Just been sent a link to this - apparently commissioned for Brad Pitt, but he didn’t collect. It comes with a two page curated description. I think it looks like a tarts handbag. Thoughts?
Thoughts on this?
- Thread starter Nin
- Start date
I’ve copied the description. If you make it to the end without wanting to throw up, I salute you.
The Journey’ by Kunst Maschinenbau.
John Nixon followed a dream when he started Kunst Machinenbau. John's life is one that combines that essential desirable rush of creative exploration with technical savvy. His journey could be considered the very definition of an adventurer's path which has birthed a quite remarkable motor bike named, in honour of its conception, ‘The Journey’.
Beginning his career in the Army, John qualified Class 1 British Army Armourer and after finishing his military service, took his Armourer’s skills to the silver screen. In this role
John assumed a literal responsibly for the lives of actors and crew in regard to the
potentially dangerous weaponry involved in big film production. Mastery of mechanical
possibility has been the inspiration of not only John's career but also of his personal
projects. ‘The Journey’ is one such project. This work of a master craftsman is filled not only with dedication but also the exuberance of inspired creation.
Qualified as an Advanced Motorcyclist and with professional training in Motor Vehicle
Engineering, John has built ‘The Journey’ for one purpose and one purpose only: it’s built
to be ridden. A classic, airhead BMW created for the adrenaline of the ride, ‘The Journey’ is refined to its exclusive purpose. Unapologetically shedding the weight of lights and even a stand, ‘The Journey’ requires a booster battery to start it from cold, it 'idles' at 1800 rpm and has total loss ignition. It will run on pump fuel - if you flick the switch to
ignition map 'B', but it's natural diet is Sunoco 102 race fuel. That's not the problem it seems, because you'll run out of sparks before you run out of petrol. Maximum range is about 70 miles before the battery, and hence the ignition, dies - easily enough for a
weekend on the track or a blast on a sunny Sunday. In short, you only get on this bike
when you want to ride. You go out, you ride and satisfied you come home. Then all that's left to do is sit and bask in admiration this one of a kind build, whilst the adrenalin levels in your system return to normal. A connoisseur's bike it's no surprise that the concept of‘The Journey’ caught the attention of Brad Pitt when John discussed the budding project with him on the set of 2014's WWII film ‘Fury’. Pitt's bike collection, selected with global reach, is nothing less than epic. Pitt invests in the best and The Journey was set to
rendezvous its way among the gems of his collection. It was the intention to fly the bike
out in 2017 onto the set of ‘War Machine’ in Abu Dhabi for Pitt's attention. As fate would
have it, the excess of 700 hours of work required for the bikes transformation, from a tidy well used Airhead 1984 BMW R80 ST, to a pinnacle concept bike, means timing has freed this bike for a fresh destiny; ‘The Journey’ is ready for its new owner.
The design concept of a 1980s race bike, long-retired, then rescued and resurrected as a sunny Sunday road bike in now a reality. Beginning with the initial impulse to design an ‘adventure road bike', a bit like a Paris-Dakar replica but with standard height suspension, a radical rethink changed the game. There were a lot of 'Paris-Dakar replicas' about and some of them were very good indeed. In fact HPN, who built those desert racers for
BMW, still build such bikes and they are considered the gold standard. John's focus on paralleling the historical highs of BMW's glory years in road racing pushed The Journey's design into new territory. This machine reaches beyond the confines of a real racer and oozes style to boot. What has been crafted here is an Eighties-tech with a bit more polish than a race bike might have had - and road legal – truly a real life fantasy.
The frame itself took 80 hours to modify to its present state. Stripped and bead-blasted, all non essential brackets were removed and it was extensively braced. The engine mounts were moved forwards 25mm and upwards 45mm for weight distribution and
ground clearance below those expensively and extensively hand-ported cylinder heads.
Additional diagonal braces were welded in - a move which necessitated making the lower frame members detachable in order to get the motor and gearbox in and out. New mounts were welded on to accommodate the custom rear-set controls, bodywork,
electrics panel, etc. The build spec is unique in a road going airhead BMW. The tricked upframe is complemented by reworked standard forks with Race Tech cartridge emulators, linear rate springs and reduced travel. These are stiffened by a FlatRacer brace and topped by a Toaster Tan yoke - note the custom fabricated preload adjusters. A Harrison
6-pot brake calliper acts on a fully-floating PFM rotor. At the rear, a made to order Wilbers 633 shock controls the original Monolever swing arm - the only component that has not been altered in some way. Wheels are original but the powder-coated rims and hubs are connected by stainless spokes. A custom built rear subframe holds the Ducati Imola
replica seat unit and its, thinly padded, aluminium seat base with an Alcantara cover - a nod to the overall quality of the bike. Another Ducati Imola item is the half fairing and, linking the two surprisingly well, is a slightly reshaped BMW R45/65 tank fitted with a
high-flow Pingel fuel tap.
