The BMW R nineT was developed by the German marque as a modern version of the now iconic R90 – the identically pronounced (but far simpler to type) name given the their top of the line model originally released in 1973 and sold through till ’76.
BMW developed the R nineT as a base platform for customization, not dissimilar to the Sportster from Harley-Davidson or the Bonneville from Triumph. The current trend toward heritage motorcycles that embrace some of the simplicity and classic design language of their forebears shows no signs of slowing down or losing momentum.
With its 1200cc boxer twin (otherwise known as a flat twin), 6-speed transmission, dry clutch, shaft drive, upside-down forks and monoshock rear – the R nineT rides as well or better than any modern motorcycle you throw at it. And with 110bhp and a top speed of 135 mph – it’s highly unlikely that even the most capable riders will ever manage to tire of it.
The extensively customized BMW R nineT you see here is the work of Gasoline Motor Co., the 2015 model was rolled into the headquarters in Sydney by its owner who wanted an entirely unique bike that would reference the history of the marque as well as its future.
The build began with a preliminary teardown, it was decided that a new seat pan, seat, rear cowl and front fairing would be needed, so a call to MotoRRetro was placed and a design was agreed upon. All of the new metal work is aircraft grade 6061 aluminium alloy, and it was formed one curve at a time specifically for this bike, then coated in a matte clearcoat to protect it from the elements.
An LED halo headlight was fitted to the centre of the fairing at the front, and an all in one LED tail light blinker combination is fitted in the Battlestar Galactica style in the rear. In order to keep the tail of the bike as clean as possible, a custom side-mounted bracket was fashioned to hold the licence plate.
A new pair of headers were then shaped to follow the lines of the bike, exiting through a custom 2-into-1 under-box silencer. Roland Sands Design supplied the breast plate and side covers, the new seat pan was upholstered by hand, and a pair of rear sets were bolted on in place of the standard pegs.
The completed bike is one of the nicest R nineT customs we’ve seen since BMW introduced the model in 2014, in fact I’m sure a fairing/seat/exhaust combination based on the parts created for this bike would be hugely popular with the rapidly growing community of R nineT riders.
If you’d like to see more from Gasoline Motor Co. you can click here to visit their official website.
Images by Thomas Wielecki
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
