Los Angeles-based ARCH Motorcycle has announced an evolution of its well-received KRGT-1 for 2020, an update to the first iteration of the bespoke production motorcycle that first saw the light of day in 2014 and was then formally launched in EPA/CARB compliant in early 2016.
The 2012 brainchild of Gard Hollinger, the owner of LA County ChopRods, and actor and avid rider Keanu Reeves, ARCH first put the KRGT-1 into production in 2014. That model was heavily revised from the 2012 prototype and featured over 200 parts created at the ARCH production facility at Hawthorne, California. Production was said to have required 300-plus machine-hours using state-of-the-art CNC and waterjet machinery - the headline news of that prototype was the proprietary design downdraft intake system which eliminates the conventional American V-twin breather assembly layout.
Continuing the ARCH Motorcycle philosophy of setting the highest possible bar in the performance cruiser category, the 2020 KRGT-1 maintains the philosophy of "simple, elegant design and performance" and features over 20 major changes involving more than 150 newly designed and manufactured components - including redesigned bodywork, upgraded suspension, ergonomic enhancements, updated braking components and safety features.
"The KRGT-1 was originally designed to realize the potential and push the boundaries of what an American V-twin motorcycle could offer," said ARCH Motorcycle co-founder Gard Hollinger. "Our new KRGT-1 stays true to the original objective while further developing and refining the motorcycle's design and performance elements to enhance the overall riding experience."
Power is from the EPA/CARB-certified 124 ci S&S/ARCH engine with proprietary design K&N air filter; exhaust flow is managed by an ARCH 2-into-1 stainless steel header system and Yoshimura carbon fiber muffler. "This powertrain delivers impressive low-end torque from the first twist of the throttle.
"The new KRGT-1 delivers on ARCH Motorcycle's ambition: a beautiful and extraordinary machine that handles like no other motorcycle. Through the curves, down the straights, planted, confident, comfortable, it's an unsurpassed riding experience," said co-founder Keanu Reeves. "The focus on fit and finish, the detail, the execution, the exceptional quality and how the bike is made defines ARCH."
Features include bespoke Ohlins/ARCH suspension front and rear (the rear shock features compression, rebound and pre-load adjustability and the new, larger diameter 48 mm Ohlins front forks feature the popular race-derived NIX technology for individually adjustable compression, rebound and pre-load settings, BST carbon wheels (19 x 3 inch front and 18 x 8 inch rear), which reduce unsprung mass. "These elements work as part of a chassis architecture developed to deliver incredible feedback and control." An all-new ARCH/Bosch ABS system is fitted as standard, working with dual six-piston ISR monobloc calipers and 320 mm floating rotors (front), four-piston caliper and 240 mm rotor (rear) ISR radial calipers.
"The 124 ci S&S V-twin engine is tuned to deliver high torque on demand with enhanced performance through the unique ARCH downdraft breathing system incorporated between the billet aluminum tank halves.
ARCH says it CNC-machines over 200 aerospace-grade pieces of billet aluminum from over 1,200 lbs of metal to yield around 150 lbs of KRGT-1 components. The fuel tank alone requires in excess of 33 hours machining.
The high-torque 124 ci American V-twin engine incorporates ARCH Motorcycle's proprietary downdraft induction system, with ARCH/K&N Engineering filtration significantly reducing drivetrain width. Fifty-state emissions compliant, the dual cam-driven S&S engine utilizes a proprietary fuel management system, fully tested at the S&S emissions facility, all delivered by a six-speed transmission and dry clutch set-up.
Blending a tubular steel frame with a billet aluminum subframe and swingarm, machined in-house, "the KRGT-1 provides just the right amount of rigidity with strategically placed isolation dampeners to maximize comfort and control."
KRGT-1 SPECIFICATIONS
- 124 ci (2,032 cc) S&S Cycle T124 45-degree downdraft fuel-injected V-twin engine
- Proprietary six-speed drivetrain with compact high-torque main shaft and compact dry clutch
- Tubular steel frame with CNC-machined aluminum subframe
- New ergonomically improved CNC-machined billet aluminum fuel cells
- New ARCH/Ohlins proprietary FGRT series fork, fully adjustable
- ARCH/Ohlins proprietary rear shock with reservoir, hydraulic pre-load adjustment, fully adjustable
- Front brakes: dual ISR six-piston monobloc radial mount calipers with ISR floating dampened discs
- Rear brakes: single ISR four-piston monobloc radial mount caliper with ISR semi-floating disc
- 19" front/18" rear BST carbon fiber five-spoke wheels
- Michelin Commander II tires
- Forward control foot positioning
- Custom tailored fit and finishes
- CARB/EPA compliant
