BMW R1200S - Cafe Racer

The vision was to have a bit of an Art Deco feel with round curves that would make it pop. For the right sound a twin was a must, so a 2008 R1200S was obtained with low miles and still in perfect nick.

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The paralever front suspension was going to present some challenges, but I had some ideas that could be used to turn this into my advantage. Temptation to modify the suspension, in order to get an aggressive look, was a non-starter due to handling requirements. The seat to peg and tank ratio was also left standard. All parts were to be hand made from aluminium and stainless steel and no CNC aftermarket items were to be used.

The oil cooler was placed vertically in front of the engine. A one piece exhaust system, that drew inspiration from old Norton racers, was fabricated from stainless steel and vapour blasted for an even satin look. A five piece aluminium cowling was then formed to hide the oil cooler and enshroud the middle section of the exhaust. Velocity stacks were formed from stainless steel to compliment the exhaust.

The front fender presented one of the paralever suspensions challenges. A conventional stile fender would either sit to high from the wheel or have a huge gap above it due to a large gap between the wheel and bottom triple tree. An air intake was incorporated on top of the front fender, that has a functional purpose of channelling the air to the oil cooler.