Eight years ago, Rough Crafts blew us away with their first custom BMW R nineT. Up until then, the Taiwanese custom superstar had been building custom Harleys—but ‘The Bavarian Boxer’ is true proof that founder Winston Yeh can turn any bike into gold. It’s no surprise that it topped our list of the best custom bikes of the year.
What To be Surprisingly, Rough Crafts has not built another one yet. BMW R nineT from… until now.
Commissioned by a local film star, ‘Bayern Madness’ was deliberately designed to resemble Rough Crafts’ debut R nineT. His brief was for something similar, with a few key changes; less bodywork, a bit more mixer the shape and the silver paint. Winston figured out the rest from there.
Winston runs Raw Craft as a collective, pulling local craftsmen into the team when necessary. With JZO Crafts (fabrication) and Faber Studio (assembly) on board, the first challenge was to simplify the layout of the nineT as much as possible.
“The biggest headache,” Winston told us, “was dealing with the electronics, removing the airbox, and moving everything under the only remaining piece of bodywork—the fuel tank. Plus, I decided to go with an extremely narrow tank to honor the boxer engine, making it harder to hide everything.”
The R nineT’s new handcrafted fuel tank is a work of art, effortlessly combining classic BMW boxer-inspired details with Rough Crafts’ signature aesthetic. From the side, it mimics the deep clamshell shape of the Bavarian Fistfighter. But from above, it’s slimmer, flowing into a pair of carbon-fibre-clad side seams.
More subtle details include a Rough Crafts tank cap, an elegant tank strap from Urban Soul Leathers, and a pair of custom-designed tank badges from one of Winston’s longest-standing collaborators, 2Abnormal Sides.
Further down the line, the BMW subframe has been ditched in favor of a minimalist seat stand with an integrated base. The single-piece seat is a nod to the 1950s BMW rubber seats. With no fenders or fairing, the Rough Crafts nineT is as bare-bones as you can get.
Next, Winston pulled off his usual trick by throwing a real feast of kit on the nineT. The Öhlins forks were beefy up front, giving the bike a classic look with modern performance. They were shortened and fitted with Andreani axles and brackets from the Öhlins Blackline range.
Rough Crafts kept the OEM BMW Brembo brakes, but swapped out the wheels for a pair of 17” tubeless wheels from BMW’s luxurious Option 719 line. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires—which, despite their rugged looks, grip the tarmac well. “It really does ride like a roadster in scrambler skin,” Winston confirms.
The cockpit features Rough Crafts bar clamps, Beringer controls and Motogadget grips, while Rizoma foot controls sit lower. An LED headlight lights the way, finished in the traditional shop grille style, with a tiny Motogadget speedo hovering just above. Motogadget LED turn signals flank the radiator, with a Rough Crafts x Koso three-in-one LED unit serving as the taillight and rear turn signals.
Turn your attention to the boxer engine head, and you’ll see a set of gorgeous Unit Garage valve covers, custom-made with 2 Abnormal Sides badges. The air filter is from DNA Filter and includes laser-etched Rough Crafts branding. And the two-into-two exhaust system is a bespoke arrangement from SC-Project in Italy.
Rover Works Custom Paint took the build to the finish line, with a classic striped paint job that reverses the usual Rough Crafts color scheme. Bayern Madness may not be finished in black—but there’s no denying Winston’s signature is all over it.
Hopefully it won’t take another eight years for Rough Crafts to launch its next custom BMW R nineT.
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