Cognito Moto’s High-Tech Machining Revolution

Story and Photos by Nick Coumos

Custom motorcycles have been around for a long time. The addition, subtraction or the substitution of parts in order to improve performance or change the looks of the motorcycle to reflect the personality of the rider is commonplace in this community of enthusiasts. Dealers who specialize in aftermarket parts are ubiquitous and a Google search of “custom motorcycle parts” will yield millions of results. The problem is, they all sell pretty much the same stuff. What are you to do if you want something unique?

In a previous issue of Café Racer Magazine (#84), I wrote about our 850 Norton Commando that now sports the front end of a 2008 Honda CBR1000RR. No special tools were required for this transformation and no adjustment of the parts was needed to make them fit. This was a simple bolt-on modification that not only improved the looks of this aged motorcycle, but also greatly improved the performance. It was made possible by the folks at Cognito Moto in Richmond Virginia. They created the beefy billet aluminum triple tree to mount the Honda front end to the Norton frame and even made the spoked wheel hub that helps the 49-year-old British classic maintain its original appearance.

I’ve always been interested in machine tools and own an 80-year-old South Bend lathe. And while I’m certainly not a professional machinist, I do enjoy removing metal from round objects. I met Devin Henriques, the owner of Cognito Moto, at the last Café Racer Ride-In Show and, finding that I shared his passion for modifying metal, he invited me to visit the Richmond workshop. Upon my arrival, Devin asked if I wanted to see a part being made. Of course, I said yes and the manufacturing began.

The heart of the Cognito Moto manufacturing process is high-tech mills and a lathe, American made, computer controlled, and very expensive. The mill that I saw run that day made an upper triple clamp from start to finish with very little operator input. Scott Misturini, who is the CNC programmer and machine operator, directed the process via a bunch of very complicated-looking buttons on the outside of the machine. In very short order, the top of the part was finished. The piece was then turned over by hand and the machining process was resumed. In about five more minutes the completed part was done and on the bench.

Devin, a fourth-generation machinist, got his start creating high-speed manufacturing equipment that speeded-up the making of various health care products for Playtex, believe it or not. He spent 15 years as a mechanical engineer in the buttoned-up corporate world before shifting his focus to motorcycles, a passion of his from an early age.

One of the most popular special parts produced by Cognito’s four-man team is a custom wheel hub that allows the lacing of spoked rims to modern sportbike front ends. Today, Devin says Cognito has sold thousands of these sturdy billet aluminum hubs over the past few years, in the process helping make vintage cafe racers and bobbers safer and more roadworthy. “If you’ve ever ridden a classic bike and had to grab a handful of front brake and realized nothing’s happening, it’s a scary experience,” he told CRM. “Even though the early disc brakes on Hondas and BMWs were considered great back in the day, they’re pretty crap compared to modern brakes. With modern forks and brakes, these older bikes actually handle a lot better and the stopping power is increased a hundredfold.”

All of the Cognito team members are avid riders and deeply involved in custom culture, each riding and tinkering with their own retro bikes in their (limited) spare time.

In addition to their denselypacked parts inventory, which covers everything from wheel hubs to rearset controls, suspension components and mounting brackets for a variety of Japanese and European bikes, Cognito has recently started offering complete custom machining services. You simply upload your 3-D CAD files to their interactive web portal and they will quote you a price to manufacture that part in steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, or almost any other appropriate material.

This service eliminates the risk of purchasing parts of unknown quality from equally unknown suppliers (read eBay). Sure, you can print your own bits with an at-home 3-D printer and take your chances fabricating your own, but why bother when high-tech top-quality parts are so easy to source? CR

Resource: www.cognitomoto.com