The motor is a gem. Richie Moore builds the fastest and most durable BMW airhead motors in the world. He has stated that there is no other street BMW with a motor of this specification. It’s 980 cc cylinders are fed by a brace of Dellorto PHMs though reworked heads.
The bottom end is balanced and special pistons raise the compression ratio to just over 11:1. A race cam contributes to the estimated 85-90 bhp at the rear wheel. A trip to the dyno will confirm this in due course. Welded-in fittings feed the oil cooler and, for
weight-saving and appearance sake, the engine is flat-topped. A total-loss MSD racing ignition system supplies the sparks.
The exhaust system, hand-built from stainless steel starts with oversized headers
and finishes at 2" diameter as it flows into the single, loud, race silencer. The rebuilt gearbox features higher 1st and 2nd gears to give closer ratios and the 'cheese grater'
above it gives an added element of stiffness to the engine/frame assembly. The hand controls are mounted on exquisite Woodcraft clip-ons and the brake lever/master cylinder and clutch lever are Brembo RCS.
The foot controls are Harris Performance items mounted on handmade back plates and connected by custom linkages. Custom and handmade details abound, all drain and level plugs are wired for track use and there's an oil breather bottle/catch tank too. The bodywork is secured by Dzus fasteners and comesoff in seconds. ‘The Journey's figure of 90 bhp at the back wheel combined with a dry weight of 160kg is enough to make this bike very lively indeed. If you're fortunate enough
to have the means to keep a bike purely to ride, why not have the best - one built purely
to be ridden. This bike is for those who love The Journey.
The Journey’ by Kunst Maschinenbau.
John Nixon followed a dream when he started Kunst Machinenbau. John's life is one that combines that essential desirable rush of creative exploration with technical savvy. His journey could be considered the very definition of an adventurer's path which has birthed a quite remarkable motor bike named, in honour of its conception, ‘The Journey’.
Beginning his career in the Army, John qualified Class 1 British Army Armourer and after finishing his military service, took his Armourer’s skills to the silver screen. In this role
John assumed a literal responsibly for the lives of actors and crew in regard to the
potentially dangerous weaponry involved in big film production. Mastery of mechanical
possibility has been the inspiration of not only John's career but also of his personal
projects. ‘The Journey’ is one such project. This work of a master craftsman is filled not only with dedication but also the exuberance of inspired creation.
Qualified as an Advanced Motorcyclist and with professional training in Motor Vehicle
Engineering, John has built ‘The Journey’ for one purpose and one purpose only: it’s built
to be ridden. A classic, airhead BMW created for the adrenaline of the ride, ‘The Journey’ is refined to its exclusive purpose. Unapologetically shedding the weight of lights and even a stand, ‘The Journey’ requires a booster battery to start it from cold, it 'idles' at 1800 rpm and has total loss ignition. It will run on pump fuel - if you flick the switch to
ignition map 'B', but it's natural diet is Sunoco 102 race fuel. That's not the problem it seems, because you'll run out of sparks before you run out of petrol. Maximum range is about 70 miles before the battery, and hence the ignition, dies - easily enough for a
weekend on the track or a blast on a sunny Sunday. In short, you only get on this bike
when you want to ride. You go out, you ride and satisfied you come home. Then all that's left to do is sit and bask in admiration this one of a kind build, whilst the adrenalin levels in your system return to normal. A connoisseur's bike it's no surprise that the concept of‘The Journey’ caught the attention of Brad Pitt when John discussed the budding project with him on the set of 2014's WWII film ‘Fury’. Pitt's bike collection, selected with global reach, is nothing less than epic. Pitt invests in the best and The Journey was set to
rendezvous its way among the gems of his collection. It was the intention to fly the bike
out in 2017 onto the set of ‘War Machine’ in Abu Dhabi for Pitt's attention. As fate would
have it, the excess of 700 hours of work required for the bikes transformation, from a tidy well used Airhead 1984 BMW R80 ST, to a pinnacle concept bike, means timing has freed this bike for a fresh destiny; ‘The Journey’ is ready for its new owner.
The design concept of a 1980s race bike, long-retired, then rescued and resurrected as a sunny Sunday road bike in now a reality. Beginning with the initial impulse to design an ‘adventure road bike', a bit like a Paris-Dakar replica but with standard height suspension, a radical rethink changed the game. There were a lot of 'Paris-Dakar replicas' about and some of them were very good indeed. In fact HPN, who built those desert racers for
BMW, still build such bikes and they are considered the gold standard. John's focus on paralleling the historical highs of BMW's glory years in road racing pushed The Journey's design into new territory. This machine reaches beyond the confines of a real racer and oozes style to boot. What has been crafted here is an Eighties-tech with a bit more polish than a race bike might have had - and road legal – truly a real life fantasy.
