Bandit9 releases L-Concept sci-fi inspired bike

MANILA: Bandit9, a boutique motorcycle company has launched its new motorcycle called the “L Concept”. The L Concept is a futuristic bike with an unusual L-shaped design. Bandit9 is known for creating highly stylized motorcycles that never fit squarely into any one particular genre.

 

The L Concept is powered by an air-cooled Honda 125cc engine along with a four-stroke single married to a four-speed transmission. All of these are suspended in a pod beneath the L Concept’s frame. To infuse a futuristic look to the motorcycle, the powertrain’s cover resembles the reactor of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, and houses the build’s custom intake and elaborates exhaust system.

 

Daryl Villanueva, Bandit9 founder and chief designer says, “It wasn’t about building something futuristic or creating the next thing. It was about bringing to life something you’d only see in the pages of comics or in an episode of Star Trek.” Bandit9 is a Vietnam based company located in Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Villanueva initially started working on this project about two years back but soon had to close the project as he felt that his shop didn’t possess the required skill set to bring the design to fruition. Now, in 2018, the company has crafted many unique designs and brought life to the L Concept.

The founder points there were many difficulties they faced during the manufacturing of the L Concept, “It was tough to manage the shape and the angle to perfectly underneath the cover. It looks like nothing but that alone is a nightmare to make,” Villanueva relayed.

As per Bandit9, the L Concept has a top speed of about 70 miles per hour. The bike weighs 135 kg and rolls on two 21-inch wheels with disc brakes.

The L Concept is available for sale at a price of $10,950. This includes the cost of free door-to-door shipping. The company had built nine units of this unusually shaped motorcycle and has already sold five of them.