Eternal City Moto Show, from Kaido Race to the R NineT: Cherry's Company's custom vision
From Kaido Race to carbon fiber creations: Kaichiroh Kurosu of Cherry's Company brings two new R nineTs from the Highway Fighter series to Eternal. A project that blends BMW's history and future, with sculpted design, material research, and the experience of the famous "Remote Builds."
Eternal City Moto Show kicks off this weekend
Tell us briefly about yourself and how you started customizing motorcycles. " I started modifying vehicles when I competed in Kaido Races, street car races. As a teenager, I first modified the suspension of my car to make it faster on winding roads.
At the time, I was studying architecture and joined a retail design firm, initially as a designer. After about two years, however, I decided to enter the motorcycle world and moved to a large workshop in Yokohama. There, in a mountain warehouse full of abandoned motorcycles, I spent a whole year.
Looking back, I consider it a stroke of luck to have started right there: my job is to assemble scrap motorcycles to make new ones. They're not customer bikes, so I can break them down without any problem. During that time, I learned the basics of maintenance: why a bike breaks down, what can cause a failure, and how to fix it .
What does creating motorcycles mean to Cherry's Company? " In my creative process, there are two paths: starting from the design and adapting materials and techniques to achieve it, or letting myself be guided by the materials and techniques I want to use. Modeling in resin, fiber, and carbon greatly expands the expressive possibilities.
The carbon fiber special based on the BMW HP2 Sport, exhibited at the 2022 Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show, was born from design. The project involved overlapping the exterior parts: at that time, I wasn't prioritizing vacuum-formed carbon fiber technology, but rather using it primarily as an aesthetic material. If I can't develop the technique, I still create the sheet metal forms.
When working on modern motorcycles like the BMW HP2 or R NineT, I can't eliminate fuel injection systems, control units, and electronics, which makes the exterior modeling much more complex. To realize the design I have in mind, I have to master not only sheet metal and welding, but also resin and carbon, thus increasing my creative freedom. It's a very different approach from vintage choppers, where style and proportions are already largely defined.
If I start customizing electric motorcycles, new ideas arise. Solving the specific problems of electric motorcycles will require technologies, materials, and approaches never before considered in customization .
What are you presenting at Eternal? " The BMW R NineT Highway Fighter No.23 and No.29 "
What inspired you to design this bike? " The Highway Fighter was born in 2014, as part of the collaboration with BMW Motorrad on the R NineT. At that time, I studied the history of the brand and imagined myself as a BMW designer, trying to create a motorcycle that bridges the past and the future. One of the main sources of inspiration is the 1935 BMW 750 Kompressor, which set the world speed record . Since then, I have built almost 30 Highway Fighter models, updating them from time to time. This No. 29 is the latest evolution."
What was the most difficult moment in building the motorcycle you ride? " I assemble the No. 23 and No. 29 personally in Switzerland : I produce the parts in Japan, ship them and then mount them on the R NineT base. Assembling so far from my workshop is very complicated, but thanks to numerous 'Remote Builds' and the experience gained, this process is now one of the distinctive features of Cherry's Company ."
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