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.