The BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a tough pill to swallow. From a styling standpoint, we totally get it; the original BMW R80G/S was iconic, and one of the few motorcycles to ever truly pull off a red seat. Many riders give it credit for kickstarting the entire adventure riding genre—and while there’s some debate to be had there, there’s no denying the street cred of an original Paris Dakar G/S.
Unfortunately, the modern BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a G/S in name only. Its 19” front wheel helps—but it has about as much business off pavement as any other 500 pound street bike with extremely limited (and soft) suspension. And that’s a shame, because, as any BMW boxer fan will tell you, it’s built around one of the most enjoyable engines in the history of motorcycling.
The folks at Monduke Moto understand this better than most. As the custom build division of the production company, Monduke Productions, they’ve already converted four Urban G/Ses into off-road-worthy scramblers. Their latest is dubbed ‘Sweet Caroline,’ and it’s the sweetest one to date.
“I traveled to Africa on a motorcycle for the first time back in 2003,” say founding partner, Dani Rodriguez. “It was a group of seven friends, all riding these huge BMW R1150GSes, and we covered nearly 2,000 km in the Atlas and Sahara. On that trip I fell in love with the Atlas mountain tracks, the silence and light of the desert, and how agile and versatile those huge and heavy BMWs can be.”
By: Kurt Spurlock Title: Roots Revival: A custom R nineT Urban G/S from Spain Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/custom-r-ninet-urban-gs Published Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2023 17:00:53 +0000
With a name like Colt Wrangler, it’s safe to assume that the man is from Texas and probably a bit of a cowboy. Hot dang if you aren’t right on both counts—Colt has been riding broncos and bulls competitively since he was a kid. But what you’re less likely to guess, is that this young cowpoke is also one of the most impressive motorcycle builders to emerge from the US custom scene in recent years.
Since Colt Wrangler Motorcycles was founded in 2015, Colt has established a distinct design language of his own. Recognizable by their high-level sheet-metal work, his builds exist in perfect proportion and hold high-performance details for those that know what they’re looking at—or even better, for those lucky enough to ride them.
We have featured Cole’s bikes before. But with more time to work on his latest project—a 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster—he’s taken his personal style to new heights.
Colt had just started the Harley Sportster project, working in collaboration with local Texas truck builders Vintage Vendetta Garage, when Roland Sands Design announced the Dream Build-Off. This was a competition for local shops and backyard builders, with new motorcycles from BMW, Indian, and Royal Enfield as prizes. The Sportster was originally supposed to be a street-ready scrambler, but with this added motivation, Colt went
Given the rise in popularity of modern classic motorcycles in recent years, it’s only natural that motorcycle gear and apparel would follow suit. Just like most major OEMs have at least a couple of retro-styled bikes in their catalogs, most major gear and helmet companies have at least a couple of retro-styled items to match those bikes. But the Italian company DMD does it differently.
DMD doesn’t just dabble in café racer gear… they live and breathe it. Case in point: the DMD Rivale retro full-face helmet.
Based in Bergamo, an impossibly picturesque city in Italy’s alpine Lombardy region, DMD specializes in helmets and apparel. Specifically, helmets and apparel that combine modern materials and manufacturing processes, with all the style and panache of yesteryear.
This family-owned enterprise traces its roots back to 1975 California. While traveling to the US, the patriarch of the family, Amilcare, decided to start a motorcycle gear import and distribution company.
By: Wesley Reyneke Title: Look the part: The DMD Rivale retro full face helmet Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/dmd-rivale-retro-helmet Published Date: Sat, 27 May 2023 17:01:29 +0000
Most conversations about electric motorcycles revolve around how they stack up against their petrol-powered counterparts. But there’s really no need to pick sides. Electric and ICE bikes are going to coexist for quite some time before one takes over from the other, so we might as well enjoy them both.
“These two worlds can harmonize very well,” asserts Dominikus Braun, co-founder of Germany’s Crooked Motorcycles. Among the shop’s offerings is a made-to-order custom based on the Yamaha XS400; a minimalist scrambler with compact proportions. Now they’ve copied and pasted that design onto an electric bike, to prove that it can look just as good.
It’s an idea that Crooked’s been milling over for a while, but finding the right donor bike was key to nailing the brief. They eventually connected with the Swedish brand RGNT, whose flagship product, the ‘No.1,’ is a stylish and compact electric retro. Its 21 kW hub motor is good for 21 kW of peak power, with a top speed of 120 km/h [75 mph] and a range of 148 km [92 miles].
“We immediately got into the same vibe, and had the same views when it came to design language,” says Dominikus. “The reduced classic style of both companies was a great thing to have in common.”
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By: Wesley Reyneke Title: E-Type: A minimalist electric scrambler from Crooked Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/electric-scrambler-crooked-motorcycles Published Date: Thu, 18 May 2023 17:43:10 +0000