Designed to be modded, customised and generally
hacked around is the BMW Motorrad R nineT and the latest fevered dream to come
out of the Auto Fabrica facilities is the R nineT Type 18. Based in the UK,
Auto Fabrica is a custom motorcycle shop founded in 2013 by brothers Bujar and
Gazmend Muharremi who produce cafe racer and flat tracker style bespoke bikes.
Their latest creation is the Type 18 Design Study,
based on the R nineT Scrambler, giving a nod to BMW’s history in aviation, and
combines both traditional fabrication methods such as an English Wheel together
with high-tech 3D printing. The minimalist styling of the Type 18 is very much
a cafe racer but evokes a sci-fi flying machine feel at the same time.
The R nineT engine – 1,170 cc, air-cooled, producing
110 hp and 115 Nm of torque – is left mostly standard save for the addition of
custom fabricated stainless steel exhaust pipes. Hand-finished aluminium plates
adorn the cylinders while a quartet of winglet plates on either side of the
Bi-Xenon LED projector headlight and the front forks house the turn signals.
Aluminium as a fabrication material continues into
the handmade fuel tank which contains an aluminium fuel cell and the Alcantra
clad seat unit. Completing the build is suspension using BMW Motorrad S1000RR
front forks containing Maxton SD25 cartridges and Maxton GP10 monoshock at the
back, custom branded with the Auto Fabrica name.
Finished off in BMW Sapphire Black, the R nineT Type
18 also features a custom speedometer by Gauge Watch Instruments with wheels
taken from the R nineT Racer and braking by Brembo using BMW Motorrad Option
719 levers.
