Custom motorcycles are strange things, you either
love them or loathe them. Some custom machines do have a little to
commend them, an example being the limited edition Bandit 9 Odyssey, which
comes with a choice of internal combustion or dual-electric drive.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Bandit 9 builds
bikes that are inspired by science-fiction, among them the Dark Side, L-Concept
and Eve, and now the latest addition to the catalogue, the Odyssey. Taking a
minimalist approach, the Odyssey is a single smooth body shell over the frame
and engine and as per the Bandit 9 name, only nine will ever be built.
Everything that Bandit 9 builds is bespoke and
custom, tailored to the customer’s taste, and for the Odyssey, the choice
begins with either a 1,400 cc V-twin in the traditional manner, or a
dual-electric drive, driving a shaft. Specifications are sparse for either
power plant, as Bandit 9 very clearly states on its website, “we build works of
art.”
In the case of the Odyssey, this is readily
apparent, using it as it does a combination of the tried and true, such as
wheels made in Milan, Italy by Borrani, and Beringer Aerotec radial-mounted
brake callipers. These are combined with high-tech items such as a see-through
LED display projected from below the fuel tank, and disappears when the power
is switched off.
There is also a seat covered in Italian calf leather
made from memory foam that takes the shape of the rider’s butt, and springs
back to its original shape when the rider gets off. The tail light assembly is
a single string of LEDs shaped in a horseshoe around the perimeter of the
bodywork.
Bandit 9 starts work on your Odyssey after receipt
of a 50% down-payment, and the build takes between five to six months. As almost
every aspect of the Bandit 9 Odyssey can be customised to whatever the customer
wants, we would expect pricing to not be cheap.
