Tuesday 4 September 2012

KIM BOYLE AT BCM . . . . A ZEN MASTER OF THE 'LESS IS MORE' APPROACH TO THE DESIGN ETHIC . . . . IT BLOWS ME AWAY HOW SOMETHING AS COLD AND LIFELESS AS METAL CAN APPEAR TO BE 'ORGANIC' IN ITS FORM . . . . THERE IS A DEFINITE AND TANGIBLY TACTILE NATURE TO THIS GUY'S WORK . . . . CHECK OUT HIS BLOG FOR VERIFICATION . . . . BAUHAUS AND BIKES IN PERFECT COEXISTENCE.

Another disciple of the 'fuck the frills' school of engineering design, if it serves no purpose, piss it off, excess is dead weight, form dictated entirely by function, keep it simple is the mantra that this dude seems to follow . . . . of all the blokes building bikes and producing parts, it's my opinion that nobody is at the same level of refined minimalism while still retaining eye popping beauty as the fella from Boyle Custom Moto . . . . as his profile becomes way more visible his work attains a sophisticated elegance borne of vanquishing the Devil in the detail.
I'm a simple bloke and I like simple things, when seeking out airfilters for the shovel, that was my overriding and all consuming concern, it had to be clean, simple and able to integrate fully with the overall 'theme' of the thing, so many cool rides are shot in the foot by the selection of a filter that stands out like dog's balls because it is at odds with the overall feel and look of the bike it's sitting on . . . . I wanted nude, unpolished alloy, no lines, contours, milled channels, branding . . . . just a part that would do the job it's made to do, not scream 'look at me'.
When this wee jigger arrived in its box and wrapped in Kim's signature shop rag, I literally couldn't put the thing down, not only did it look the boobies but the way it felt in my hands was so damned enjoyable, tactile, wanting to be caressed, fondled and gazed at up close, simplicty made manifest . . . . the attention to finish on every surface, seen and unseen is unbelievable, inside where all the physics of vortices and velocity do their thing to force air into the old Super E is as immaculately machined as the outer body is clearly hand finished, less is so much more.

7 comments:

  1. ey up mucker, must say you are collecting a fine collection of parts for the shovel project, are you going hard tail with it or keeping it a swing arm frame? I know exactly where you are coming from with the less is more way of bike building, strip 'em down like a racer, it's not what you bolt on, it's what you take off that makes the difference, like you said in your post, people bolt on a hideous kuryakin air filter and hide the best part of the engine (and end up making it look like a tart's handbag to boot!) just keep on keeping' on brotherman, lovey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Telepathy and we didn't even realise Lovey . . . actually mate, might do the rigid thing, bit like owning an F-truck, gotta do it at least once, reluctant to mess up the unbutchered frame so looking at a couple of bolt on options first, but only if they don't look like a box of shit . . . as for the bits, cheers mate, all selected with the theme I have in mind for the thing, just trying to keep it cohesive and unified. Cheers Mucker Lover.

      Delete
  2. Spooky or what Whitey, I just posted on your post, then checked out the church of choppers blog and saw you had used the 'keep on keeping on' in your post! great minds and all that old malarkey?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is a nice collection of parts. Those "Throwback" castings are definitely art in metal. Did a little aluminum casting, and it is a lot of time and work. I can appreciate the work involved in pattern making. Have you seen the engine castings of the Muskett V-twin? It is a kit-form Enfield V-twin being developed in the US. Some really nice work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, the Throwback stuff is astounding mate, especially in the flesh, had to save like crazy but so worth the sacrifice . . . saw a pic of the Muskett thingy a while back somewhere, just the bike, not specifics, looked very Enfield from what I remember, will try to find some shots of the cases, cheers Hairman as always.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here is a Facebook page...The Musket V Twin...covers his new design that is in progress. A set of cases that will build into a 700 or 1000 using the earlier Enfield single top end components.
      This is his earlier web page....www.musketvtwin.com....info on the earlier design and updates on the newer version. An Engineer that apprenticed himself at a machine shop so he could build his dream machine. He's getting closer, building the crank up now.

      Delete
    2. Thanks a bunch Hairman, will seek it out when I get back from the recording studio, sounds like a truly honorable pursuit.

      Delete