flames Is What’s Wrong with Series Custom Frames

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Take a good long look at any custom motorcycle made in the U.S. No matter in what state they were made, or when, they tend to have that certain unique feel about them. And a big reason for that is the custom frame that underpin them. You see, Americans love to make one-offd, and that is why the garages there usually don’t make a frame and then turn series production on it. This results in truly unique two-wheelers, each with its story to tell. Not the same can be said about Europe though. First off, there are far fewer custom motorcycle garages there. Secondly, the ones that do exist have been forced to turn to mass production, including of custom frames, and that takes its toll on the originality of this build. Take the bike in the gallery above. It comes from Europe, and is the work of a very busy garage there called Thunderbike. It looks very much like all the other custom-framed Thunderbikes we’ve discussed over the past few months, regardless of when they were made. This one comes from 2008, and it is the result of pairing a custom Thunderbike frame by the name Freestyle with the usual Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle engine. It appears to be exactly what you would expect from a custom European bike, with nothing particularly exciting about it. And the blue color sprayed on it, the work of Thunderbike’s usual partner in this area, Kruse Design, does not seem to help either. The fact the bike will probably not be remembered down the ages (we uncovered it while digging for machines worthy of our Custom Builds Month coverage) does not diminish the merits of the frame tough. Made from large diameter cold-rolled ST52 steel tubing, it comes complete

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Harley-Davidson Radical Over 26 Is All About the Massive 26-Inch Front Wheel

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com As some of you might have noticed over the past few days, as part of our Custom Builds Months we started covering more the side of the motorcycle industry that has to do with custom frames, because this is how you get truly unique builds. Generally, motorcycle garages come up with a frame design and stick with it, if it works, for the limited number of bikes made based on it. But there is one such organization in Germany that has not one, but 15 custom frames, and made not a few, but literally dozens of bikes using them. The shop is called Thunderbike, and one of those dozen bikes they made over the years is the one in the gallery above. It’s called Radical Over 26, hinting to both the type of frame used, and the size of one of the wheels that support it. First, the frame. Thunderbike has about six Radical frames in their portfolio, ranging from lowriders to the extremely curved one that formed the basis of this machine. This one allows for the integration of Twin Cam B engines, and is made of large-diameter cold rolled ST52 steel tubing. To power it along the shop chose a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 103 good for 100 ps and gifted it with a Mikuni HSR 42 carburetor and a custom exhaust system. As for the element that makes the bike stand out perhaps the most, the wheels are seriously imbalanced in terms of size, and that, coupled with the very low seating position and the raised handlebar really make the motorcycle worthy of the Radical name. Up front, the shop went for a 26-inch wheel inspired by the one used on another of its custom builds, the Open Mind, and offset it with

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