ASTWOOD MEWS, Kensington, it’s a fitting location for the launch of a super exclusive, uber expensive, A-list celebrity built bike. With its cobbled street, attractive £1.5m apartments sat on top of stylish, wooden and glass fronted garages, behind which classic Porches and Morgans nestle.
Further down the street, bathed in the glow of the Kensington Motorcycle Companies showroom, a long, low, moody looking cruiser is pushed into position as a photographer’s flash bounces off the milled, aluminium crankcases like there’s a tig-welder still finishing the bike.
From this distance, the bike looks every inch the epitome of the performance cruiser that the well-heeled motorcyclist is craving. Aggressive rake, squat tail unit, huge V-Twin engine and those machined primary cases that make a Harley-Davidson’s look like mass produced tat!
The bike is a called the KRGT-1 and it’s powered by a 2032cc, fuel injected, S&S engine. Pushing out around 120hp and producing around 120Nm of torque, the KRGT-1 is a muscle bike in every sense of the word, no traction control, no ABS and zero safety nets or rider aids.
The construction of the bike is what I found most interesting, with massive use of CNC parts from the front to the back of the bike, it’s like ARCH tried extra hard to use machining in places other manufacturers use welded tubes and beaten panels. To start with, the bikes sculpted, two part fuel tank is not pressed steel or hand-hammered aluminium, it’s machined from a single block of aluminium. The frame too utilises billet aluminium and tubular steel as a back bone of the bike, with a CNC machined, one-piece subframe and seat unit. The swingarm is hewn from a lump of aluminium, and because of the inherent strength of the item, the swingarm is surprisingly slim in it’s design, especially when you consider the size of the machine. All of this adds to the overall look of the bike which is almost at odds with the status quo in the cruiser segment, there’s not an ounce of stylistic fat on the bike, despite all the trinkets it still somehow looks minimalist.
I could describe the finish of the bikes at the launch but it’s kind of pointless as each ARCH that leaves the California factory is bespoke, in both fit and finish. You want hi-rise Renthal bars, you got it, matt finished BST carbon wheels, no problem. The idea behind it is that you’ll never see two bikes with the same detailing and spec. Think of it as a production prototype.
And while we’re on the subject of spec, the components used to the make the bike are the things you’d grab if Supermarket Sweep took place at Motorcycle Live! Ohlins FGRT forks, specifically set up with the KRGT-1. A fully adjustable Ohlins rear shock that’s also designed and spec’d specifically for the bike. Beautifully intricate, ISR levers and massive, six-piston, billet calipers bite down on floating discs. A dry clutch that connects to a six-speed baker transmission that, you guessed it, is designed and built specifically for the bike and spec’d to the riders needs. The quality of the components are normally reserved for the £30k superbikes but look perfectly at home on the KRGT-1.
And what’s the cost of this super-exclusive, bespoke built bike I hear you cry?? Well put it this way – they aren’t what you’d call cheap. The bike, built and shipped to you in the UK will be £89,500. Which sounds a lot because it is, well it is. But here’s the thing. There are people in a position to drop that much money on a bike, there has to be. At the EICMA show the other week you couldn’t move for small batch, bespoke built bike manufacturers looking to shift £100k bikes. You have Brough, Vector, MV Agusta, Confederate and even Ariel to a point. If people weren’t buying these machines the companies wouldn’t exists.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if you want a KRGT-1, you’re gonna have to join a fairly long queue.
ARCH KRGT-1 specs
• 124 CI, 2032cc S&S Cycle T124 45 degree downdraft fuel injected V-Twin engine
• Proprietary 6-Speed Drivetrain with compact high torque main-shaft and compact dry clutch
• Billet and tubular steel frame with CNC machined aluminum sub-chassis
• New ergonomically improved CNC machined billet aluminum fuel cells
• New Ohlins / Arch proprietary FGRT series fork, fully adjustable
• Ohlins / Arch proprietary rear shock with reservoir, hydraulic pre-load adjustment, fully adjustable
• Front Brakes: New ISR dual six 30mm piston Monobloc radial mount calipers with ISR floating dampened discs
• Rear Brakes: Single ISR four piston Monobloc radial mount caliper with ISR semi-floating disc
• 19” Front / 18” Rear BST Carbon Fiber 5 spoke wheels
• Michelin Commander II tires
• Forward control foot positioning
• Custom tailored fit and finishes
• CARB / EPA compliant
If you want to see more of the ARCH KRGT-1, head to The Bike Shed in Shoreditch where the bikes are going to be on display.
For more information on how to purchase contact the Kensington Motor company on : 020 7244 7323
