Japan reimagines the BMW R nineT – Part 1
When it comes to design the Japanese have long had a culture of turning out some radically-different and well-thought-out creations. For its Motorrad Days event, BMW highlighted five beautifully crafted R nineT motorcycles created by some of Japan’s leading customisation firms. The standard model lends itself to a high degree of customisation by owners, but these five creations take that to a whole new level.
Go Takamine (Brat Style), Kaichiroh Kurosu (Cherry’s Company), Shiro Nakajima (46 Works) and Hideya Togashi (HIDE Motorcycle) were all challenged to transform a BMW R nineT into an individual creation of their own design in less than 200 days. The results were as varied as they were impressive
‘Cyclone’ was the name given to Go Takamine’s effort which saw the style take on the tracker bike look which was finished in a gorgeous paint scheme dotted with chrome components. In Go Takamine’s own words, “This street bike is my attempt to combine the past with the near future, in the form of a modern, current motorcycle concealed beneath a nostalgic exterior.”
Kaichiroh Kurosu’s blend of new and old elements in his creation, ‘The Highway Fighter’, work in perfect harmony and result in a motorcycle that is nothing short of stunning. With echoes of the prototype R7 from 1934, in many ways this is a modern-day version of it thanks to the running gear from the R nineT. Speaking about his design, Kurosu said, “For me the object of the exercise was to look into the future. I imagined what BMW motorcycles might look like ten years from now, and I think that this would still be a pretty cool bike even if the traditional flat-twin engine were to be replaced by an electric motor. ”
