In conversation with LA-based stuntman, Fred North.

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Fred North masih kecil ketika pertama kali menyaksikan helikopter mendarat di Saint Louis, Senegal—pengalaman yang membekas sampai hari ini. Puluhan tahun berlalu, kini ia telah terlibat di lebih dari 200 film dan dikenal sebagai salah satu stunt pilot helikopter paling ikonik di dunia. Beberapa film besar yang pernah ia garap termasuk Transformers, James Bond: Spectre, Mission Impossible, dan Fast & Furious. Belum lama ini, Jeremy Tagand, Head of Workshop Deus di Sydney, ngobrol langsung dengan Fred soal motor custom XT500 miliknya, pentingnya “karakter” dalam memilih motor, dan bagaimana visi bersama bisa jadi kunci utama dalam membangun motor lintas benua.

Apa sejarah hubungan kamu dengan motor?
Saya besar di antara Afrika dan Eropa Timur. Waktu umur 13 atau 14 tahun, saya tinggal di Ethiopia dan di sana banyak motor Suzuki 100 CC dan 125 CC. Itu awal mula saya kenal dunia motor. Motornya sangat simpel, tapi saya suka. Saya pakai motor itu sampai umur 17, lalu ketika keluarga pindah ke Jerman, saya mulai naik kelas dan membeli Yamaha V-max 1200 CC. Sejak saat itu saya terus riding sampai sekarang—sekarang saya hampir 64 tahun, jadi bisa dibilang saya sudah berkendara seumur hidup saya.

Apa yang membuat motor custom menarik buat kamu?

Menurut saya, motor (sama halnya dengan mobil) itu harus punya jiwa untuk membangun koneksi. Saya kurang suka kendaraan yang terlalu baru—tidak ada karakternya. Bukan hanya soal mesinnya, tapi juga soal aroma kulit joknya, getaran saat jalan, dan tampilannya. Harus ada kesan ‘bercerita’, tidak boleh terlalu bersih atau mulus. Dan, oh ya, harus manual!

Kalau motor, saya bukan tipe orang menghabiskan dua jam di garasi hanya untuk berkendara setengah jam. Saya lebih suka motor tua yang diubah total jadi seperti baru—tapi tetap punya cerita. Saya ingin ketika mesin dinyalakan, langsung jalan. XT yang kita bangun bareng tim Deus itu sudah berkarakter dari awal. XT juga punya sejarah kuat di Dakar Rally, dan saya pernah beberapa kali liput rally dari udara sebagai pilot helikopter. Jadi memang sudah cocok sekali sejak awal.

Kenapa pilih XT?

Saya cukup beruntung punya beberapa motor custom dari Deus. Saya juga punya dua Triumph Bonneville custom—salah satunya masih saya modifikasi sampai sekarang. Sepertinya total biaya motor itu sudah setara harga sebuah Porsche, dan saya mungkin tidak akan pernah berhenti utak-atik. Saya juga punya Yamaha TW200 buat main ke pantai—motor itu juga sudah sedikit dimodif.

Nah, saya sudah melirik  XT sejak hampir sepuluh tahun lalu. Buat saya, tampilannya tidak terlalu menarik—bentuknya agak kebesaran dan kurang proporsional. Tapi, sejarahnya sangat kuat. Lalu, empat tahun lalu, saya lihat sebuah XT yang dimodifikasi dengan sangat keren diparkir di pinggir jalan di Malibu—satu-satunya yang saya lihat di LA selama 20 tahun!

Setahun setengah setelah itu, saya dan istri berkunjung ke Deus Sydney dan lihat XT dipajang di dekat seorang mekanik yang ternyata bisa bahasa Prancis (Jeremy Tagand). Saat itu juga saya langsung tahu: ini waktunya.

Kami langsung nyambung dan komunikasi kami sangat terbangun meski kami beda benua. Hampir semua keputusan kami ambil bersama sejak awal, dan dari awal sudah punya visi yang sama. Ada beberapa detail yang memang tidak bisa ditangkap kamera. Bahkan setelah motor selesai dan difoto dengan sangat apik… tetap beda sekali rasanya kalau dilihat secara langsung.

Gimana pengalaman bekerja bersama Deus Workshop?

Membuat motor custom seperti ini, apalagi bersama orang yang belum kita kenal, rasanya seperti membangun rumah bersama arsitek. Dia harus bisa terjemahin visi kita, tapi tetap bikin hasil akhirnya luar biasa dan benar secara teknis.

Untuk XT500 ini, saya harus pastikan Jeremy paham betul soal menjaga “jiwa” dari motor ini. Beberapa builder kadang melakukan modifikasi yang terlalu jauh dari bentuk aslinya. Sangat mudah sebenarnya membuat motor jadi terlihat baru dan mengkilap. Misal, suspensi depan tipe inverted itu keren banget—ada di motor ini juga—tapi saya tidak mau dia terlalu mencolok. Jadi kami cat hitam supaya nyatu dengan bodinya.

Sistem knalpot juga jadi bahan diskusi panjang. Kalau terlalu besar dan bising, malah bisa ganggu estetika motor dan membuat orang cuma fokus ke suaranya—bahkan bisa mengganggu. Yang ini ukurannya pas dan saya salut dengan Jeremy yang memilih model itu. Pilihan-pilihan seperti knalpot, jok, dan tangki itulah yang bikin siluet motornya jadi sangat sleek.

Memang mudah bilang “semuanya sempurna” setelah selesai, tapi proses pengambilan keputusan itu sangat amat penting. Dan Jeremy benar-benar tahu cara bekerja sama yang baik selama proses itu berlangsung.

Gimana rasanya waktu pertama kali lihat motornya langsung?

