Bandit9 is a custom motorcycle garage run by Daryl Villanueva out of Saigon, it started life in Beijing a few years ago and quickly earned a reputation for world class design with a retrofuturistic feel.
When Daryl originally released the limited edition EVE motorcycle it caused a sensation within the custom motorcycle community. Whilst most custom bikes have engines ranging from 400cc up to well over 1.6 litres, the EVE bikes had a single cylinder, air-cooled 90cc or 125cc engine slung low under its pressed-steel frame.
Bandit9 based the EVE MKII on the same iconic Honda SS series of motorcycles – a model that’ll be immediately recognisable to anyone who’s spent any time in South East Asia. This mechanically simple bike has transported families of 6 or more to and from work and school for decades, and they’re now beginning to enjoy a well-deserved status as a collectible motorcycle.
The most immediately eye-catching part of the EVE MKII is that unibody fuel tank, it’s shaped from a single piece of hand-polished steel. It incorporates the fuel tank, seat and rear cowling – and it evokes the design of the post-WWII belly tank racers of Bonneville.
“Riding is a form of meditation for me. I’m at peace when I’m on a motorcycle. My focus is directed toward the road and nothing else. I can’t think of anything else I do that requires my complete attention on the present.”
– Daryl Villanueva, Bandit9.
Each of the 9 EVE MKIIs that will be built take 4-6 weeks of labour, mostly metalworking but there’s a significant amount of new part fabrication needed – not to mention polishing. Each of limited edition bikes will be sold by the Mechanical Art Devices gallery (M.A.D. Gallery) in Geneva, Switzerland – and each will be a fully functioning and rideable.
If you’d like to see the original EVE you can click here, and if you’d like to visit the M.A.D. Gallery to see more about the EVE MKII you can click here.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
