DENVER MADDUX AND HIS ARCH 1s

Most people will not tick the “ARCH Motorcycle owner” box in their lifetime. Not because ARCH motorcycles are too expensive (I’ve sold quite a few in the past four years), or because they take too long to build (approximately six months at time of print for a completely one-off bike). It’s because ARCH assembles beautiful, functional, and powerful motorcycles all aesthetically and ergonomically tailored to their intended owners. ARCH craftsmen take the time to ensure things are done right the first time because customer appreciation is paramount. And that ethos remains intact with the release of ARCH’s second model, the 1s.

Making its public debut in October of last year, the 1s was aptly named for its use of a single-sided swingarm, CNCmachined from blocks of billet aluminum. The 1s is loaded with plenty of other goodies too: an ARCH proprietary S&S 124ci engine is a torque powerhouse. The dual 17-inch carbon wheels make for the perfect stance. And the steel tube mainframe with billet aluminum subframe equipped with Öhlins front and rear make for an agile and dynamic handling chassis. The dual ISR six-pot calipers up front and four-pot calipers in the rear position the 1s at a standstill without activating the Boschequipped ABS system. I know all these fun facts because I worked for ARCH Motorcycle Company for almost four years. But I digress… I know what goes into designing and building these machines. I know why they’re so special. And yes, the craftsmanship and components are second to none, but the ARCH owners are what makes ARCH truly unique.

The ARCH 1s debuted as a prototype at EICMA in November 2017. It was one of three models displayed among the global motorcycling press, joined by an updated KRGT-1 and its limited-edition sibling, the Method 143. But the 1s would be the follow-up to the KRGT-1 as more of a sport cruiser with a V-twin soul. Then the world nearly ended and COVID-19, well… COVID19’d the entire planet.

After navigating a global shutdown, ARCH pushed on as things somewhat normalized and continued working on bringing the 1s to production. In fact, ARCH had a KRGT-1 customer, Denver Maddux, who was determined to see the 1s production-ready as well.

Denver Maddux, is one of those special humans that was quintessentially destined to cross paths with Gard, Keanu, and ARCH Motorcycle overall. During his 3–4 years as an owner, he’s taken delivery of not one, not two, but three ARCH Motorcycles: two KRGT-1s (for him and his better half, Erica) and one 1s. The design of his 1s is probably one of the most eye-catching motorcycles in ARCH’s history.

I first met Denver, who’d been frantically trying to get in touch with the sales department to buy a motorcycle (that was me) to no avail. But we finally connected. Denver, who was living part-time in Maui, part-time in Australia, was keen on buying an ARCH ASAP. When we spoke, he threatened to fly to Los Angeles the next day to place a deposit and do his design consultation. Which is exactly what he did. I liked Denver immediately. Everyone at ARCH did too. Denver and his partner, Erica became really close with the ARCH family, and he’d go on to buy another KRGT-1 for Erica, and ultimately, the 1s you see before you.

Spec Sheet

BIKE OWNER DENVER MADDUX

SHOP NAME ARCH MOTORCYCLE

SHOP PHONE 310-675-2724

SHOP WEBSITE/SOCIAL ARCHMOTORCYCLE.COM

YEAR/MAKE/MODEL

2021/ARCH MOTORCYCLE/1S

FABRICATION ARCH

ASSEMBLY ARCH

BUILD TIME SIX MONTHS

ENGINE

YEAR/MANUFACTURER

2021/ARCH X S&S

TYPE/SIZE S&S T-SERIES/124CI

CASES S&S

CYLINDERS S&S

HEADS S&S

ROCKER BOXES S&S

EFI/CARB S&S

AIR CLEANER ARCH

EXHAUST ARCH 2-INTO-1 STAINLESS STEEL WITH CARBON FIBER MUFFLER

SPECIAL FEATURES 45-DEGREE DOWNDRAFT FUEL INJECTION AND AIR INTAKE SYSTEM

TRANSMISSION

YEAR/MANUFACTURER/TYPE

2021/ARCH/SIX-SPEED W/ CUSTOM COMPACT HIGH-TORQUE MAINSHAFT

CASE ARCH

CLUTCH ARCH PROPRIETARY BANDIT DRY CLUTCH WITH COMPACT CLUTCH BASKET

PRIMARY DRIVE ARCH

FRAME

YEAR/MANUFACTURER

2021/ARCH 1S RAKE 25.15° TRAIL 4.02”

SPECIAL FEATURES STEEL TUBE MAIN FRAME WITH BILLET ALUMINUM MACHINED SUBFRAME, SWINGARM, AND CHASSIS SIDE PLATES

SUSPENSION

MANUFACTURER FRONT ARCH BY ÖHLINS FGRT 300 SERIES

DIAMETER 48MM FORK TUBES

TRIPLE TREES ARCH

MANUFACTURER REAR ARCH BY ÖHLINS MONOSHOCK

SPECIAL FEATURES

FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSION SYSTEMS OFFER ADJUSTABLE DAMPING FOR PRELOAD, REBOUND, AND COMPRESSION

WHEELS, TIRES, AND BRAKES

MANUFACTURER FRONT

WHEEL HEIGHT-WIDTH

TIRE HEIGHT-WIDTH

CALIPERS

ROTORS

TYPEBLACKSTONE TEK (BST) ULTRALIGHT CARBON FIBER

17X3.5”

MICHELIN PILOT POWER 3 120/70ZR17

DUAL ISR SIX-PISTON MONOBLOC RADIAL MOUNT CALIPERS

DUAL ISR FLOATING DAMPENED DISCS

MANUFACTURER REAR BST ULTRALIGHT CARBON FIBER

WHEEL HEIGHT-WIDTH

TIRE HEIGHT-WIDTH

17X8.5”

