Most of the time, when people talk about concept vehicles, whether they’re motorcycles, cars, planes or superyachts, they tend to write off with something along the lines of “boy, don’t you wish this was mass-produced?!”
This isn’t one of those cases, though there are definitely some artsy types who would probably love to see this happen in real life. On a dare.
Meet NOMOTO, a motorcycle concept unlike any other. It’s the creation of Michigan-based artist Joey Ruiter of the J.RUITER studio and its goal is to push the envelope on design to the point where all form disappears. To put it in fewer words: Ruiter played with the idea of minimizing the design until the moto itself disappeared.
What’s left behind is a piece of trash urban furniture, all covered in graffiti writing, dust and dirt and probably some pigeon poop too. The idea is fascinating, in theory: what would happen if you tried minimizing the design on a bike until you got it to blend with the world around it?
The actual application of that idea, though, leaves a lot to be desired. The NOMOTO moto is as insipid, ugly and common as any piece of urban furniture we come across on the daily and immediately forget about. The catch is that, at the touch of a button, this… thing transforms into a functional moto. It’s still ugly, but look, it’s got a seat and handlebar and even room to store groceries.
“I wanted to create a piece that is museum-worthy that’s completely unnoticeable and so familiar, you’re just going to walk past it,” Ruiter says of his motivation behind this very unexpected (not necessarily in a good way) bike.
The description of the project says NOMOTO is “glamorous underneath its city-skin,” which is hardly how we’d describe it. Is is effective in keeping potential thieves at bay? Most definitely, because no thief would imagine this was an actual bike. Is it remotely glamorous or something you’d want to be seen riding? Probably not.
Meet NOMOTO, a motorcycle concept unlike any other. It’s the creation of Michigan-based artist Joey Ruiter of the J.RUITER studio and its goal is to push the envelope on design to the point where all form disappears. To put it in fewer words: Ruiter played with the idea of minimizing the design until the moto itself disappeared.
What’s left behind is a piece of trash urban furniture, all covered in graffiti writing, dust and dirt and probably some pigeon poop too. The idea is fascinating, in theory: what would happen if you tried minimizing the design on a bike until you got it to blend with the world around it?
The actual application of that idea, though, leaves a lot to be desired. The NOMOTO moto is as insipid, ugly and common as any piece of urban furniture we come across on the daily and immediately forget about. The catch is that, at the touch of a button, this… thing transforms into a functional moto. It’s still ugly, but look, it’s got a seat and handlebar and even room to store groceries.
“I wanted to create a piece that is museum-worthy that’s completely unnoticeable and so familiar, you’re just going to walk past it,” Ruiter says of his motivation behind this very unexpected (not necessarily in a good way) bike.
The description of the project says NOMOTO is “glamorous underneath its city-skin,” which is hardly how we’d describe it. Is is effective in keeping potential thieves at bay? Most definitely, because no thief would imagine this was an actual bike. Is it remotely glamorous or something you’d want to be seen riding? Probably not.