The Futurist: A BMW R nineT café racer laden with 3D-printed parts

Although the BMW R nineT was originally designed as a throwback to classic BMW boxers, it’s always had a modern edge. That leaves customizers with two options—ramp up the nineT’s retro appeal, or lean into its modern underpinnings. No points for guessing which way Shawn Yang went with this BMW R nineT café racer.

Based in China, Shawn’s been fiddling with his nineT since he bought it five years ago. Most of his experimentation has been outwardly focussed, with the bike used as a test bed to develop bolt-on parts and kits for other nineT owners. So not only does his BMW look slick as heck, but it’s loaded with carefully prototyped 3D-printed parts.

Shawn’s rolling project kicked into high gear when he connected with an industrial designer on the other side of the globe. “I love to share drafts and prototypes on Facebook groups to get feedback,” Shawn tells us. “When I posted a prototype of a tail tidy, I met Trevor Dyment, an industrial designer at Formlabs who loved my designs and offered help to refine them.”

“We collaborated across the Pacific through the internet. The main idea was to build a futuristic, concise, and top street performance café racer, based on my favorite BMW R nineT.”

Most of the bespoke parts on Shawn’s R nineT (which he’s nicknamed ‘The Futurist’) were created using four distinct 3D printing techniques. The transparent bits were made using the popular stereolithography (SLA) printing method, HP’s multi-jet fusion (MJF) method handled medium-size nylon parts, and the selective laser sintering (SLS) method was picked for larger nylon parts.

Finally, fused deposition modeling (FDM) was employed to build parts mounted close to the engine. Those bits were printed out of PAHT-CF—a high-temperature polyamide, reinforced with carbon fiber, that can withstand temperatures of up to 194 ℃.

The main PAHT-CF parts are the ‘wings’ that run along the bottom of the tank, replacing the original right-side air intake and left-side trim. They’re the only 3D-printed parts on the bike that have been left unfinished—a deliberate move by Shawn to highlight the technology used.

At the front end of the bike, you’ll find a 3D-printed fender that’s been designed to hide all of its fasteners. Just above it sits a custom headlight nacelle, featuring a transparent face with an LED light poking out of it. The lightweight arrangement mounts to the lower yoke, creating the illusion that it floats in front of the forks.

The cockpit wears a CNC-machined top yoke and elegant clip-ons, with a tiny Motogadget speedo and LED warning light strip sitting front and center. The brake and clutch master cylinders are Brembo parts, but the fluid reservoirs are one-offs, inspired by BMW’s Vision DC concept. The design is currently in the prototype stage; Shawn reports that it works as intended so far, but he’s testing the integrity of the material before he fully trusts it.

Shawn kept the R nineT’s stock fuel tank but dressed it with a Rizoma fuel cap and custom aluminum roundels. “We added twelve crafted grooves around the outer ring, like a clock, in tribute to BMW motorcycles’ centennial milestone,” he adds.

The seat and tail bump are from BMW’s options catalog for the nineT. Shawn picked them because they complement the OEM fuel tank perfectly, focusing instead on reworking the areas below and behind them. A 3D-printed section shuts off the underside of the tail, terminating in a finned section area that’s flanked by a pair of hidden Rizoma taillight and turn signals combo LEDs.

To keep the design slim, Shawn had to relocate the myriad electrical bits that normally live under the seat. They now live under the tank and behind the new wings. With the airbox replaced by a pair of SF Spring filters, the frame now cuts an ultra-sharp line from the motor to the tail.

Shawn and Trevor’s custom parts only tell half the story. Beyond the neo-futuristic aesthetic lies a spread of tasty upgrades. “I didn’t want to build a showpiece that you store in a showroom and only ride it at special events,” Shawn says.

“It should outperform any factory model for both urban and highway riding in your daily life, providing you with the ultimate driving experience.”

To that end, upside-down Öhlins forks adorn the front, with a longer-than-stock Öhlins shock propping up the rear. Brembo brake calipers do duty at both ends, gripping a pair of Brembo’s swanky T-Drive rotors at the front. HEL brake hoses account for further braking improvements.

The wheels are forged alloy parts that pull inspiration from the BMW HP2 Sport, and the front axle is a custom-made titanium item. A rowdy box-style exhaust from G&G Bike adds a final touch.

The BMW R nineT’s stark paint job matches the bike’s focused stance and slick lines marvelously. Now that his BMW R nineT café racer is complete, Shawn is gearing up to put some of these parts into production.

