Roland Sands massages the R nineT into a vintage-styled thing of beauty, plus the strangest official BMW Motorrad concept bike we’ve ever seen, and a sneak peek at the 2019 Norton Atlas scrambler.
BMW R nineT by Roland Sands Design If you’ve been keeping score over the past few years, you’ll know that Roland Sands has incredible vision. No matter which direction he chooses to pursue—tracker, bobber, chopper or racer—the result is invariably spot on. And this build is no different, with an R NineT massaged into the perfect mix of old and new.
Drawing inspiration from the ovals of the Hooligan series and the elegance of BMW’s extraordinary R5 Hommage, Sands’ R NineT is part bobber and part tracker. The aesthetic mix created by the 19-inch hoops, custom rolled fenders and iconic 1950s ‘Pagusa’ solo seat sounds weird on paper, but is a stunner in pixels. And the fenders aren’t the only new bits of metal either.
The bodywork, including the frame covers above the intake, was all shaped in house. And even thought the frame has been left mostly stock, it has been detabbed to clean up overall appearance. That bone-white paint, courtesy of Chris Wood at Airtrix, doesn’t hurt either.
Of course, the RSD catalog was consulted at length as well. The master cylinders at both front and rear are RSD units—as are the foot controls, valve covers and the gorgeous breastplate that adorns the mighty boxer. And that boxer respires a touch easier, thanks to a set of carbon K&N filters that replaces the old airbox, plus an RSD slip-on exhaust. [More]
Yamaha Virago by KSC Speedshop Remember a few weeks back when we featured a stunning Virago in this column that wasn’t a Greg Hageman project? Well here’s another one. And it may be even prettier.
‘MC02’ is the product of Massimo Carriero and his partner Fabian. They run Italy’s KSC Speedshop, an outfit that specializes in designing and developing aftermarket moto parts. They wanted to create a modern cafe racer, with performance that tipped its hat to racing roots. That meant ditching the Yamaha’s bars and mid controls for clip-ons and rearsets—but it wasn’t a simple affair. A new set of triples was machined and an R1 front end was clamped in to fit.
That meant an immediate upgrade to both handling and braking up front, so the rear was modified to suit. The swingarm was massaged a touch and a Sachs piggyback unit levels stance and keeps things under control.
The bodywork on the Virago is a mix of old and new, featuring a tank from a mid-eighties Kawa GPZ, a Ducati Panigale front fender, and a few CAD-developed one-offs. The rear hugger and the seriously stubby subframe are KSC originals, as is the new front fairing. [More]
Pagani Mini Cross by El Pasillo Is this this toddler-sized scrambler what the world needs to convince young ‘uns to embrace two-wheeled culture? The brainchild of Gonzalo Carranza, this custom Pagani Mini Cross scrambler was designed for his moto-loving two year-old son.
The lad immediately proclaimed “Dad, this bike is so good!” and we couldn’t agree more. The 50cc 2-stroke Pagani (called ‘Little Killer’) was designed with an old Jawa ML180 in mind, because Gonzalo’s son Hipolito always gravitated to one in the El Pasillo garage—but couldn’t quite swing his tiny legs over its saddle.
The plastic Pagani gas tank hit the recycle bin, and in its place now sits a custom 2-liter ¾ size peanut. As with many full size customs, the subframe is gone too, in favor of a custom perch that delivers a flattened scrambler stance. The new headlight admittedly looks a touch small on this Pagani, but proportionally speaking, everything else seems well sorted. And speaking of sizing, even Hipolito looks like he won’t outgrow the Little Killer any time soon. [More]
BMW Motorrad x Blechmann R nineT concept You may not believe it, but this futuristic bit of tinkering started out as an R nineT too. Commissioned by BMW Motorrad, Bernhard Neumann has churned out a concept that’s equal parts Magpul, Ridley Scott and moto designer Ola Stenegärd.
Neumann calls his bizarre creation Giggerl, which translates from German to ‘chicken’ in the King’s English. Because, as he puts it, “I have built a chicken with underarms and headlamps.” But don’t think for a minute that means that Neumann didn’t take the job seriously. He may have a penchant for obscure naming practices, but his abilities forming metal are second to none. Hence his own nickname ‘Blechmann,’ which means ‘tin man.’ In fact, the Tin Man has handcrafted everything here, apart from the levers, handlebars and forks.
The frame, tank, subframe, seat, exhaust and bodywork are all one-off units. One flows into the other and into the next with impeccable accuracy. Say what you will about the concept—which we really dig—but the execution is absolutely incredible. Observed alongside BMW’s in-house concept that we featured here a few weeks back, maybe it hints towards a new sci-fi infused design language for the Bavarians? [More]
The new Norton Atlas scrambler Triumph is set to reveal a bigger and even-scramblier Scrambler later this year, and the standout offering in the Scrambler Ducati range is the Desert Sled. So it’s not surprising that other brands want in on this action. What may surprise though, is that it’s Norton that wants your dirty money. And based on these renderings, we’re optimistic.
Norton has certainly pegged the Desert Sled as its design inspiration, but has stayed traditionally British as far as the motor is concerned. The 2019 Norton Atlas will be powered by the front half of Norton’s V4 superbike engine and is rumored to come in three levels of performance: mild (70 hp), wild (100 hp) and bonkers (175 hp supercharged).
Our guess is that this Scrambler will debut with the mild version of that motor and, from what we see here, should be decently outfitted for less-travelled paths.
There are spoked wheels at both ends, with what we’re guessing is a 19-inch front—which should keep things nimble in both paved and dirty conditions. The wide bars and tapered waistline should offer decent control from a standing position and, as long as it’s not made from tinfoil, that skid plate should keep the internals staying internal. Here’s hoping final executions don’t stray too far from digital intentions. [More]