T-005 CROSS

The remarkable Indonesian team of Thrive has managed a rare feat: their builds are simultaneously a hit on both motorcycle and haute-design blogs. The global Alt.Custom scene is borderless and digitally propagated, and an Indonesian brand exciting such interest is proof. The bike stamping Thrive’s reputation – the “T-005 Cross” – is the darling of a hundred design pages, and shares something with Vietnam’s Bandit9 in being crossover-ready to a non-motorcycling public. That should alert the design departments of the OEM motorcycle industry, whose work rarely piques the interest of the design world.

Occasionally an absolute gem drops on the Alt.Custom scene, and Thrive has done something remarkable with their Cross – astonished us. Nobody could have predicted that a lengthwise arrangement of boxes could work so well as motorcycle bodywork. Thrive’s unique aesthetic carries a hint of 1960s Soviet futurist blockiness, but Thrive’s partners find inspiration in wildly diverse sources, from the props in the Kamen Rider manga/TV show, to Mendip woodburning stoves! “Every reference when drawing vehicles always leads to the madness of Japanese designers, which leaves a distinct impression; either the form, machines, or sound – it’s all like fantasy that has infinite space and time.”

The T005 Cross has been featured in Pipeburn.

Follow the Builder: Thrive Motorcycles