Bernard “Blechmann” Naumann and Vagabund Moto undeniably represent two of the world’s most eminent one-off bike shops, so when word broke that the visionary designer and metal-worker had teamed up with the Austrian custom moto outfit to modify a 2016 BMW R nineT — a model both names are intimately acquainted with — we knew we’d be in for a treat, and we weren’t wrong.
Dubbed the “Tin Man” (which is what “Blechmann” means in German), the build’s stock bodywork’s been replaced with a monocoque item comprised of a modern take on a Monza-style tank connected to a stubby tracker-meets-cafe-meets-bobber tail section that lifts up to reveal a bespoke card-holder and Leatherman multitool holder, both crafted from leather by artisan leather outfit, WerkDorf. Other noteworthy elements include a bespoke headlight nacelle shrouding one of Koso’s low-profile Thunderbolt LED headlights, a bespoke LED taillight, vertical LED strip indicators embedded into the front fender, a Motogadget Motoscope Pro display set into the custom tank under an acrylic cover, top-shelf Rizoma clip-ons and rear-sets, and one of Blechmann’s signature underslung ceramic-coated exhaust sitting flush with the shaft-drive-equipped single-sided swing-arm — putting the rear item on the build’s Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP-shod Rotobox carbon fiber wheels on full display.
