Keanu Reeves is a well-known motorcycle enthusiast, who according his company’s bio has logged tens of thousands of miles on bikes of all kinds. Now, it seems his enthusiasm for biking along with his friendship with co-founder Gard Hollinger has lead him to start a motorcycle company.
Reeves and Hollinger met when Reeves desire to modify bikes lead him to Gard’s original shop, L.A. County Choprods, for help with a project he was working on. The two hit off.
They tell the story on their Arch Motorcycle bio:
As the two talked about the project and motorcycles in general it became clear that they shared a vision; equal parts form and function. Conversations turned into sketches and 3D models; the vision became bigger and bolder. An entirely new bike came into view, molding the retro and modern design elements they both love and passion for riding they both share into a new shape.
The two owners and enthusiasts are combining beauty and performance in to create a truly special machine. Auto Week recently took the bike for ride and has a great review of it on their site, as well as interview with Reeves and Hollinger.
Auto Week discusses what makes the bike special here:
Handling is unlike other bikes. What is this, a chopper, a cruiser, a touring sport bike? We’ll go with sport chopper, a new category we just made up. Or maybe Sporch sounds better — you decide. The 68-inch wheelbase is probably longer than any bike you’ve ever ridden unless you’re riding at Bonneville. So it’s a long distance between wheels, isn’t it?
“It is, but when you ride it you’re going to see it’s very well-balanced,” Reeves said.
Rake is 30 degrees and trail is 5 inches, so the front fork angle is close to, say, a Harley Iron 883, which is 30 degrees and 4.6 inches in rake and trail. But that 68-inch wheelbase is 8 or 9 inches longer than most production street bikes. Nonetheless, it works very well on the road, particularly on Keanu’s bike with its 19-inch front wheel. That bike also has forward-mounted foot pegs, which work perfectly on this setup. It takes the corners steady as a billet block rock. The huge reciprocating mass of the engine acts like a gyroscope, pulling the bike back up to upright throughout the turns, regardless of which direction you want to go. We hadn’t ever felt that before.
The forward controls are also the easiest we’d ever ridden, and the bike is comfy. We especially like the scooped-out seat — the back of the scoop acts like a big lumbar support. We’re guessing that was an unintentional design benefit.
If you love bikes You’ll love the review. It is also worth your time just for the images of the bikes:
Read the Auto Week ride review here: Ride Review: ARCH KRGT-1
