Interview to Roland Sands:
What was the first thing you think when you saw the motorcycle for the first time? Did you be inspired immediately when you saw it? Or did you think that it would be a challenge that would need so many hours of previous work?
The first time I saw the bike I had high hopes for what could be done. The bike was simple and was designed to be customized. This is huge for anyone who like me, wants to modify things. With the right parts developed for the bike, modification is relatively easy.
When BMW propose you the project about new R Nine T, What did you think about? Were you afraid of the idea of custom a new model?
We build on a lot of newer bikes. It’s harder than building a vintage bike for sure as there are more complications and there’s a lot of work that has nothing to do with the aesthetic. You have to be engineer while keeping what is great still intact. That takes some discipline, but the end result is hopefully a much better bike than a vintage bike in function. And is also a new look, which is what we aim for.
BMW has always been a brand who pays attention to the details thinking in the final user and thinks about the final riding experience. It was a handicap?
That’s the best thing about the R Nine T. It’s such a rideable, fun bike with great torque and friendly handling and ergo’s. But at the same time, if you want to take the bike on a racetrack and have some fun you could do it. It’s good at many things. It’s not amazing at anything, but that’s not what a bike like this if for. It need to have a broad appeal.
BMW gives you absolutely freedom in his design and construction for that project, it was more difficult that work with a customer’s previous ideas?
Our R Nine T is really a very standard look at what can be done with our new RSD parts, paint and some powder coating. We didn’t do anything radical and we did that on purpose to show people what could be done easily. We will be building another, more radical version upcoming.
When the motorbike was in the workshop. What was the first thing you start to do it? Maybe an outline, disassemble all you knew that you wanted to change or ride the motorbike during several days to be the feeling that the motorcycle gives.
First I ride it, then we take it apart to get our hands and minds wrapped around what is possible. It really takes exploring a bike to understand what is truly possible. A rendering goes a long way in envisioning things, but you never truly know what’s possible until you understand what the bike will let you do form a structural standpoint.
BMW is an iconic brand set out for a public very demanding in details, were you worried about the answer that regular users would have after they see your model?
We just want to provide a very high quality product. I have confidence we can do that because we do it every day all across the world currently. In the end you can’t please everybody and there will always be those customers that are tough, but that’s business. We just do what we do to the best of our ability. It’s worked so far!
If you had had more time for the project, would you change anything? It the answer was yes, what things or parts of the motorcycle you would have changed or improves it?
Like I said, ours is a very simple custom. I can already envision a number of other ideas I’d like to execute on this bike. Scrambler, flat tracker, naked road racer.. that’s the cool thing about the bike. Lots of possibilities.
In your opinion, which is the most important virtue of the BMW R Nine T?
It’s does a great job of being a new Standard. It’s an approachable bike that many people can picture themselves riding. Including my dad who now wants one. If you’ve convinced my dad, you’ve done something.
You said that you based in the BMW R 90 of 70´s for your Concept 90. Do you think that BMW should to re-edit a new R 90 model?
I think we gave them a good basis for doing so and BMW customers def. asked for it. Well see?
In my opinion your motorcycle look like a BMW prototype and I know that you have a “custom kit” for the R Nine T standard, Why not a “kit” of the Concept 90?
Bodywork isn’t our specialty, although I would of loved to of done something like it. Any good bodywork guys out there that want to produce a body kit give me a call!! You were racer, do you think that the R Nine T are a good motorcycle for a championship? It could make a really cool class for naked bike racing. Kind of like the XR1200 class. It’s not an ideal race bike, but if you put a bunch of dudes on the same bike and let them go for it, it’s proven. To be very entertaining.
BMW R Nine T Concept 90 Gallery
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