Carbon & Alloy: BMW HP2 Sport Custom

“Midnight Dancer” from Cherry’s Company…

Introduced in 2008, the BMW HP2 Sport was quite the machine, a modern German sportbike whose 1170cc flat-twin (Boxer) engine made 128 hp — the most powerful Boxer engine ever produced! That mammoth engine, which had air-cooled cylinders and oil-cooled heads, was accompanied by BMW Telelever / Paralever suspension with Öhlins shocks, Brembo race-spec Monobloc calipers, lightweight forged aluminum wheels, and a carbon-fiber rear subframe.

Riders and reviewers found much to love in the flat-twin sportbike:

“Forget the fact that the HP2 Sport is an old air-cooled Boxer engine…think more in the way this motorcycle will keep up with Japanese superbikes on the open road because of its handling, suspension, and demon brakes.” –MCN

What’s more, the bike’s performance in the World Endurance Championship earned it a reputation for reliability, as the race bike ran the same the same engine, ECU, and air filter as the production HP2 Sport. All in all, the bike was a brilliant street and circuit package:

“Not only does it make a brilliant road-going bike, the BMW HP2 will cut up rough at track days.” –MCN

Enter Kaichiroh Kurosu of Cherry’s Company, who was commissioned to rebuild a 2008 HP2 Sport involved in an accident. Kurosu-san decided to take inspiration from 1980s GP bikes, rebuilding the exterior in carbon while retaining the sportbike’s already high level of performance.

Kurosu-san is well known for his Highway Fighter series, and he’d begun using carbon fiber on his customers’ builds, but he was looking for a new modeling method:

“That’s when I found Vacuum Infusion Technology. Using Vacuum Carbon Infusion Technology, which hardens carbon fiber with epoxy, I found that it is possible to produce carbon parts with a quality close to dry carbon.”

Kaichiroh created a carbon front fairing with offset headlight and slimline windshield, along with a separate carbon tank cover whose integrated side cowls overlap with the forward cowl.

There’s also a carbon belly pan, and all of the bodywork has been lettered and flourished with gold-leaf paint.

To complement the carbon bodywork, Kaichiroh decided to create a raw aluminum tail section, drawing inspiration from the sponsor-less MotoGP bikes he’s seen during testing:

“In the off-season, when no sponsor or body color has been decided yet, the racing teams have been seen testing their bikes with a raw aluminum tank and a carbon cowl in a body configuration much like the Midnight Dancer… That’s what I wanted to express this time.”

When Kurosu-san showed the bike at the prestigious Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show last year, he was surprised to find some media folks who thought carbon and resin didn’t have a place in hot rod culture. For those folks, a little history lesson was in order:

“The hot rod scene has been customizing with resin parts since the 1960s, exemplified by Tracy Nelson’s Fiberglas Works custom bikes with one-piece module fiberglass body. And now, more than 50 years on, even the aging of Tracy’s custom bikes, with their chipped fibers and faded paint, is part of the customization process, I guess.”

Kurosu-san goes on to say that carbon allows him to produce intricate shapes he could never achieve in sheet metal, and Midnight Dancer is a perfect example of that.

A special thanks goes out to our friend Tadashi “Tad” Kohno for bringing us this story, and credit goes to Hiromitsu Yasui (@hiromitsuyasui_weekend) for these stunning photos. Enjoy!

Midnight Dancer: In the Builder’s Words…

I received the order in 2018. Before that, the owner’s BMW HP2 Sport had been in an accident. He asked me to do a customization for it. But there was Covid19 around the time, and me being busy, the plans to build the bike had been on hold for a long time. At that time, I didn’t have a concrete customization plan, but the HP2 Sport had a carbon exterior, the strong performance of the flat twin engine, and a chassis to support it. I had a vague idea that I didn’t want to degrade the performance or styling of this sports bike.

For those reasons, I wanted to build the HP2 Sport with a carbon exterior. I started to think about that around the end of 2021 to January 2022. At the time, I was using a carbon exterior on the “Highway Fighter” complete bikes, which came out of the R nineT customization project of 2014. However, I had only established the hand lay-up method of carbon modeling, which I thought would compromise the performance of the HP2 SPORT. On the other hand, dry carbon was impossible. I was searching for a new modeling method. That’s when I found Vacuum Infusion Technology. Using Vacuum Carbon Infusion Technology, which hardens carbon fiber with epoxy, I found that it is possible to produce carbon parts with a quality close to dry carbon.

