TW Steel & Numbnut Motorcycles: Son of Time Yamaha XV950

You might have seen the name of Dutch watchmakers TW Steel on the fairing of the Yamaha MotoGP team, various F1 cars and via ambassadors and partners including Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. But for the Son of Time project, they turned to countrymen Numbnut Motorcycles.

Working alongside each other, TW Steel Chief Designer Ton Cobelens created a unique £100,000 Son of Time watch with Swiss movement, 29 jewels and an ostrich leather strap. Meanwhile Numbnut Motorcycles founder Roderick Seibert devoted his time to transforming a Yamaha XV950 into this similarly unusual and beautiful creation.

The bike was built as a homage to straight line speed and salt flat racers. Hence why the frame has been cut and stretched.

Then a number of parts were crafted by Roderick including the engine covers, air intake, seat and fuel tank. It’s nicely understated, and the flow of the TW Steel logo with the red of the seat adds to the style of the bike.

Other suitable parts were sourced from a variety of top spec suppliers. Dutch custom designers & builders Nozem Amsterdam supplied the custom exhaust. And from the continental hotbed of Chippenham come the carbon fibre Dymag wheels.

The wheels also get Brembo monoblock calipers, 320 mm floating discs and an RCS19 master cylinder. And for grip, they’re shod in Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa rubber.

The suspension is by K-Tech, with fully-adjustable front forks and rear shock. And for the rider, there are Bitwell Kungfu grips and a Motogadget Pro tachometer. Plus a big clock and a Baja LED front light.

The engine gets a bit of a boost with a Dynojet Power Commander, as well as a Dynojet Quickshifter. It’s interesting to compare the design and details of the bike, and the watch. While we’re not expert horologists like TW Steel (it’s the study of the science of time), we certainly appreciate the mechanical skill and knowledge to create a timepiece.

Having said that, we’d obviously pick the motorcycle over the watch every time! Long, low, lean and built for triggering the time traps on any straight line course.