Watch this space.

Shawn Yang | Trevor Dyment

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Speed Read: A Honda CB750 street tracker from Argentina and more

Argentina’s LBC Motorcycles leads the charge this week, with a HRC-themed Honda CB750 street tracker. We then look at the redesigned Ducati Panigale V4, a custom Triumph Thruxton from Tamarit Motorcycles, and an Indian Scout with vintage Scout chops.

Honda CB750 by LBC Motorcycles As far as customers go, Juan Taurel of Argentina’s LBC Motorcycles has some pretty good ones. One day, his mate Pipe pitched up at the LBC workshop with a sorry-looking 1981 Honda CB750 Custom, a set of Yamaha R1 forks and wheels, and a very short brief. Juan could build whatever he wanted with the donor—as long as it was racy.

The cruiser-ish presence of the CB750C was never intended for the track, so Juan stripped the bike down, lobbing parts into the bin with ruthless efficiency. With the R1 forks mounted up front, a new front fender, and LED headlight were bolted on with custom brackets. The cockpit is suitably simple, with a single round gauge and Biltwell Inc. grips.

A custom stainless steel swingarm was fabricated by Juan’s friend Omar to make room for the R1’s 190-section rear tire. A new subframe was mocked up to accept the custom mono-shock suspension, and paired with a custom fiberglass flat-track style seat. Housing the electronics and battery, it’s remarkably svelte and looks right at home against the stock fuel tank.

The engine and carburetors were rebuilt with a large stock of CB750 parts that Omar had lying around, as getting parts from Japan to Argentina can take some time. Industria Chernobyl built the four-into-one stainless steel exhaust, and the CNC-machined aluminum foot pegs are also custom.

For a bike that was covered in extra bits and bobs when Honda released it, Juan has done a fantastic job of stripping it down to the bare essentials. The seat and tank combination is perfect, and the HRC-inspired livery adds a touch of retro charm to the thoroughly modernized CB750. [Source]

Hot off the press from World Ducati Week comes the hotly anticipated update to the Ducati Panigale V4. The 2025 version marks the seventh generation of the Bologna firm’s premium superbike—if you start counting from the 1987 Ducat 851.

Style, sophistication, and performance are the three markers that Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali highlighted during the presentation. Style comes almost too naturally to the Italians—and even before it was mentioned in Ducati’s presentation, we could tell that the new Panigale V4 takes some inspiration from the iconic 916.

The headlights and fairing design are smoother and far less angular than the previous model. The shark gill slits in the fairing are gone, with the new bodywork giving strong Desmosedici vibes. Body-colored front winglets are now included on the standard model.

Aerodynamic resistance has been decreased by four percent, and a thin black panel now separates the fairing from the tank, which has been redesigned to allow for more movement. The footpegs have been moved 10 mm inwards to increase ground clearance.

Ducati Corse set new stiffness targets for the frame and swingarm on the new Panigale V4, which brings us to the elephant in the room—its double-sided swingarm. The range-topping sportbike from Ducati has had a single-sided swingarm for so long that staunch Ducatisti are rather up-in-arms about the new design. At the end of the day, if it’s good for Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP bike, it’s good enough for us mere mortals (plus it looks amazing).

Performance-wise, even though the new V4 engine has more restrictive Euro5+ homologation, Ducati engineers have eked out 0.5 more horsepower. The standard model now produces 216 hp, which can be raised to 228 hp with the Ducati Performance racing exhaust from Akrapovič.

The new Panigale V4 is also the first motorcycle in the world equipped with Brembo’s HypureTM front brake calipers; they’re lighter, disperse heat more efficiently, and offer more constant performance.

Starting at $25,995 the new Panigale V4 is certainly not cheap, but Ducati likes to think it’s the closest thing to a MotoGP bike that is readily available. If you want to go one step further, the new Panigale V4 S starts at $33,895. Go-fast(er) bits on the Panigale V4 S include new SmartEC3.0 electronically-controlled Öhlins suspension, forged aluminum wheels, and a lightweight lithium battery.

It’s expensive, fast, and beautiful, and we can’t wait to have a go. [Ducati Panigale V4]

Triumph Thruxton by Tamarit Motorcycles Tamarit’s latest build (numbered 151) was made for a party-going local from Ibiza who wanted to stand out from the crowd. The customer got exactly what they paid for—because the Spanish custom shop went to town on this rose-gold copper-plated scrambler.

