The makings of an icon

Edgar Heinrich, head designer at BMW Motorrad, is quoted as saying, “Designing a motorcycle means much more than simply defining its proportions, surfaces and details.”

I would add that emotion is what stiches everything together. How it makes you feel just by, first, looking at it and then, second, riding it.

The engineering, the design elements, the aesthetics all culminate. The feeling that starts in your chest, around your heart, and then moves through the body, warming you from the core outwards.

A motorcycle can be functional art, at home or on the road, in a museum or art gallery, and on display in a showroom. Motorcycles like those of Vietnam-based Bandit9 Motorcycles founded by Daryl Villanueva fit that description to a tee.

Villanueva, in explaining Bandit9, said: “We build futuristic vehicles. I’m a big fan of science fiction and comic books so I get really excited about what can be, not what is or what was.

“There are a lot of folks who create gorgeous homages but there’s something inspiring about vehicles that challenge your preconceptions of what a motorcycle or car looks like.

“That’s always been our goal — to trigger that inspiration, to create that spark, to motivate people into materialising a germ of an idea too scary to pursue.”

Villanueva studied graphic design and worked in advertising in Los Angeles, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beijing as an art/creative director for about a decade before starting Bandit9. Working with a team of brilliant designers, he brings that advertising experience into every build.

“In advertising, it was basically our job to come up with something new on a daily basis. Art directors and writers would huddle together for hours on end just coming up with ideas. It didn’t matter how bad they were.

“What mattered was quantity. In any creative endeavour, quality comes from quantity. You need to get the bad ideas out of your head. You need to exhaust every possible option. You need to try everything. A good idea can come from two bad ones. You need to keep pumping out ideas and designs until the clock runs out.”

The first Bandit9 motorcycle was called the Loki, built on a Chang Jiang, an old Chinese military workhorse. He says that the Loki was not pretty but it was a start. The lesson for him is that you have to start somewhere.

The most challenging and rewarding builds for Villanueva were the Supermarine and the Monaco (a car) because “there were things we had never done before — from the materials used, the engineering and architecture behind both those vehicles.”

Other Bandit9 motorcycles include the EVE series, like the EVE LIQUID BLACK, powered by a 125cc Honda Supersport engine, EVE EDEN, EVE DARK SIDE, powered by a Harley-Davidson V-Twin 750cc engine, and the EVE ALCHEMIST.

Bandit9 recently released the limited-build EVE ODYSSEY V2, built by hand over three months, with a Honda 125cc air-cooled, four-stroke engine.

It has a four-speed transmission and a top speed of 109km/h. The frame is made from Aluminium Alloy, the saddle can be either leather or neoprene, and the standard exhaust is made from stainless steel but can be upgraded to titanium. It also has a digital speedometer and would be very much at home in a museum or art gallery. The original EVE ODYSSEY was on display at a number of museums.

When it comes to Bandit9’s design process, Villanueva said: “A new project always starts with questions — what are we trying to achieve? What norms can we challenge? What can we break? What’s never been done before? If we do this, what will people talk about? Is this going to blow people’s minds? What have we never done before that we can try to do this time? Answering these questions leads to ideas and a path forward.”

For Villanueva, the mission is simple and, while he isn’t blind to financial realities, he doesn’t concern himself too much with money and scaling.

“I always want to create icons — and I don’t mean that in the way pop culture has abused that word.

“By ‘icon’ I almost think of it as a symbol or logo and the way you can recall it in your mind perfectly. That’s my goal when it comes to designing pieces. Does it have that memorability? I don’t think long term. I always think short term. I’m all about focus.

“What are we doing right now and is it the best it can possibly be? We’ll worry about what’s next once it’s time but now is not the time. All we want to do is make cool stuff, top what we have made previously and have a great time doing it.”

I, for one, am excited to see what is to come next for Bandit9.