If You Want a Custom Motorcycle, Keanu Reeves Can Now Build One for You
Keanu Reeves is a man of many trades, but he’s definitely not afraid to add another hat to his collection. He and long-time friend Gard Hollinger, a revered designer in the motorcycle world, have recently started their own company building custom bikes in California.
The company, Arch Motorcycles, is the result of countless talks and Reeves’ request for Hollinger to design and build him a custom bike.
The $78,000 motorcycles are based on that prototype Hollinger made for Reeves years ago; each of the 2,032cc, V-twin-engine beasts are made to order in Hawthorne, Calif., an hour south of Los Angeles.
“Building that [first] bike is where we got to know each other,” Reeves said in July during an interview at their shop.
Reeves first approached Hollinger in 2007 with a request that the designer refused, claiming, “that wasn’t really my thing.”
After that, the pair started discussing building a bike from the ground up. This one would be a shining silver prototype with thick tires and a gas tank curved like the fender of a Bugatti.
When the bike was finished, Reeves loved it so much that he and Hollinger began talks of starting a motorcycle company.
It took some convincing, but Hollinger agreed.
Surprisingly, Reeves wasn’t steeped in motorcycles at a young age. He learned to ride as an adult, logging countless miles on Nortons, Suzukis, a 1974 BMW 750, a Kawasaki KZ 900, a 1984 Harley Shovelhead, and a Moto Guzzi racer — all from his growing personal collection.
However, younger riders are just as up and coming as Reeves’ motorcycle company.
Seth Hammaker’s journey to a professional career in motocross recently received a tremendous boost with a first-place finish in the Super Mini I race at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.
Hammaker, a 15-year-old from Bainbridge, also placed second in the Super Mini II event, for ages 13 through 16. The Super Mini I race he won has an age range of 12 to 15.
The young motocross star’s career started when he began riding at the age of four, and his first race was at Sleepy Hollow in Lebanon County. Approximately 51% of students engage in activity programs to be more involved in their school, but Hammaker is in a league of his own.
On the pro circuit, Ryan Dungey “is the main guy I look up to,” he said. “He’s my role model.”
He expects to turn pro after he turns 18.
It turns out he may have another role model in Keanu Reeves, though. Since starting his company in 2014, he and Hollinger have sold about 30 bikes.
Ordering a KRGT-1 requires multiple sessions of measurements — Hollinger fits the pedals, the handlebars, and the seat angle to a customer’s exact size. The proprietary Arch suspension is also adjustable according to riding style and preference.
There’s an incredible amount of detail put into the bikes, and it’s something that both Hollinger and Reeves take pride in.
“It has to work,” he said, laughing. “After that it’s aesthetics and feel and taste. The bike started off as a classic American big V-twin, but because of the way it handles and the ergonomics and the telemetry that Gard has designed, I feel like it’s in a new class of motorcycle which might be called a ‘performance cruiser.'”
- This entry was posted in Contributed by Contributor. Bookmark the permalink.
