Reijo Mattila

Reijo Mattila

An internet interview with the Designer/Manufacturer of the Pumilio Tiempo RMC:

Reijo Mattila on his BMW

rcbike.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Reijo: OK, my name is Reijo Mattila, I’m 40 years old and live in Vantaa, Finland. I graduated from Lappeenranta University of Technology with a Master of Science. I’m crazy about motorcycles!

rcbike.com: When did you first become interested in rc motorcycles?

Reijo: I guess the root of my interest in rc motorcycles goes all the way back to when I was a kid, I got my first ‘real’ motorcycle when I was about 9 years old and I’ve owned a bike ever since. Right now I have a BMW R1150 RT. In 1992 I bought my first rc model car and then in 1994 I became interested in rc bikes when I first saw the 1/8 scale Kyosho. I just had to have one, so it was the Kyosho bike that really fuelled my imagination. I liked the Kyosho bike a lot but the designer in me just had to have a go at building my own!

rcbike.com: When and why did you decide to design and manufacture the Tiempo?

Reijo: I think I more or less made the decision soon after I assembled and ran the Kyosho bike. That was in early 1994; that little Kyosho bike ‘bit me’, and I caught the bug, I just had to design and build my own bike and the Tiempo was the end result!

rcbike.com: Can you tell us a little about the Pumilio Tiempo’s design and manufacturing process?

Reijo: Sure. Well to begin with I decided to use the latest software, I chose the ProEngineer CAD system to design the bike. It was a sort of ‘skunk-works project’, what I mean by that is I worked on the Tiempo as and when I wasn’t too busy with my regular engineering and design work.

rcbike.com: Were you influenced by any ‘real’ bikes when you designed the Pumilio Tiempo?

Reijo: Of course I was. My BMW influenced me a great deal, as did the Bimota Tesi 1D and the Yamaha GTS1000. The GTS1000 was the first Japanese mass produced bike to have the hub-center steering system, a system that intrigues me from an aesthetic and practical viewpoint, so it’s fair to say that the GTS1000 was a major influence in the thinking that went into the Tiempo’s design.

rcbike.com: We like the exhaust system on the Tiempo, how did you arrive at such a realistic looking design?

Reijo: From the beginning of the project it was important for me to get the aesthetics just right. To get a realistic looking exhaust system meant the exhaust port had to be at the front of the bike. I worked quite hard to achieve the desired look and I’m pleased with the end result, which by the way I think is very realistic.

rcbike.com: How long was the Tiempo’s design and development program?

Reijo: I worked on the Tiempo on and off for about two years. Remember it was a ‘skunk-works’ project that I was doing in between my regular work. I actually made two prototypes before arriving at the final version that’s on the market today.

rcbike.com: Do you produce all of the unique Tiempo parts in-house?

Reijo: Some parts are produced in-house on our own machine tools, others are manufactured for us by subcontractors.

rcbike.com: Why did you choose shaft drive and the hub center steering?

Reijo: As I said before, my thinking was heavily influenced by my full size BMW which as you know is shaft driven. I believe the Pumilio Tiempo is the only model bike available with a shaft drive system. I’m quite proud of the drive system, it works very well, it’s reliable and unlike a chain drive it doesn’t need any adjustment. The other good point is that the drive system is protected from dirt so it always runs very smoothly. As for the hub-center steering, well I just wanted to achieve a modern cutting edge look, and besides that the single fork is a much simpler component to produce.

rcbike.com: Did you experiment with a chain drive?

Reijo: No I didn’t, shaft drive was always one of the main parameters of the design.

rcbike.com: The Tiempo’s clutch bell braking system works well; can you explain why you chose this system instead of disc brakes on each wheel?

Reijo: Yes, that’s an easy question to answer. The first prototype was fitted with a disc brake on the front wheel but I found the cable used for operating it made the bike extremely twitchy and difficult to handle, so I changed over to the clutch bell brake system. Besides, the clutch bell brake system is extremely efficient and I’m satisfied with the way it worked out.

rcbike.com: Have you ever thought about producing some aftermarket accessories for the Pumilio Tiempo?

Reijo: Not really. I’ll explain. You see the idea behind the Tiempo was to produce a bike that is complete in every respect. I thought it was important to sell something that the owner doesn’t feel compelled to constantly upgrade and ‘hop up’. With the Tiempo you get an extremely reliable and robust product that’s designed and manufactured to provide many hours of rc biking pleasure without the need to keep on paying. Everything that moves is either bronze bushed or fitted with a roller bearing. Performance-wise the 3.5cc engine provides all the power anyone could want. The chunky buggy wheels and tires are extremely practical, these wheels and tires even allow the bike to be driven ‘off-road’.

rcbike.com: What plans do you have for the Tiempo’s future?

Reijo: I’m happy with the Tiempo as it is really, the ‘essence’ of the Pumilio Tiempo is that it does not follow the standard formula for building a model bike, i.e., twin forks, aluminum frame, chain drive, etc., having said that I’d like to have a go at producing a chain driven bike, but let’s see what happens.

rcbike.com: The Tiempo pictures featured on Pumilio’s web site are extremely high quality. Did you do your own photography, or employ special graphics effects and programs?

Reijo: Thanks. Yes I did some of the photography myself, but one of our talented employees was responsible for the animations and photorealistic renderings, so I can’t claim the credit!

rcbike.com: Reijo, thanks for the insight into the story behind the Pumilio Tiempo.

Reijo: You’re welcome!

Slideshows:

Reijo kindly supplied rcbike.com with images to illustrate the Pumilio Tiempo development process. To view these images click on the 'Slideshows' button above, or click here to go to Slideshows.

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