I got out of the bed at 4.30am at dusk after a sleepless night. It was an exciting day which I had been looking forward to for quite some time. We had a quick breakfast, lots of coffee, got in a car and drove off. We had an eight hour journey ahead over three countries to witness probably the most exciting new motorcycle and meet its creator.
It was a slow drive, looking ahead to the road through my sleepy eyes, at the same time half in the dream imagining myself sitting on the bike. My driving companion was sound asleep, so I had the time to myself, thinking about what it was going to be like. I had to stop at a petrol station for a coffee refill, to get a snack and then drive off again. It was an absolutely gorgeous summer morning: sun was coming up, foggy valleys, twisty roads; I was driving a car, but it was as good as if I was riding my bike.
Lithuania was gone now. Welcome to Latvia. Shitty roads covering half of the country, so bad that the shaking made me dizzy. We stopped by the Baltic sea to have a quick rejuvenation with another dose of caffeine. A beautiful, quiet, sandy beach and calm sea helped our recovery even more. Back to the car and we were off again. Finally we crossed the Estonian border. Lovely country, nice roads. Some time after we crossed the border, I saw a police car stopping someone with the foreign number plate. Soon afterwards I realised I left all the documents for the car and my drivers license back home (it was a borrowed car which made things even worse)! I left it all on the table together with the half-finished coffee. If I got stopped, I was risking a lot of hassle proving I had the right to drive this car – it could have even be locked up in a compound until I can provide the documents – not much fun as one would expect. It was too late to go back; way too late with only hundred kilometers left to our destination, so we just carried on, whatever happens…
Tallinn! We stopped in a beautiful park full of tall pines and made a call to signal our arrival. Shortly after we were standing and shaking hands with Andres Uibomae, the man behind Renard Motorcycles and Renard GT. The next twenty minutes getting to the workshop were probably the most intense in my recent history; tired after the long drive and not enough sleep, but happy and excited like a 10-year old! Andres kindly took over the driving and I was happy as hell for that, because at certain moments my brain was clearly cutting off. Though, I got rapidly recharged when we started talking: the journey, Tallinn, bikes and Renard GT. Tallinn is a beautiful city. It was part of 1980 Summer Olympics and there are many things to remind of the former Soviet “glory”.
By the end all topics of our conversation collided in to one: Renard GT. We reached the garage, where some rally cars were parked outside. The bike itself was at final stages of pre-production, hence it still had some small issues to be dealt with and the chap inside the garage was troubleshooting the generator. I kept myself composed from running into the garage and waited patiently watching Renard GT being pushed out of the shadows into the sunlight emphasizing bike’s every curve . An overwhelming feeling suddenly grabbed me: I have never seen anything like it. Do you remember the feeling when you got your first Lego or Airfix as a child? That was nothing! To see Renard GT in all its glory! Consequently I should say – I was partially looking at the future of motorcycle design and engineering. One thing is certain – this motorcycle is insane! I was blown away. Andres told me about a few other tweaks to the initial design and the technical side before the motorcycle goes into production, but even now every single detail is absolutely fine and beautiful. Visual harmony of slick carbon body, carbon wheels, front fork, the seat, the headlight, switches… and then the “voice” of the Moto Guzzi 1326cc engine through custom exhaust system engineered for Renard GT by the guys at Tallinn Technical University.
It’s a very daring project by a man from post-Soviet country, who is mapping out the future of motorcycling in his garage. I myself come from one of the Baltic countries and I know for sure that people simply do not understand things like that easily. Things which are on the edge in whatever field you take: bikes, fashion, anything. One of the main reasons is: they struggle seeing a broader picture further away from the mainstream. As I have read recently – it was a few weeks before I went to Tallinn – in one of the local news sites, the reporter was rhetorically questioning who would buy Renard GT and how the company could succeed, but he was not able to see beyond the boarders of Eastern Europe, neither geographically nor, especially, mentally. The reporter could not understand the concept of someone chancing it all for a single dream. Although, it’s enough to meet a person like that: see his achievements and you can stand there in complete silence and the work will do the talking. Andres still has to overcome at least several times more challenges than any other bike builder in Europe, Japan or America, where motorcycling industry is well established. And I must admit: he is doing that extraordinarily well!
There was another reason I came to meet Andres, which escaped from my mind the same moment I saw the bike. The reason was his interest in Werks clothing and the possibility of collaboration. He saw our work only in pictures, as we did his. And here was a moment: we were looking at each other’s creations as they were in sharp daylight, able to touch, try and talk about it face to face. What we established over our conversations was that there are quite a few aspects of life and work aesthetics we share, which made our meeting so much easier and fluent. One doesn’t normally come across people with similar mind-set too often (unless of course, it’s one of those situations where one is at a bar drowning in a third pint, in which case everything is fluent, as you might know).
As hunger stroked our stomachs, we decided to go and see Old Tallin and have late lunch there. Andres was pushing the bike back into the garage, so I offered him a hand. I started steering Renard GT and the next moment I know: the bike is leaning towards me! I kicked out the paddock stand, I thought I was going spit my heart out. Andres found it quite amusing for some reason and now looking back it is a moment to behold: I had a very personal experience with Renard GT I shall remember all my life! I did not have a chance to ride Renard GT, but considering only a few hours sleep, an eight hour drive and near drop just pushing it back in to the garage, I was not in a state of mind to be riding any bike. So we went for our tourist part of the trip, to see “Thailand” (as Andres’ little niece who was visiting from the US at the same time called Tallinn) and the China Wall (again according to the little niece) on the top of the hill overlooking the city. We spent another few hours around the town, having lunch and talking about various subjects: rides, motorcycles, life, food, work and collaborating on a project.
It was late afternoon and we had to leave some time for our kind host to spend with his visiting family, and besides, we had to head back while it was not too late.
Over the next hours while driving, I had plenty of time to digest what I have just experienced. So far it was one of the best days in my life. Tired and thrilled at the same time. And as a consequence of this exciting new things are coming in the near future!
Shortly after, with all the emotions settling down, I got an email from Andres:
The generator is working now, and I just arrived from the south Germany, Bad Boll, where we properly set up our “big” engine. We had a really good dyno result with 123 HP-s @7100 rpm and 134Nm of torque @ 5600 rpm. This is more than we expected;) This was even more than the engine engineer hoped. It means that the air-box and exhaust are working good. The weather was really hot…35..37 °C and it was reflected in the dyno results. Next time, when it is cooler, we can get even more horsepower. I already have some new ideas
We had a possibility to ride perfect german roads between those small villages in the south. It was really something – superb weather and landscapes, very strong torque delivery from the engine, and amazing Messerschmitt sound that this machine makes at 7000 rpm! You have to experience this! Also I got positive feedback about bike set-up and performance from the person who have driving experience more than 25 years, who knows Guzzi´s and Guzzi engines. Perfect!