Setelah dua tahun cuma lihat dari foto—meskipun fotonya keren banget dan diambil tim Deus Sydney—rasanya tetap sangat berbeda dibanding lihat langsung. Karakter motornya baru benar-benar terasa saat dilihat dari dekat. Sebagai pilot, saya sangat suka melihat detail kecil seperti tombol-tombol di setang dan semacamnya. Dan sekarang saya juga bisa bawa motor itu jalan-jalan. Saya yakin akan seru banget, apalagi untuk riding di jalur berliku di sekitar Malibu yang panjangnya bisa puluhan kilometer. Pasti banyak acungan jempol di jalan karena melihat ini.

Serunya lagi, motor ini diantar langsung oleh Jeremy. Rasanya jadi pengalaman yang begitu personal. Kami kerja sama dari awal, dan terlihat nyata kalau Deus dan Jeremy benar-benar peduli dan passionate sampai ke detail terakhir. Jauh-jauh dari Sydney ke Amerika itu bukan perjalanan yang dekat, dan itu menggambarkan totalitas mereka.

Saya juga sudah punya beberapa ide lain, dan sepertinya ini bukan terakhir kalinya untuk kami bertemu.

He had barely been on the planet a decade when a young Fred North took in the sights of a helicopter landing at Saint Louis, Senegal. Fast forward to today, and with over 200 films to his name, North has become one of the world's most renowned helicopter stuntmen. His credits include blockbuster titles like Transformers, James Bond: Spectre, Mission Impossible, and Fast & Furious. Recently, Jeremy Tagand, Head of Workshop in Sydney, sat down to chat with North about his customised Deus Ex Machina XT500, the importance of character when it comes to motorcycle selection and why a shared vision proves to be the perfect ingredient for a build across continents. 

Can you tell us about your history with motorcycles?
I'm born and raised between Africa and Eastern Europe. When I was thirteen or fourteen in Ethiopia, they had a lot of Suzuki 100 CC and 125 CC, and that was my introduction to the motorcycle world. Very simple bikes, and I loved them. I was riding those bikes until I was seventeen, and then when my family moved from Ethiopia to Germany, that's when I decided to go bigger and bought a V-max Yamaha 1200 CC. I've been riding ever since and I’m almost 64, so I’ve basically been riding all my life.

What is the appeal of custom motorcycles to you?

The thing about motorcycles to me, it’s the same problem with cars. For me, to connect with a car it can’t be brand new - there’s no soul. It’s not just the engine, it's the smell of the leather, the vibration of the drive. Of course, the look is important, but it can not be too clean - there has to be some character for me to connect with. And of course, there has to be a stick shift. 

With motorcycles - I’m not the kind of guy that’s putting two hours in the garage for a half-hour ride. I love to get an older one and transform it to brand new - by the end I’m still connected to the history. It’s important that when I start the bike, we go straight away. With the XT we designed together, and it was already an amazing bike. The history of XT’s at Dakar is amazing and I have covered the rally a few times as a helicopter pilot. That was a great connection to build on.

Why the XT?

I am lucky enough to have a few customs from Deus. I also have two custom Triumph Bonneville - one of which I'm still modifying. I think I’ve spent the price of a Porsche on that bike and will probably never stop working on it. I’ve also got a TW200 Yamaha - for the beach - which is a little bit customised.

I had been looking at the XT for nearly ten years. To me, it was never a pretty bike, the shape was too much for me and seemed slightly out of proportion, but its history was undeniable. Then, four years ago, in Malibu, I saw a beautifully customised XT parked on the side of the road - the only one I’d seen in LA for 20 years. A year and a half later in Sydney, my wife and I went to Deus and saw the XT on the floor next to a mechanic I could speak French with (Jeremy Tagand) and knew it was time.

We bonded immediately and there was great communication despite the distance between us. We made most decisions right away and shared a vision from the beginning. There were a couple of things that pictures couldn’t do justice, and even seeing the completed bike photographed beautifully… it’s still night and day to the real thing.

Can you describe the experience of working with the Deus Workshop?

To have a custom bike like this, built with someone you don’t know, it’s a bit like building a house with an architect. He has to honour your vision and at the same time make it technically correct and beautiful. With this motorcycle, I had to make sure Jeremy was aligned with me to keep the soul of the XT500. Some builders go too far from the original product - it’s very easy to transform the bike to something new, something that is too shiny. For example, an inverted fork is amazing, it’s there on this bike, but I don’t want to see too much, so we painted it black to blend in with the bike.

The exhaust was a big conversation. Something too big and loud would take away from the beauty of the bike, making it all about the noise - probably annoying anyone who sees it. This one is perfectly proportionate and I commend Jeremy for choosing it. It was that series of choices: the seat and the tank that created the streamlined silhouette of the final build. It’s easy to say everything's perfect after the build is done but these decisions are all crucial in the process - Jeremy did a great job working with me on those.

What was it like seeing the bike for the first time?
Seeing pictures for two years - even the beautiful ones done by Deus in Sydney - it is still night and day to seeing the bike in real life. The character of the bike and the details can be appreciated up close. As a pilot, I have a soft spot for zooming in on the switches and such. Of course, I now get to ride it as well. I know it’s going to be a lot of fun, especially up in the canyons around Malibu, where it’s miles and miles of endless turns. I’m sure I’ll get a few thumbs up on the road.

It’s amazing to have it delivered by Jeremy. It was such a personal experience, and we worked together so closely, it shows that Deus and Jeremy really care and are passionate about going all the way. It’s a big deal to come all the way (from Sydney to the U.S), it’s not next door!

I definitely have a few more ideas, and I'm sure it won’t be the last time we meet.