MICHELIN PILOT POWER 3 240/45ZR17

CALIPER ISR FOUR-PISTON MONOBLOC RADIAL MOUNT CALIPER

ROTOR ISR TWO-PIECE DISCS

FINISH-PAINT

COLOR DAZZLE CAMOUFLAGE IN SATIN DPM3, RACING YELLOW, AND SATIN CARBON ACCENTS

PAINTER ARCH

GRAPHICS

COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARCH AND DENVER MADDUX

SPECIAL FINISHES BLACK ALUMINUM ACCENTS IN SHOT PEENED BLACK ANODIZE

ACCESSORIES

FRONT FENDER ARCH CARBON FIBER

REAR FENDER ARCH CARBON FIBER

FAIRING/WINDSCREEN ARCH

GAUGES ARCH TFT LCD DIGITAL INSTRUMENTATION BY AIM SPORTS

GAS TANK/CAP CARBON FIBER FUEL CELL WITH ALUMINUM

DASH BILLET ALUMINUM IN SHOT PEENED BLACK ANODIZE

OIL TANK ARCH

HANDLEBARS ARCH

HEADLIGHT J.W. SPEAKER

TAILLIGHT ARCH COVE-REFLECTED LED TAILLAMP

TURN SIGNALS RIZOMA

LICENSE MOUNT

ARCH ALUMINUM LICENSE PLATE ARM

SEAT ARCH BY SADDLEMEN

MISC.

EACH ARCH IS TAILORED TO CUSTOMER AESTHETIC AND ERGONOMIC SPECIFICATIONS

“I saw the 1s and I was like, ‘that thing’s an absolute smokeshow,’” Denver recalls. “That is the coolest looking sports style bike, and it has that bitchin’ engine in it. That’s the one I want. And I was like, ‘but that KRGT-1 is really sexy, too.’” Ah, decisions. This was in 2019. Yes, Denver wanted a 1s at first, but he was torn. He ended up starting out on the KRGT-1 because the 1s wasn’t in production yet, which didn’t seem to deter Denver from getting what he wanted.

Denver didn’t just place a deposit for the 1s. He paid for the whole thing up front. And since Denver knew the ARCH creative process, a quick conversation was had and something subtle was already in the works. Judging from his all-black KRGT-1 with slight tech camo accents, one of the designers was playing with Dazzle Camo, a disruptive pattern design used with WWII ships and submarines because their odd shapes would confuse enemies from far distances. More on that in a minute.

Before we dive into Denver’s design. We spoke with Gard Hollinger, co-founder of ARCH Motorcycle, to provide a bit more insight as to a customer’s creative process. “I like to give the owner some homework,” Gard says. “And the homework is to provide us with examples of things that they respond to visually. I always preface it with ‘you don’t have to focus on motorcycles or vehicles at all. It could be as far out there as simply images, or different cultures, things in nature, architecture or whatever.’” For Gard, this is where he dives into the customer’s creative brain space to gain an understanding of what they might respond to, which is exactly how he started with Denver’s KRGT-1 design.

“Denver sent pictures of three different meteorites that were cross sectioned and that caught my eye, and I thought that they were really cool looking,” Gard recalls. It was more interesting than what Denver originally asked for, which was a black bike with a brown seat, etc. “I thought it was too organic looking to just give to a painter and say, ‘hey, paint something on the bike so that it looks like this meteorite.’” It reminded Gard of camouflage. “I started to look at Tech Camo, which was much more geometric and then by putting that in the graphic on his bike—not the whole paint job—gave it a subtle look, which he was really sort of pressing.” Essentially, you wouldn’t see anything camo from about 20 feet away. “But as you get closer, you see that detail, which is sort of what happens with an ARCH anyway, right?” Gard explains.

Denver was in love with the subtle complexity of it all. Yes, it sounds oxymoronic, or even paradoxical, but it’s the only way it can be described. Which in a way, represents ARCH.

So when it came time to design Denver’s 1s, he knew it was probably going to be a pretty quick and easy process. As did Gard. But things changed when one of the ARCH designers was playing around with a Dazzle Camo treatment that they wanted to present to Denver for shits and gigs.

“We just tossed the idea out there like, ‘we’re going to do something that’s going to be out there, and loud.’’’ Gard says. “And he’s like, ‘okay, fine. I probably won’t like it, but fine.’’’ “One had some really bright electric red, and one had this yellow, and then because of the whole camo conversation, one of the guys pitched Dazzle Camo and Denver just went totally the opposite direction than I predicted he would go.”

Denver remembers Gard and the designers going down the rabbit hole on camouflages, even into disruptive patterns. “Actually, a disruptive theme is kind of cool because that bike, in my opinion, is a disruptive bike,” Denver says. “That bike should be turning motorcycle designers on their ear. They should absolutely be going, ‘what the fuck is this thing and why don’t more people make something like this that’s more close to production?’”

It’s such a specialized product and very unique to each one of its owners, it’s definitely not your average ownership experience. There’s a bond that forms between ARCH’s cofounders and customers alike.

And it’s not a temporary bond. Gard and Denver still speak frequently. Their relationship might be equivalent to high school buds, picking up where they left off because they share some cool history. “We became friends through the process and we have shared some really cool experiences together,” Gard says. “That was always part of the hope and dream for the company, to share in these experiences with our customers. It really makes them feel like they are part of what we created.” HB