“We wanted to keep the edgy, aggressive style of the R1200R, but with a very short, light and slim tail end.” says Daniel Weidmann, owner and General Manager of Stucki 2 Rad. “It was our goal to create an aggressive line leading down to the bikes nose from the rear. We wanted it’s wide shoulders and clip on bars to give it the look of a charging bull”. To meet Daniels lightweight requirements the new tail was constructed, by hand, from aluminium. Taking around 1.5 weeks to complete it was one of the most challenging aspects of the build and has been left with a raw, brushed finish to match the tank pad “gills”, front fender and bikini fairing.
With 125bhp on tap the 2016 R1200R engine internals remain untouched, but some extra horses have been released with the addition of an Akrapovic Titan 2-into-1 exhaust, Unit Garage muffler and K&N air filters, all of which meet Swiss legal requirements. With the intention of winning straight line races there’s also a quick shifter and custom lightweight Kineo wheels wearing grippy Michelin Powercup rubber. The USD forks have also been anodized black, LSL supplied the clip on bars, the levers are Magura and the fuel cap is from Rizoma.
The VTR team has a soft spot for craftsmanship so they engaged skilled local suppliers to complete the seat and paintwork. Upholsterer Yves Knobel stitched together the suede leather saddle with its contrasting stitching and Johanna Voglesang laid the pinstripes and lettering along its bodywork (The racing number 12 is taken from the R1200R name).
After wowing crowds at a Swiss motorcycle show in February this year the bike was nominated by Jörg Litzenburger to take part in “The Essence of Motorcycle” category at this year’s Glemseck 101 festival. This will see the BMW Goodwood 12 competing in the 1/8th mile sprint races against similarly powered custom bikes by builders from around Europe. Leading up to that date Daniel plans to add more handcrafted parts to the bike such as the handlebar switches and fluid reservoirs for more classic racer touches, then when the show come around female Swiss racing champ Sabine Holbrook will pilot the bike during its racing debut.
For more updates on the progress of this bike you can follow the VTR Customs facebook page.
Photography by Andri Margadant
When it comes to modern BMWs the R nineT has been stealing the custom spotlight since its release in 2014. Being designed with that express purpose in mind plays a big role in that outcome, but why should it be the only one getting all the attention? Switzerland’s official BMW dealership ‘Stucki 2 Rad’ had built their fair share of custom R nineTs so they put that same question to their custom department ‘VTR Customs’. In their search for an alternative, the VTR team considered everything BMW Motorrad had on offer and it was the R1200R Roadster that stood out as the best candidate.