Starting with nothing but an air-cooled Triumph Thruxton 900 engine and a bare frame, Tamarit added countless touches and plenty of custom accouterments. The wheels were the first thing to get covered in copper, matching the new belt drive conversion. Custom number plates at the front and sides of the bike sport the number 19, with the front plate including custom LED headlights to light up the Ibiza streets at night.

Scrambler bars are finished with Motogadget switches, Rizoma bar-end turn signals, new levers, mirrors, and Biltwell Inc. Kung Fu grips. A Motogadget Motoscope Mini is housed in the handlebar clamp for extra cleanliness.

The tank sports copper Tamarit badges and flows effortlessly into a custom-made single seat. Cantilevered over the back end on a new subframe, the leather-clad saddle almost overshadows Tamarit’s stunning mono-shock conversion. Engineered and perfected over many years and countless Triumph modern classic builds, the company’s single-shock swingarm is one of the best-looking on the market.

The engine was rebuilt to ensure a few more lifetimes of reliability and blacked out to match the rest of the bike. Twin exhaust headers run alongside the motor and poke out under the seat, with gorgeous heat shields that are a clever reversal of the front fork cover design. The battery was relocated and now sits under the swingarm.

Tamarit 151 is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but we still like it. Those rose gold accents are to die for, and a clear indication that the Tamarit team is still thinking well outside the box. [Source]

Indian Scout by Brittney Olsen Building a bike for a famous artist can be a daunting task. Add Roland Sands watching over your shoulder during the build, and it’s a whole other ball game. Not one to shy away from the pressure, Brittney Olsen of 20th Century Racing cracked on and built one hell of an Indian Scout for American country music star Nikki Lane.

The build is the second of three planned bikes that form part of Indian Motorcycle’s ‘Forged’ series. Inspired by Cecilia Adams (an incredible female motorcycle racer of the 1950s), Brittney Olsen has injected some serious 40s and 50s style into this brand-new Indian Scout.

Starting with the wheels, 19F/18R rims from an Indian FTR were laced to the Scout hubs. The front end is a hand-build girder setup, complete with 1940s Indian Chief springs, shock, and handlebar risers.

The custom handlebars are made from stainless steel and cleverly retain the factory dashboard. Tiny LED turn signals are carefully hidden around the middle of the girder, with a Scout headlight leading the way.

The gas tank uses the bottom part of a Scout tank (to retain the fuel pump and air intake) integrated with Springfield and Chieftain tank panels to keep the Scout Sport teardrop shape. A vintage Bates seat and rear fender pad were mounted, along with an extended rear fender and custom rear struts to really turn on the 50s charm.

Jeremy Pederson laid down the custom lettering, striping, and gold and silver leaf, which all look incredible against the custom black paint job. The polished exhaust contrasts nicely with all the black, and the factory rear lights aren’t too offensive.

Nikki Lane is thrilled with the result, which was to be expected. Brittney has nailed the brief and produced a bike so good-looking that we wouldn’t be surprised if Indian incorporated some of her designs into their factory bikes. [More]

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Rough Crafts x BST carbon fiber wheels: A match made in heaven

If we had to guess the secret to Rough Craft’s blistering success, we’d go with consistency. Frontman Winston Yeh’s dedication to his signature aesthetic is unwavering, he employs the same talented craftsmen on every project, and he only uses parts from a carefully curated pool of top-shelf companies. One of those companies is the carbon wheel specialist Blackstone TEK—commonly known as BST.

Winston first used BST carbon fiber wheels on ‘Jab Launcher’ [below]—a Ducati Scrambler café racer with an emphasis on performance. The look of carbon fiber wheels matched the sleek black look of the bike, and their low weight helped to add lightness.

Picking BST’s wheels specifically was “a no-brainer,” according to Winston. “It’s the best carbon fiber motorcycle wheel that exists, plus they have many different sizes and styles to fit my needs.” (When asked why he’s never switched to another brand of carbon fiber wheel, he simply quips “same as above.”)

Jab Launcher was specced with BST’s Mamba Tek wheels, measuring 17×3.5” at the front and a beefy 17×6” at the back. The Mamba Tek is a classic seven-spoke design, primarily designed for superbikes, drag racers, and touring bikes. The rear wheel comes in ‘conventional’ and ‘offset’ options; Rough Crafts picked the latter to match the single-sided Ducati Monster swingarm that they had fitted to the bike.

