What could happen when an architect meets a motorcycle customisation project? It could be a superhit or a recipe for disaster. In this case though it is a work of art. This motorcycle is called the ‘.02View’ and while that name is weird, the motorcycle is quite a delight to look at.
What is even surprising is the fact that it is a Royal Enfield Himalayan and was modified to look like this. Royal Enfield’s Indonesian distributor Pt Distributor Motor Indonesia (DMI) ran a design competition in which the best designers of the country took part. Well-known Indonesian architect Julian Palapa too took place in the competition and won.
The prize for winning was a brand-new Royal Enfield Himalayan and a chance for his bike to tour the Indonesian motor show circuit. DMI gave him seven months to complete the build and make the motorcycle he designed.
Julian Palapa then hired a team to build the motorcycle and the result of this all is a stunning Royal Enfield Himalayan. Well, some bits of the motorcycle are still from a Himalayan. Quite clearly, the .02View is a tasty mix between a scrambler and a cafe racer and both of these genres are much-loved by motorcyclists.
Up front is an almost robotic face with a circular headlight in a boxy enclosure. The fuel tank is more chiselled and sleeker. The single-piece seat is a work of art and underneath it is the tail lamp. The rear part of the frame has been chopped so the seat ends just as the rear wheel begins. The .02View rides on spoked wheels at the front and rear.
However, the rear wheel is covered by a matt-black wheel cap with silver studs, making it look badass. The conventional telescopic fork at the front of the Himalayan has been replaced by an upside-down fork. Suspension duties at the rear are handled by an Ohlins monoshock. The rear swingarm too has been replaced by a thicker unit.
This helped the team reduce the height as well as the wheelbase of the motorcycle. The .02View features twin disc brakes up front, scrubbed by four-piston calipers from Nissin on each side. At the rear is a single disc brake from Brembo. The spoked wheels are shod with massive Shinko E805 off-road tyres.
The engine appears to be in its stock form, but it now comes with a straight pipe underbelly exhaust system with absolutely no restrictions, so we can say with confidence that it is a loud motorcycle.
