I flew to L.A. this previous spring to speak a few new undertaking between actor Orlando Bloom, Deus Ex Machina’s Michael “Woolie” Woolaway, and BMW Motorrad. I’m not a lot for Hollywood, however I used to be wide-eyed about their concept. They’d take an already bare S 1000 R (a motorbike I’ve spent a summer time on and for which I’ve an affinity) and make it extra bare: a high-performance inline-four turned cooler, lighter, and extra nimble.
Talks on the brand new undertaking started when Deus founder Dare Jennings, Woolie, and Orlando met with BMW Motorrad designer Ola Stenegärd and the design crew on the Munich manufacturing facility in Germany final 12 months. Whereas the remainder of the world had caught fireplace to the stripped-down strains of the R nineT as a place to begin, Woolie drew upon his racing background and need to do one thing completely different with the race-inspired S 1000 R.
“I rapidly realized why not many individuals wish to customise this bike!” laughs Woolie. “There are only a lot of electronics beneath there. And never an entire lot when it comes to uncooked magnificence beneath the plastics. All of it needed to be addressed.”
To search out inspiration, Woolie seemed to the clear racing strains of the profitable AMA Butler & Smith superbikes of his youth.
The 999cc, 160hp 4 cylinder (nick-named “4CYL”) was definitely a problem. To lighten its look, Woolie determined that slightly than cowl up its trendy pedigree, he’d use what he may as purposeful artwork –for instance, by exposing the Febur radiator out in entrance. He added new purposeful structure within the board-track bars, which cowl and safe the tank. These two easy concepts offer you a purposeful design motif that feels extra uncooked and uncovered.
Different particulars included a customized rear sub-frame, customized electrical field, a one-off seat wrapped in black Kushitani waterproof leather-based with double-diamond-tuck stitching, a spherical headlight, and a carbon fiber entrance fender – all giving the bike extra basic than manufacturing facility seems. The inventory gauge cluster was retained to handle the electronics, tucked behind the hand-shaped aluminum fairing sitting above the headlight. Artist Decorative Conifer introduced the face of the analog counter to life. Lastly, Gilles Tooling machined a customized prime clamp and rear units to use the ending touches to this reimagined superbike.
“BMW’s experience is outstandingly secure. It holds the highway,” mentioned Orlando. “We requested: If a contemporary (tremendous bike) basic was constructed, what would it not appear to be? I mentioned, let me take this bike and work with my buddies. All roads converged and the timing was proper. It was a match made in heaven. This was ballsy in a means for BMW to take this one on.”
Spend any time with Orlando and also you’ll rapidly study he’s a motorcyclist, appreciating a variety of bikes in any storage, together with his personal. The S 1000 R isn’t the primary BMW that Woolie has put his touches on for his private pal. (He had beforehand restored a 1964 BMW R60 to unique situation some years in the past as their friendship was creating.)
Everybody considers the BMW model elite. Past historic design and efficiency, the Bavarian model is now making us care extra. “We’ve at all times been excellent at a purposeful, rational stage,” mentions Ola, “however now we’re entering into actually emotional bikes.”
This text first appeared in subject 20 of Iron & Air Journal, and is reproduced right here beneath license
Phrases by Brett Houle | Pictures by Hermann Köpf | deuscustoms.com | bmwmotorcycles.com
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