BMW customs seem to be far more common in Europe than the US and this one by CAS Racing, located in Spain, is one more example. Starting out as a BMW 1150RS, the Paralever rear, standard issue on the BMW, is all they needed out back. A subframe mounted to the engine holds the bodywork which was shaped by first carving a foam mold. Up front is a more substantial subframe used to mount their single sided front suspension.
CAS Racing modified the engine with 14:1 compression and a modified blackbox with custom ignition curves. The added their own airboxes and exhaust. Handlebars are from a mountain bike which gives it a compact and clean look.
An interesting addition is the biometric ignition. A small scanner on the tank reads the owner’s thumbprint to turn things on.
Why don’t we see more BMW customs over here? They seem to offer a lot of room for innovative ideas and they certainly haven’t been overdone like some bikes. Hmm …
Link: CAS Racing via April 07 issue 2 Wheel Tuner magazine
Related: IMME BMW 1200 Boxer Sport Bike
hoyt says
I’ll never like the overdone wasp-like tailsection common on many Euro customs.
aaron says
odd… a single sided earles fork? it’s in keeping with BMW history, but I can’t really see any advantages. not even cosmetic…
Bryce says
That’s a neat bike, but there are a few things that spoil the lines a bit. The black brackets between the engine and bodywork aren’t so cool. The Earles or leading link fork is also none too pretty. Especially when one considers the fact that a Hossack front end would probably fit the lines of the bike better and could also be single sided if desired.
My guess as to why we don’t see more BMW custom bikes here in the US is that BMWs aren’t as common and they aren’t cheap. Not that Harley Davidsons are cheap, but generally speaking they aren’t particularly rare.
Sean says
I like it, it’s something that’s been designed around one or two special features. The biometric scanner is amazing, I want one on every bike I own (That’ll hopefully stop scissors wielding thieves and the “Where the bloody hell are my keys?” moments”. Paint looks cool, but the rear looks silly. Why make the tail so high? Why make the rear tyre so fat? And why make it a single sided front fork, and make it so ugly?
chris says
i really like how the engine, swingarm, and rear wheel look. pity they put all that other ugly crap on it. oh, the thumb scanner is pretty cool too.
coho says
This looks like an interesting bike to try the two-legged single-sided front end featured here a few weeks ago…
But the too high tail has got to go.