The Ride: Retro-Future Sci-Fi – the Bandit9 L-Concept

In Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis, the year is 2026, and the world’s population is divided between coverall-suited industrial laborers working underground, and the champagne-swilling idle rich who live in towers.  Freder, the son of the city’s master, abandons his privileged life to join the oppressed workers, after falling in love with the worker Maria, who is soon replicated as a Maschinenmensch (a gynoid/female robot) in an attempt to derail a people’s revolution.  Taking artistic license 91 years after the release of Metropolis, Bandit9 has finally designed an escape vehicle for the gynoid Maria, who was captured and burned at the stake in the film…Maria was bad, but ever so beautiful.

The 297-pound L•Concept has a top speed of 68 mph, and is powered by a 125cc, four-speed, air-cooled, four-stroke engine [Bandit9]The 2018 Bandit9 L•Concept is quite real, and according to Bandit9 founder and chief of design Daryl Villanueva, is his tribute to science fiction history. “The trend nowadays is to go retro, and the L•Concept goes in the opposite direction – and then some,” says Villanueva. “But it wasn’t just about creating a futuristic motorcycle or creating the next thing. It was about bringing the impossible to life and injecting a little excitement back into automotive design. It was about bringing to life something you’d see on film or comic books.”

The engine cowl belongs on the USS Enterprise  [Bandit9]Such high-concept talk for a limited production bike usually means Very Expensive, but Bandit9 has been producing shiny futuristic dream bikes since 2013, and knows the ropes. His typical foundation is a license-produced Honda C110 engine, a 60-year old design that’s sold in the Millions throughout Asia. That might seem the antithesis of slick, but Villanueva sees it another way; elevating the utilitarian to the sublime. 

Flat dual shocks harken back to Moto Guzzi singles, and are one of the one-off features of the build. [Bandit9]The Bandit9 team spends most of its development time on design – everything is sorted on paper before the metalwork begins. “There are a lot of forms that are difficult to produce with a single sheet—not dissimilar to origami. So we had to work all that out. There was a lot of testing. There was a lot of failing. We needed to figure out how to place all the foot pegs, kickstand and carburetor elegantly. And of course, the engine has to function and breathe.”  At the end of the process, a Bandit9 motorcycle is a functional work of art, with finish work better than robot-built factory machines, and as good as any in the custom scene.

“The L•Concept has been in development for more than two years now,” he added. “We couldn’t get into production until we figured out how to create the turbine engine cover, which is quite challenging with all the different shapes and curves.[Bandit9]Looking like a jet-pistol in profile, the 297-pound L•Concept has a top speed of 68 mph, and is powered by a 125cc, four-speed, air-cooled, four-stroke engine. Ninety inches long with 20-inch wheels, the L•Concept costs $10,950, which includes shipping to your door.  Nine will be made, and four are unsold.  One is coming to TheVintagent’s upcoming exhibition at the Petersen Museum in LA, opening on April 14th 2018, and has been acquired by the Petersen for its collection.  And if that isn’t a vote of confidence in the future, I’m not sure what is.

Five pure white 6,000K space-ready LEDs [Bandit9]

“The only thing that stands between fact and fiction is time.”[Bandit9]

From the unibody tank to the suspended turbine and maneuver controls, the L•Concept brings all your science fiction fantasies to life in a fully functional, mechanical sculpture. [Bandit9]

The World’s #1 Vintage Motorcycle Site