Master of metal.
Turning at a hidden place, Cristian Sosa cuts and shapes metal to make unique motorcycles. For his version of the R nineT, as an exception, it's only about the external values.
Profile description
SMW 61-B
Sosa Metalworks
Cristian and Roberto Sosa
R nineT
2017
Cafe Racer
When aluminium melts.
When aluminium melts.
Cristian Sosa's hands should really be glowing. 660.3 degrees - hot. The point at which aluminium melts. Cristian is a master of metals; in his hands, the otherwise so stubborn materials become malleable like clay. His special skills make his motorcycles flawless, rolling sculptures that are completely different from one another in terms of their style. "We never do the same thing twice and always try to exceed the previous project and improve our skills with each job", Cristian says, explaining the credo of his shop Sosa Metalworks.
Christian Sosa
Sosa Metalworks
Advertising? No, thanks.
Advertising? No, thanks.
His shop, which he opened in 2012 together with his brother Roberto, is hidden somewhere in Las Vegas. "We do not advertise and only work according by appointment", Cristian says. "There is no showroom, no sign – and we do not sell anything other than our time and ideas." At the start of 2017, Cristian nevertheless received the call in his hiding place to give the R nineT a new shape. And inventing new shapes is the speciality of Cristian, who is more of a sculptor than a mechanic.
The bike in detail
Modified standard frame
Tank and seat bench made of one-piece aluminium monocoque with distinctive middle seam, dark red genuine leather cushion, hand-made full fairing made of aluminium
43-mm telescopic fork
Series part
Series exhaust
None
Inner values.
The project started as it almost always does: with a wire-frame model around which Cristian shaped the metal as though it were paper maché. For the machine christened SMW 61-B, the Sosa crew made a single-part monocoque out of aluminium, and a curved tank seat bench line with an extremely short rear emerged.
In its interior, the SMW 61-B is close to the series model. Drive unit, wire wheels, chassis components and even the double exhaust laid on one side originate from the base bike. But on the outside, the R nineT looks like a different motorcycle. The full fairing that was carefully hammered from an aluminium board determines the image of Cristian's creation: a laboriously styled retro sports bike. "What is difficult about these things is developing shapes and joining them so that they do not look artificial", Cristian says. "I don't want anyone to notice anything. I want it to look good from the other side of the room and then it draws you in and entices you to come closer."
