Berlin Calling.
For the first step, there are many stumbling blocks. Yet the Berlin forge Urban Motor didn't let itself be thrown off course when it created the world's first R nineT custom bike – showing a great deal of courage in doing so.
Profile description
Track Grinder
Urban Motor
Peter Dannenberg
R nineT
2013/2013
Cafe Racer (with offroad and tracker elements)
A secret order of BMW
In the heart of Berlin, somewhere in the depths of the skyscraper canyons: in hidden backyards, unknown styles are unfailingly brought to life. When they emerge from underground, people turn their heads to look at them.
In this biotope of ideas, BMW found the ideal requirements to make a special project flourish. A secret order – after all, hardly anyone knew of the future heritage model range – was issued to the Urban Motor team located in the capital city. The Berlin-based customisers were to convert a motorcycle in their forge located directly on the Spree. The world's first R nineT custom bike.
Peter Dannenberg
Urban Motor
In Peter Dannenberg's yard, a pre-series model of the machine soon appeared that so few people knew, but which would soon turn a lot of heads. The order to Urban Motor: build a unique model. In seven weeks. Go. The Berlin-based tinkerers immediately got to work, following their principles "from the heart, simple and true". In just one night full of crumpled pieces of paper, erased pencil lines and discarded ideas, the concept for the Track Grinder came into being. The team surrounding Dannenberg proved that under pressure not only diamonds emerge but also entirely different treasures besides.
The bike in detail
Standard frame
Cleaned aluminium tank, front fairing and tank trims made of aluminium. Hump seat made of aluminium covered with Alcantara and real leather, headlamp bracket
Gilles Tooling stub handlebars, standard fork of the BMW S 1000 RR
Series
Supertrapp
Base colour silver, powerful blue from the ’86 R 80 G/S and shrill violet from the 1992 GS
A courageous colour scheme
The Berliners delivered the custom bike on time. It concentrates on the essentials and retains the sporty baseline of the R nineT. Dannenberg and his crew made the seat hump, tank trims and front fairing from aluminium by hand. Added to this: a courageous colour scheme. Because whoever is the first to go down this path needs courage and consistency. With the powerful blue of the '86 R 80 G/S and the shrill violet of the '92 GS, the bike's paintwork is reminiscent of the Street Art that can be found on most buildings all over Berlin. "Of course, it is polarising", says Dannenberg, addressing the unusual paintwork. Griptape and skateboard rolls round off the big-city feeling. But the first R nineT custom bike is more than just city. Urban Motor also gave the model its typical crossover style: sturdy studs on the tyres, a license plate holder on the side, stub handlebars and rear-set footrests. "The whole thing is a playful and flowing handling of shapes and contents and provides the perfect setting for our undogmatic out-of-the-box approach", the customizer explains. A bike for the city and also for the country. A bike which – wherever it is – will turn heads.
