It’s a week for boutique production bikes, as Arch Motorcycle launches the 1s and the new Norton Commando breaks cover. We’ve also got an Indian Chief racer, a Sportster built for desert racing, and a brilliant spoof of one of the best motorcycle films ever made.

Arch Motorcycle 1s In case you?ve been living under a rock, Arch Motorcycle is a boutique motorcycle company, launched in 2011 by Gard Hollinger and Keanu Reeves. Yes, that Keanu Reeves. Founded on their mutual love of motorcycles and design, Arch currently offers two models, the KRGT-1 and the brand-new ARCH 1s.

Taking elements of American cruisers, and smashing them together with race- and sport-style machines, the Arch 1s is a unique motorcycle. The company is calling it a ‘Sport Cruiser,’ but this kind of bike transcends classification. A proprietary 124 ci [2,032 cc] S&S Cycle twin cam engine is nestled inside a custom-made frame. Like the KRGT-1, the 1s frame features classic tube steel elements merged with billet aluminum structural members.

That sounds like a mismatched nightmare, but Arch has pulled off something truly beautiful. It?s the kind of engineering you?d expect from an aerospace engineering company, not an indie motorcycle manufacturer.
The swingarm is also billet aluminum, and it’s the first time Arch has used a single-sided design. There is premium Öhlins suspension both front and rear, and the brakes are from the Swedish brand ISR.

Carbon fiber is u...