We have previously featured bikes called the Dominator, the Starship Meteor, the Mutant, and the Alchemist. Seasoned readers and followers may recognise these names and ‘Cloud 9’ does not sound too far fetched to follow. Indeed, Arjan van den Boom is behind this revolutionary design for a 2019 BMW R9T. This time he teamed up with Timothy Somers from Powerbrick Performance under a new name: CNCPT Moto.
About the build
What started on a flimsy napkin in 2019 turned out to be a real roller coaster ride: throw in a pandemic, raw material shortages, skyrocketing prices, and weeks quickly turn into months. Only to be topped off with a tight deadline to drive the project home. Yet, they managed to pull it off and revealed their first bike under the new brand at the Bikeshed 2022.
This futuristic looking machine is the result of unhinged creativity and thinking out of the box. Combining their skills from different backgrounds and with the help of skilled and dedicated friends they transformed the napkin sketches into clay models and finally into 3D printed and CNCed parts. This pioneering work gives us a glimpse into what the future may hold for us when it comes to motorcycle and custom parts. The builders imagine this as their idealistic approach to the future of customising motorcycles, “a teleport to 2084”.
About the body
The monobody was printed with ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate), a thermoplastic that is UV, chemical, and weather resistant, as well as high-impact, wear, and temperature proof. Thus, it is an excellent material for outdoor use and exposure to the elements, making it particularly suitable for automotive applications. The body actually consists of two parts, the tail part with the seat, and the top front part. It is mounted using stock mounting points on the R9T frame, however, several stock brackets had to be removed prior to installing the new body. 20 individually 3D printed parts were glued and bolted together to make up the body.
The sharp edges of the body are part of the lines that make this motorcycle look so futuristic. These lines run from the front axle to the tail and from the headlight to the tail. The angle between these lines give the bike a fast look, and several parts are aligned with these lines.
In the first line are the valve covers, the air box opening, the bottom of the seat, the edge of the body underneath the seat, and the handmade stainless steel exhaust. The valve covers were designed in house by Timo, as was the timing cover, and CNC machined. Both will be available for purchase soon! The exhaust headers run below, yet parallel to this line. The same goes for the handfolded aluminium sumpguard, tying it all together.
In the second line, the headlights, the custom CNC billet bottom yoke, the purple trellis frame, and the sharp edge and mating surface of the two body parts also align to end in the taillight. Jeroen from Silvermachine Seats upholstered the seat in alcantara and leather. Jacco at Royal Kustom Works did the paint. And Brother Coating performed the powder coating.
Zooming in
If we take a closer look, we can spot quite a few high end parts, including the carbon fiber fork tubes provided by Cera Carbon housing fully adjustable Matris cartridges, and carbon fiber wheels by Rotobox wrapped in Pirelli Diablos. Continuing, the custom TFX rear shock absorber, Beringer clutch and brake cylinders and levers, and Brembo calipers are also executed in purple to create elegant highlights. Electronically the bike is decked out with Motogadget controls and speedo.
Less visible is the work that went into designing an airbox to house a DNA inlay filter behind the black, perforated hexagon grill. As is the handmade aluminium shoe box that houses the fuel cell underneath the monobody, and the resin printed headlight brackets holding power LEDs.
Particularly impressive is the fact that these two set out and succeeded to raise the bar for themselves, and for the field, in terms of combining skills, adopting novel technologies and materials, and turning their self-funded brainchild into a running prototype of the future. If this bike tickles your imagination as much as ours, you’re in luck. The bike is currently for sale, conditions and pricing via CNCPT Moto. Cloud 9 will be displayed at Pure&Crafted 2022. See you there!
Photos by Paul van Mondfrans Lindén
