There’s no shortage of stellar custom motorcycle builds floating around online. The vast majority of the time, all we get to see is the finished product, or occasionally some mid-project photos at best. Far more seldom are we treated to witnessing the complete design—or in this case rather, redesign—process from beginning to end. However, Josh Newby, a talented young industrial designer, wrencher, and moto enthusiast recently began a multi-part video series detailing the entirety of a one-off 1985 BMW K100 RS build.
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The first installment of Newby’s series takes place not in a shop or garage, but almost entirely on a computer screen. While later episodes will see the Flying Brick stripped down and overhauled, the inaugural episode is comprised of Newby showing off his Photoshop skills via the ground-up redesign of the 90hp four-banger. Over the course of roughly half-an-hour, Newby brings his vision of what he’s describing as a “street tracker” to life, piece by piece, layer by layer.
While on the surface, 30-minutes of watching someone draw may not sound like the most riveting prospect, it’s worth mentioning that Newby speeds up the footage considerably, allowing his audience to see his work unfold in a fraction of the time it took to create. Newby’s artistic eye and digital illustration skills are fun to watch also. Granted this doesn't come as much of a surprise considering the Bay Area resident has previously served as an industrial designer for the likes of outfits like Waymo and Google X. Seeing him complete elements of the design such as the stitching on the seat, or the digital welding he does to create the build’s custom subframe is truly a sight to behold. It also certainly helps that Newby clearly knows how to pen an attractive, well-balanced bike.
The kid undeniably has some chops, and we’re excited to see him progress to the next stage of the build and start brining his on-screen concept to fruition. We’re rooting for you Newby! Make us proud.