You can build a motorcycle for a lot of reasons, sometimes there's a theme or style like a cafe racer or maybe a street tracker, but other times a builder just does what he wants and that's what we have here, the Proboost M1. I noticed it while looking over the bikes for sale and it made me smile. It looks like it was built to highlight the Proboost Turbosystems business so the builder tossed out the rulebook and started welding.
The engine is a 3,982cc BMW V8. I'm not familiar enough with BMWs to know which model served as the donor, but, though it's big, there aren't a lot of exterior accessories hanging outside the engine itself.
The suspension is doubled up everywhere, twin Hayabusa forks up front and twin Ohlins shocks on each side in the rear. There are, of course, twin Proboost TD05 turbochargers.
The driveline is very simple, a mechanical clutch and direct drive, with this engine, why shift?
You can't really critique this build by saying it's not practical or it won't handle or it's too heavy, because this is a rolling billboard for his company, nothing else, and for that purpose I believe he's succeeded. More photos over on eBay. Oddly enough, I kinda like it.
Peter Boyle says
road test?
Charlie says
“You can’t really critique this build by saying it’s not practical or it won’t handle or it’s too heavy, because this is a rolling billboard for his company, nothing else, and for that purpose I believe he’s succeeded.”
From a business point of view, unless he gets customers from it, it hasn’t. Marketers sell “eyeballs” but that doesn’t help my P&L’s.
From a rider-buyer point of view, I wouldn’t go to a shop like that based on this bike. It’s Orange County Choppers, Jesse James, etc., just with a different engine. Eye-wash for no real purpose. Make that bike like some of the V-8 custom bikes (I’m not a fan, but some just flat work) or the Subaru powered bike from Australia you featured that have at least passable road manners and it’s a different story.
Paul Crowe says
Good points. On the other hand, since he seems to be into turbo systems, not bike building per se, it might be more of a showcase for his skills adapting his turbos to a wide range of different engines and applications or it might show how easily they can be used on a lot of different power plants. His business builds kits for snowmobiles, too, so I still thinks it works for those reasons.
GenWaylaid says
The snowmobile kit would make for a much more interesting motorcycle. Sure, it probably wouldn’t be road legal for EPA reasons, but you’d have a much better shot of creating a ride-able bike with a snowmobile motor.
You’d also be able to make the argument that the turbo kit is much more visible in a motorcycle frame than in a snowmobile. This thing…I can’ t even see the turbo that it’s presumably advertising.
GenWaylaid says
Oh hey, it looks like they sell turbo kits for several large displacement sport bikes. I can’t find anything on their website for BMW car engines. That just makes this bike even more baffling. A discontinued product line, perhaps?
Bob says
If he built the typical trade show stand to demonstrate his work, nobody would notice. But make a self propelled trade show stand that happens to be a motorcycle and people lose their minds.
How many trade show stands get eBay exposure for the owner?
I want to see the P&L’s from Big Time Business Dude on this vs booth babes.
scritch says
Looks like he doesn’t have any French curves in his drafting set.
Paul Crowe says
You’re assuming there was a drawing.
Nortley says
A modern Bohmerland?
todd says
I thought it was a blue ruckus at first.
Paul Crowe says
There is a resemblance.
Jimbo says
Can anyone confirm the fuel tank is up front and down low? I can’t see anywhere else it could possibly be… Seems like a great billboard, you’d certainly get seen at a lot of petrol stations 😉
Paul Crowe says
Same conclusion I came to about the tank because there’s literally no place else to hide it.
a eliasson says
The exhaust seems undersized. Guess I’m missing something …
ACE