So I changed the production method of the exterior parts for the Highway Fighter to Vacuum Carbon Infusion as a test bed for the establishment of Vacuum Infusion Technology. Bike parts are small, complex in shape, and have intricate curves. So I devised a vacuum method and explored my own Vacuum Infusion Technology. Of course, the manufacturing method is still evolving and continues to improve the strength and quality required for bike parts, as well as the freedom of modeling.

Once Vacuum Infusion Technology had been established, my work moved on to design. The image is that of a WGP racer from the 1980s. It was characterized by its large cowl and somewhat exaggerated design compared to today’s racing bikes. However, I loved the WGP in that era and have used that image many times in my custom bikes. This time, I tried to make it work with a BMW flat twin engine.

As the HP2 Sport had high-level riding performance, I decided to rebuild only the exterior without changing the arrangement of the suspension system, including BMW’s unique Telelever Front Suspension System and Paralever Rear Suspension System, the frame supporting them, and the computers and other devices necessary for the BMW’s riding performance.

However, the HP2 Sport use an inner fuel tank system, with a tank cover over the fuel tank. The side of the front cowl is integrated into the tank cover. Furthermore, the front cowl was a separate structure from that side part. Behind that front cowl there’s also an air intake for ram air and a device holder, and the design process was carried out without changing the arrangement of these parts, which led to this design, with the exterior parts overlapping each other.

I was going to finish even the rear cowl in carbon. But during the production process I started to think that I wanted to combine metal and carbon in a combined style. Even nowadays, racing bikes like in MotoGP or WSBK sometimes use raw aluminum for the fuel tank. In the off-season, when no sponsor or body color has been decided yet, the racing teams have been seen testing their bikes with a raw aluminum tank and a carbon cowl in a body configuration much like the Midnight Dancer. And it’s cool. That’s what I wanted to express this time.

When I exhibited the Midnight Dancer at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show 2022, many media asked me why you tried a carbon exterior. It seems that the hot rod scene and carbon parts, or resin parts for that matter — they thought the two things were not a good fit for each other. However, the hot rod scene has been customizing with resin parts since the 1960s, exemplified by Tracy Nelson’s Fiberglas Works custom bikes with one-piece module fiberglass body. And now, more than 50 years on, even the aging of Tracy’s custom bikes, with their chipped fibers and faded paint, is part of the customization process, I guess.

I also insist on resin molding using carbon materials because it allows for greater flexibility in designing. Mold making is essential for resin molding. And it is very difficult to make the mold. However, it is possible to create complex shapes with positive and negative curved surfaces, such as the Midnight Dancer’s, which are impossible with sheet metal. By combining the carbon exterior with sheet metal parts, I was able to create a new world that is neither a chopper nor a super sport. With the “Midnight Dancer,” I have proved this, I think.

Build Sheet: Midnight Dancer

■ Model Name： Midnight Dancer
■ Builder： Kaichiroh Kurosu / Cherry’s Company

■ Donor Machine：2008 BMW HP2 SPORT

■ Engine
・Engine：Standard
・Exhaust Headers：Standard
・Exhaust Silencers：One-off

■ Chassis
・Frame：Standard／Nickel plating
・Swing Arm：Standard
・Front Suspension System：Standard
・Rear Suspension unit：Standard
・Master Cylinder：Standard
・Brake Caliper： Standard
・Brake Disk Rotor：Standard
・Master Cylinder：Standard
・Brake Caliper： Standard
・Brake Disk Rotor：Standard
・Wheels: Standard
・Tires：MICHELIN Power Cup 2
・Front:　120/70ZR17
・Rear:　 190/55ZR17

■ Body
・Front Fender：One-off／CFRP
・Fuel Tank：Standard／Inner Tank
・Tank Cover & Front Cowl：One-off／CFRP
・Rear Cowl：One-off /Aluminum
・Rear Fender：Standard
・Seat：One-off
・Handles：Standard
・Foot pegs ＆ Pedals：Standard
・Headlight：4inc (No Name)
・Rear Light：KIJIMA NANO
・Blinkers：KIJIMA NANO
・Meter：Standard
・Rearlight ＆ Turn signal：KIJIMA NANO
・Paint：〜Hopping Shower〜 Tetsu