The Coolest Details Of BMW And Orlando Bloom's Custom Motorcycle
Orlando Bloom has appeared in almost 50 projects (and counting) since his acting career started in 1994, but he's probably most famous for his roles as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings" films and Will Turner in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Most people may not know he's also an avid motorcycle rider and collector.
Riding a bike is like meditation for the actor, who claims he's more focused while straddling a motorbike than at any other time (except maybe when he's working on his craft). He's not the only entertainer whose passion sways towards the two-wheeled beasties, as Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Ewan McGregor, and dozens of others all have worthy collections.
Bloom is a long-time BMW fan with several of the Bavarian bike makers' rides — both old and new — in his stable. But the one that might be his favorite is the S 1000 R Custom. During a visit to BMW's factory in Munich, Bloom became friends with designer Ola Stenegärd and decided he wanted something custom that brought together a minimalistic aesthetic while still being technically sophisticated.
Michael "Woolie" Woolaway, who at the time was head of Deus Ex Machina custom bike shop in Venice, CA, met Bloom when they were both working on a movie together. Woolie was also a gaffer (head of the electrical department and chief lighting technician) for some 20 years. The two started conversing about Bloom's latest bike, and a friendship was born.
A Bloom, Woolie & Stenegärd original
The actor picked a new BMW S 1000 R and shipped it back to Venice for Woolie to work on in collaboration with BMW's Stenegärd. The main design inspiration started with the Butler & Smith racing bikes from the 1970s.
Woolie first had to strip all the plastic from the original S 1000 R, and in doing so, discovered that there was "a lot of electronics under the plastics, but not a whole lot of 'raw beauty,'" which in due time would all be concealed under custom metal work. He also had to build a custom subframe for the back of the bike because it housed a slew of electronics that had to remain in place.
The seat is a tailor-made double diamond tuck stitched saddle made from black waterproof Kushitani leather. Other changes include a round headlight topped with a hand-shaped aluminum fairing and secured with brackets made from stainless steel tubing. Adding an entirely new carbon fiber front fender eliminated the original fairing. One detail that was quite important to Stenegärd was the dual board track-style bars that lock down the gas tank and give it a retro feel.
Last was the unique inline four-cylinder 158 hp engine capable of hitting 160 mph. It was so broad that Woolie figured he couldn't hide it and instead made it a focal point by installing an extra-large Febur radiator that was practical and aesthetically pleasing.