Surely you know actor Keanu Reeves, the protagonist of acclaimed films like ‘The Matrix’. ‘Speed’ or ‘John Wick’, although your passion for motorcycling may not sound so much to you. Reeves loves motorcycles, loves to ride them and is passionate about talking about them. But it also has the immense luck of being able to collect them. What a joy!
Since the mid-80s in which he had to learn in Munich to ride a motorcycle for the filming of one of his films, motorcycles have become much more than a hobby for the Canadian star. It was an enduro motorcyclist woman in charge of teaching him to ride in Germany and, once filming was completed, already back in Los Angeles (USA), he began his adventure as a biker when he was 22 years old.
His first acquisition was a Kawasaki 600 Enduro, which was followed only a year later by an impressive black Norton Command 850 MK2A from 1973, superbly preserved. He inaugurated with them an enviable collection of motorcycles that he currently maintains including exclusive models of various kinds.
Among them, of course, a replica of the flagship Ducati 998 of dark green color that he mounted as Neo on the tape ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and that the company manufactured as a special edition with the logo of the film in the colin. They are also part of the extraordinary collection of Keanu Reeves sports motorcycles, among which a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10 R, a Yamaha R1 or the exclusive Vyrus 987 C3 V4.
But his passion for motorcycles is not there, but has even led him to co-found in Los Angeles (California), along with the builder Gard Hollinger, his own motorcycle company: the Arch Motorcycles Company. Since 2011, its factory has been responsible for creating high-quality, totally exclusive and personalized motorcycles.
Keanu Reeves met his partner when he was looking for someone to personalize his Harley Davidson and the result dazzled the actor so much that he proposed the business, making that HD Dyna Wide Glide the basis of the company's first prototype, which they called KRGT-1 playing with the initials of the co-founders.
The result of this custom motorcycle surprised many, especially for its supercar performance: 2032 cc S&S V-Twin engine, 43 mm Ohlins inverted fork, Race Tech Shock, Blackstones Tek (BST) carbon fiber wheels, Yoshimura exhaust , and a large frame of handmade aluminum parts made in CNC laser.
Keanu is enthusiastically involved in each new model. The last one, a movie motorcycle, a cru power cruiser ’of great volume, futuristic and innovative design, in which tank, seat and saddle form a whole. The Arch Method 143 is fully customizable and only 23 units have been manufactured starting from a base price of € 130,000. Small change!
Hearing him speak we discover a passionate and genuine Keanu, truly in love with motorcycles, freedom and all the sensations transmitted by riding them. “Riding is really a great place to think, to feel, to escape. When I do not ride a motorcycle I have had withdrawal symptoms, it is not good for my health, ”he recently commented in an interview for GQ magazine.
So much is his enthusiasm for the bikes that Reeves has come to confess that he has sometimes failed to comply with the clause that he could not ride a motorcycle during the filming of certain films, as with some elite soccer players.
Despite being the envy of many bikers, the actor and businessman has made it clear that he would not like to close his motorcycle collection. His greatest wishes: two classics, a 1955 Vincent Black Shadow and an iconic 1927 Brough Superior, and a MotoGP copy. There is nothing!