The single-sided Mamba Tek rear wheel is a thing of beauty; its seven-spoke design appears almost sports car-like. That’s no accident either—BST is also well-versed in the art of automotive wheel building, and supplies bespoke wheels to prestigious boutique brands like Ariel and Donkervoort.

Founded in Johannesburg, South Africa 23 years ago by Gary Turner and Terry Annecke, Blackstone TEK is a pioneer in the carbon fiber industry. Their wheels feature a hollow spoke design, using a pre-preg carbon fiber process borrowed from the aerospace industry. They’re impossibly light (the Mamba Tek front wheel weighs a paltry 2.75 kg [6.06 lbs]), but they also meet with DOT E, JWL, and TÜV standards, dispelling any fears of carbon fiber parts being fragile.

BST produces several off-the-shelf options, some of which you’ll find on production bikes from MV Agusta, Norton, and Arch Motorcycle. But they also produce wheels to spec for industry heavyweights like Ducati.

If you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle with carbon fiber wheels, you’ll know the positive effect they have on acceleration, braking, and handling—even if you’re not an expert. “I’m not the best rider,” Winston admits, “but even I can tell instantly the responsiveness and handling are improved. Even just pushing the bike out of the garage, you can feel the difference.”

These benefits—and the sharp look of BST’s rims—are why they often find their way onto Rough Crafts’ more performance-orientated builds. The Mamba Tek can also be seen on the shop’s ‘Bologna Dogfight’ Ducati Monster 821 and ‘Flatout Titan’ Ducati XDiavel S.

Other BST-equipped Rough Crafts Ducati builds include the ‘Igneous Ripper’ Hypermotard 939 and ‘Apex Assault’ Monster 1200S [above]. Both of those bikes use BST’s split-spoke Rapid Tek hoops, designed for superbikes and hopped-up V-twins.

For his rowdy ‘Oriental Uppercut’ Honda CB1100 RS [above], Winston opted for the classic five-spoke design of the BST Twin Tek. Originally designed for cruisers and scrambler builds, it’s an understated wheel that’ll suit just about any build.

Putting carbon fiber wheels on high-performing Ducatis and neo-retro café racers is an obvious move, but Winston has been imbuing Harley-Davidson customs with that same performance vibe of late. “I’m obsessed with the idea of ‘neo-vintage,’ ‘performance retro,’ or whatever you want to call it. Being able to mix something cutting-edge like carbon fiber wheels with a vintage-styled custom build is a big plus.”

The best example of this approach is ‘Sovereign Raven’ [above]—a custom Harley-Davidson Fat Boy that can best be described as a performance bobber. Winston fitted it with Öhlins suspension, Beringer brakes, Rebuffini switchgear, and a special set of BST wheels.

The front wheel is the brand’s catalog Twin Tek item, measuring 3.5×21”. But the solid 8.0×17” carbon fiber rear wheel is a one-off. It’s an older design that BST no longer produces, but still has the mold for—so they whipped it up especially for this build.

Winston’s discernment is well known by his clients, which is why they often leave the minutiae of each project up to his discretion. “I usually decide what parts to use on the bikes,” he explains. “And as long as modern performance is part of the theme, I’ll squeeze the budget for a set of BSTs—it really does make a big statement.”

Produced in partnership with Blackstone TEK | Facebook | Instagram | Rough Crafts | Images by JL Photography and BST

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Miami Slice: An off-the-wall Yamaha TR1 café racer from London

We all have our inclinations, preferences, and particular predilections. In custom motorcycle circles, a BMW boxer or Triumph Bonneville are considered mainstream choices, while unlikely donors present a more left-field option. Yamaha’s Virago is one such machine—but it’s not enough of an outlier for Jimbo Turner.

Jimbo reserves his fervor for only one variant of the XV1000—the Yamaha TR1. He didn’t discover his kink straight away; dalliances with a rigid Yamaha XS650, a Honda CB, a Ducati Monster, and more were explored before he found his two-wheeled soulmate. But once he discovered the TR1, his bike-building exploits were elevated to a whole new level.

This playful Yamaha TR1 café racer is the self-taught custom builder’s second TR1. His first, which debuted at the 2022 Bike Shed Show in London, featured a new front-end, home-made pie-cut exhaust, and Ducati Scrambler fuel tank. But it failed to sufficiently scratch Jimbo’s itch.