The frame itself took 80 hours to modify to its present state. Stripped and bead-blasted, all non essential brackets were removed and it was extensively braced. The engine mounts were moved forwards 25mm and upwards 45mm for weight distribution and
ground clearance below those expensively and extensively hand-ported cylinder heads.
Additional diagonal braces were welded in - a move which necessitated making the lower frame members detachable in order to get the motor and gearbox in and out. New mounts were welded on to accommodate the custom rear-set controls, bodywork,
electrics panel, etc. The build spec is unique in a road going airhead BMW. The tricked upframe is complemented by reworked standard forks with Race Tech cartridge emulators, linear rate springs and reduced travel. These are stiffened by a FlatRacer brace and topped by a Toaster Tan yoke - note the custom fabricated preload adjusters. A Harrison
6-pot brake calliper acts on a fully-floating PFM rotor. At the rear, a made to order Wilbers 633 shock controls the original Monolever swing arm - the only component that has not been altered in some way. Wheels are original but the powder-coated rims and hubs are connected by stainless spokes. A custom built rear subframe holds the Ducati Imola
replica seat unit and its, thinly padded, aluminium seat base with an Alcantara cover - a nod to the overall quality of the bike. Another Ducati Imola item is the half fairing and, linking the two surprisingly well, is a slightly reshaped BMW R45/65 tank fitted with a
high-flow Pingel fuel tap.
The motor is a gem. Richie Moore builds the fastest and most durable BMW airhead motors in the world. He has stated that there is no other street BMW with a motor of this specification. It’s 980 cc cylinders are fed by a brace of Dellorto PHMs though reworked heads.
The bottom end is balanced and special pistons raise the compression ratio to just over 11:1. A race cam contributes to the estimated 85-90 bhp at the rear wheel. A trip to the dyno will confirm this in due course. Welded-in fittings feed the oil cooler and, for
weight-saving and appearance sake, the engine is flat-topped. A total-loss MSD racing ignition system supplies the sparks.
The exhaust system, hand-built from stainless steel starts with oversized headers
and finishes at 2" diameter as it flows into the single, loud, race silencer. The rebuilt gearbox features higher 1st and 2nd gears to give closer ratios and the 'cheese grater'
above it gives an added element of stiffness to the engine/frame assembly. The hand controls are mounted on exquisite Woodcraft clip-ons and the brake lever/master cylinder and clutch lever are Brembo RCS.
The foot controls are Harris Performance items mounted on handmade back plates and connected by custom linkages. Custom and handmade details abound, all drain and level plugs are wired for track use and there's an oil breather bottle/catch tank too. The bodywork is secured by Dzus fasteners and comesoff in seconds. ‘The Journey's figure of 90 bhp at the back wheel combined with a dry weight of 160kg is enough to make this bike very lively indeed. If you're fortunate enough
to have the means to keep a bike purely to ride, why not have the best - one built purely
to be ridden. This bike is for those who love The Journey.
I hope he's gonna put the downpipe on the right side? If not Brad will look a right Kunst.
Wot E said!
so lift the front of the engine for ground clearance , then run the exhaust underneath .
great , til you want to drop over a kerb !
great , til you want to drop over a kerb !
Looks like you have to drop the engine to change the oil filter - clever. "Over 80 hours spent changing the oil filter....."
Could have fitted a remote spin-on unit from Motoren Israel. Would have made fitting the oil cooler easier, too. Twin-spark? Nope.
Could have fitted a remote spin-on unit from Motoren Israel. Would have made fitting the oil cooler easier, too. Twin-spark? Nope.
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If it can finish in front of one of these boys round a Belgium rd circuit id say well done;sorry my mistake last picture 
‘Fraid I didn’t make it to the end - I think Neil’s nailed it, and not for the first time, may I add!
Can’t see that happening, can you?If it can finish in front of one of these boys round a Belgium rd circuit id say well done;sorry my mistake last picture
I’m not surprised he didn’t collect. Too much just for the sake of it. Why run a total loss electrical system? I hate exhaust wrap. Surely the end can could have been better? Not to say anything about the route of the exhaust. 2 decent looking cans would be much more in keeping with the alleged look. JJH
I don't like it. The tail section looks like a box and the exhaust Is all wrong. There is no flow and balance in the design.
luke scott
Registered user
That side stand with two legs must be a pain when it's up.
It’s not designed to travel with the bike. You knew that didn’t u? JJH
With a bit of humility, you could learn something from him.
(I didn't read very far, the bollocks overwhelmed me.)
I might need his help composing a florid 20 page brochure to describe this, just another old airhead ..
That speaks for itself. Quite nice. JJHI might need his help composing a florid 20 page brochure to describe this, just another old airhead ..
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Gedinne?If it can finish in front of one of these boys round a Belgium rd circuit id say well done;sorry my mistake last picture
Those happened to be Chimay; but the lads do get around;
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