Many ways to customize a motorcycle today like never before. You can go the traditional route and forge your parts in metal, or you can turn to modern manufacturing methods like 3D printing. Or you can play as Vagabund Moto—and apply every technique possible to a custom futuristic BMW R nineT.
Run by Paul Brauchart and Philipp Rabl, the Austrian shop is renowned for pushing its limits on every custom build. They have a few BMW R nineT customs under their belt, each only a little wilder than the former. And their latest adjusted radness up to eleven.
It’s a sequel to a The BMW R nineT they built a few years ago. Designed with a monocoque body lifted by hydraulic shock absorbers, that bike made our annual editorial top 10. This car has the same aesthetic but with some unique details.
Once again, Paul and Philipp enlist the enigmatic Bernard ‘Blechmann’ Naumann to collaborate on the project. Blechmann is a metal-forming wizard with dexterous hands and a rich imagination, so it was his job to handle all the aluminum and stainless steel construction on the R nineT.
Blechmann’s metalwork and Vagabund’s 3D printed parts work so well together that it’s hard to tell them apart in some places. The monocoque body is sculpted in aluminum, integrated with the fuel tank, rear end and saddle. Perforated leather adorns the seat, with a custom subframe supporting the structure from below.
Like the previous BMW R nineT build, this bodywork has a layered effect. Except where the entire monocoque body of its predecessor was ‘unfolded’, this one uses a simpler system. Simple—but no less complicated to build.
Paul exasperated: “All the bodywork is stupid. “We weren’t going to remake the door opening system – but as stupid as we were, we did it again.”
This time, the bike’s custom dashboard will pop up. The device has a black surround, with an OEM speedometer mounted behind the acrylic panel. The aluminum hinge system with hydraulic shock absorbers lifts it, revealing the magnetic card wallet compartment and fuel tank.
When the dashboard is lowered, the overall design is impressively cohesive. It also adds to BMW’s overall sci-fi feel, as do vertically oriented LED headlights. Crafted using a combination of aluminum and 3D printed parts, it feels almost robotic.
Vagabund retained the OEM speedometer because it removed at least some of the complications associated with customizing a modern motorcycle. That’s because this particular BMW R nineT is a 2022 model year, so it has electronics like traction control and switchable driving modes. Keeping the meter in stock and the switchgear eliminates the headache of having to figure out how to deal with all of that.
Paul confirms: “Handling the bike’s electronics is particularly difficult. “Since this car is the 2022 model year, it is even more complex than our last build. Integrate and preserve all available parts and functions that we think are necessary; electronic driver aids, fuel pump and catalytic converter.”
“Form follows function. It’s easier to build something that isn’t road legal—or, worst-case scenario, something that doesn’t really work.”
There’s more mechanical art up front, where Blechmann shaped a custom aluminum front fender, which also houses the front turn signals. Vagabund reused the LED strips that you often see on car mirrors to create them.
An LED taillight is located at the opposite end of the vehicle, hidden under the tail. It is housed in a custom housing that is placed vertically to mirror the headlight design. The screwed Rizoma license plate mount (not pictured) takes care of the rest.
With the tachometer now located on the fuel tank, the R nineT’s cockpit is as sparse as it appears. Vagabund installed a CNC machined upper yoke from Messner Moto, along with a gripper, brake fluid reservoir cap and clutch from Rizoma. Rizoma also offers a rear-mounted foot controller.
There are a lot of subtle details, such as the 3D printed ignition trim and the concave panels on the sides of the fuel tank.
Paul and Philipp are obsessed with small touches like this. They could have used any number of aftermarket air filters on the boxer engine air intakes—but instead, they decided to 3D print their own filter housings.
The exhaust is also a work of art. Crafted in stainless steel, it’s a low-exit two-in-one system on the right-hand side, with a silencer design that can only be described as steel origami. The original catalytic converter is hidden under the bike and the exhaust noise level is adjustable.
Vagabund’s signature look and feel are clean and minimalistic designs, with industrial designs and strong architectural influences. This BMW R nineT follows that style guide perfectly, down to its paintwork—or rather the lack of it.
Choosing to display all of Blechmann’s work, Vagabund completed the bodywork before sending it to IFlow for a gloss finish. The bike’s hard parts are painted black – including the fork legs, which Vagabund anodized.
The BMW R nineT has been on the market long enough that that custom scene is slowly starting to become saturated with them. But that doesn’t worry Vagabund Moto—as always, their work has no trouble standing out.
Vagabund Moto | Facebook | Instagram | Blechmann | Instagram | Image of Stefan Leitner