He had learned so much in regards to his new muse, that he had to do another. Soon enough, he had sourced an engine from Holland to pair with the spare frame he had acquired along the journey of that first build. With the ambition to improve on what he had done before, he set a deadline for the 2023 Bike Shed show.

The first decision to make was what to repeat. The TR1 frame has been successfully graced by many different fuel tanks, but to Jimbo, the Ducati Scrambler item adorning his first build (which was plucked from the mighty DeBolex Engineering’s parts shelf) was an unparalleled vessel. So a second was soon sourced.

Jimbo once again used modern upside-down forks, this time from a Ducati 749, mated to Cognito Moto yokes. But with the rear end, he was looking to take a more dramatic departure from his proven formula. On his original build, Jimbo utilized the stock swingarm—but for the second take, he wanted a challenge.

He tracked down a single-sided swingarm and wheelset from a Ducati Hypermotard, collected all of the components to his North London lock-up, and then scratched his head. Creating a suitable mounting point for the shock would require serious surgery on the Yamaha TR1 frame. Too late to back down now.

Of the many skills that Jimbo had acquired during earlier builds, welding was perhaps his most accomplished—so he set loose with the grinder, fairly confident he could undo any miss-steps along the way. “I literally have no idea what I’m doing, I just make it up as I go along,” he admits. “Seems to be working out though…”

Jimbo created a reinforced pocket in the rear right-hand-side of the frame to clear the shock linkage, and, after a great deal of “trial and error-gineering” ushered the swingarm into its new home. Confident he had passed this highest hurdle, he turned to the subframe. Inspired by his Ducati digressions he designed and fabricated an elaborate trellis of tubing, and bolted it to the frame.

Then, in a tried and tested manner, he bounced up and down on it a few times as a stress test. But the design failed, and the structure slowly contorted out of shape. Back to the back of a napkin.

Jimbo’s second crack at the subframe, reinforced in every possible parameter, passed the same test with flying colors. With the stance taking shape, his mind turned to the TR1’s livery. After deploying a masculine military green on the first TR1, for his second, he was tempted by a more pastel palette.

Without applying too much thought to an overall scheme, he dispatched the spring of his Öhlins rear shock for turquoise powder-coating. Then he reimagined his garage as a paint booth and layered lashings of Pramac-esque purple to the tank.

For that sturdy subframe, inspiration came via the splatter paint jobs of nineties Marin mountain bikes. Channeling Pollock (and challenging the integrity of his temporary paint booth) Jimbo made a hell of a mess. Love or hate it, there is no denying its uniqueness.

With all these painted elements now in play, but still undecided on the final visual, Jimbo chose to focus on the outstanding elements and allow his ideas to coalesce. Of the many hard-earned skills he has acquired, exhaust fabrication brings him the most satisfaction. Track a path, choose an angle, slice, tack, weld, and repeat, until, from a few lengths and a pile of offcuts, a complete system emerges.

Moving to the Yamaha’s lighting, Jimbo fitted the same sort of e-bike headlight that he’d used on the previous build, with a Kellermann all-in-one LED unit mounted to the rear shock’s remote reservoir. The bike also features an Axel Joost ‘D-box’ controller, an engine cover and filter from 61 Meccanica, and Motone switchgear.

By this time, Jimbo’s full-time role as the Bike Shed’s venue manager, combined with a house and garage move, had pushed his deadline out to the 2024 show. But it was through this extended period that he finally found the inspiration that would tie his varied paint elements into a cohesive scheme.

An 88 Foxbody Mustang had caught his attention on Instagram. He tasked yours truly with creating a Photoshop rendering of a Timefox and TR1 hybrid and knew instantly that it was the direction to take. ‘Miami Slice’ was born.

The paint booth was once again rigged for the tank to gain a white top half, before the close-to-complete machine was taken to the workshop of Jimbo’s good friend, Sticky’s Speed Shop, for help laying the final graphic components; a pinstripe of turquoise to split the tank, and a pink scrawl of the machine’s new moniker straight down the center. A white vinyl seat with pink stitch detail, handled by Bazz at B.M.K Creative, and Miami Slice was ready for the show.

So, with two Yamaha TR1 café racers in the garage, what’s next for Jimbo? Well, once he has chosen his favorite offspring, the other must make way to make space for the next project. And while I’m not a betting man, I would certainly hazard a guess as to what that might be…

Jimbo Turner Instagram | Images by, and with thanks to, Thomas Kettlety

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