gasoline's 2-shot is a sleek custom motorbike adjusted to the rider

the R nineT by BMW was released in 2014 to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the company’s entry to the market of motorcycle manufacturing. in its simple purity, the R nineT represents many of the styling aesthetics of BMW’s most popular motorcycles from the past 50 years or so, bringing a modern twist to iconic european lines and the quintessential twin cylinder flat or as some like to call it ‘boxer’ engine.

the hand-fabricated tail and seat section also features an in-set LED tail light with integrated indicators

this particular example was brought to australian motor company gasoline in the winter of 2015 by a longstanding exemplary customer with as much style as money — making for one of gasoline’s most ongoing and precise designs to date. in fact, the entirety of this custom job has been an exercise of measurement, evaluation and calibration, starting with changing the standard foot pegs to rear sets, the factory handlebars with a set of clip-ons and a tailored seat pan — all positioned and adjusted specifically to accommodate the owner’s height and stance.

the exhaust culminates in a unique muffler box set underneath the body for maximum performance

once the geometry had been finalized, the team at gasoline motor co got stuck into the design of the whole project from the wheels up, conjuring multiple preliminary concepts whilst looking to various sources from the past, present and future eventuating in a behemoth of a build that took almost an entire year to complete.

gasoline spared no expense for this design being used for all the instruments throughout

aesthetically speaking, the most obvious beginning point for any custom R nineT build is to address the inverted forks. these are metallic gold upon rolling from the factory, a peculiar design choice indeed. the obvious solution when it comes to changing the color of any motorcycle component is paint, with powder coating coming in at a close second and the occasional chrome plating but with the precision manufacturing standards of BMW, adding even a couple of microns would have resulted in a difficult task of reinstalling the front-end assembly. therefore, the solution was found in having the fork tubes anodized black to fit in with the overall desired design outcome.

the 2Shot enjoying the twilight glow of botany bay

following the blacked-out theme, some additional componentry was sourced from the likes of roland sands designs. the components include one of their signature breast plates and a couple of their RSD emblazoned valve covers which more or less ends the list of purpose-built bolts on modifications with the rest of the work performed on 2-shot being completely custom one-of-a-kind fabrications skillfully carried out by the various hands of master artisanal craftsmen and women. beginning with the most distinctive feature of this custom build, the fairing, shark tail section, fender and tank — all of which were hand beaten and rolled out of aircraft grade 6061 aluminum alloy, totaling hundreds of hours (and rivets) to get the design symmetrical and flowing with the lines of the frame. 

the body and fairings are made form aircraft grade aluminium

the profile of the design was kept sleek and simple, to highlight the craftsmanship and materials

the 2Shot looks fitting displayed center stage

the seat, tank, controls and footpegs were all measured to the rider’s specifications

the 2Shot strikes a cutting figure, with its front fairing creating a streamlined, stylish presence

every aspect of the design was carefully developed from the tank to the instruments

it’s also been tuned and upgraded so that it rides just as amazing

you can tell how much work has gone into the performance of the 2Shot by the sound of its exhaust

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom