Keanu Reeves has survived a lot of crazy stuff. World-dominating machines. Bomb-laden bus rides. Traveling through time in a phone booth. But his biggest challenge of all: impressing bikers.
This week, Reeves has abandoned Hollywood for Milan. The Italian city plays host to the Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori, or EICMA. He's not at the world's preeminent bike convention to gawk at the wares, however. He's unveiling three new motorcycles he has spent the past years of his life designing and building.
“It’s international, it’s all the journalists and enthusiasts,” Reeves says. “For us, it’s let’s plant our flag. Let’s go to EICMA with three models, and hopefully people will really love what we make.”
By us, he means Arch Motorcycle, the shop he founded with his business partner and friend Gard Hollinger. They teamed up in 2007, when Reeves, a two-wheel enthusiast, asked Hollinger, a well-known bike designer, to make him a custom ride. He was so impressed with the final product, he convinced Hollinger to start building and selling a version of the bike to rich but discerning riders. The KRGT-1 is designed, bespoke, for each customer in Arch’s workshop just south of LA, for a price of around $78,000 and up.
For years, creating variations on that one model kept Reeves and Hollinger creatively content, and Arch hummed along. Now, the young outfit is expanding its scope with three new bikes. One is an updated version of the original KRGT-1 for 2018, with tweaked looks, upgraded suspension, better brakes, and EURO 4 emissions compliance, so it can be sold on the other side of the pond. The Arch 1s is a single-sided swing arm that offers a sportier, more aggressive ride than the average cruiser. Rounding out the trio is the "ultra-exclusive" Arch Method 143. Reeves and Hollinger will only make 23 of these “concept production” bikes.
You can get a closeup look inside Arch's Southern California shop in the video above. Reeves and Hollinger won't announce pricing for the new models until next year, but don't expect to spend less than what you'd drop on a new BMW 5-Series. You can, however, expect to attract a lot more attention, and to have a way more excellent adventure.
