Eight years ago, Rough Crafts knocked us off our feet with their first-ever custom BMW R nineT. The Taiwanese superstar custom shop had mostly built custom Harleys until then?but the ‘Bavarian Fistfighter’ was definitive proof that founder Winston Yeh could turn any motorcycle into gold. No surprise then that it found itself at the top of our list of that year’s best custom bikes.
What is surprising, is that Rough Crafts hasn’t built another custom BMW R nineT since… until now.

Commissioned by a local movie star, ‘Bayern Madness’ deliberately bears a resemblance to Rough Crafts’ debut R nineT. His request was for something in the same vein, with a few key changes; less bodywork, a hint of scrambler styling, and a silver paint job. Winston figured the rest out from there. Winston runs Rough Crafts as a collective of sorts, pulling local craftsmen into the fold as and when needed. With JZO Crafts (fabrication) and Faber Studio (assembly) on board, the first challenge was to simplify the nineT’s layout as much as possible.

?The biggest headache,? Winston tells us, ?was to tackle the electronics, remove the airbox, and relocate everything to under the only remaining bodywork?the tank. Aside from that, I decided to go for an extremely narrow fuel tank to celebrate the boxer engine, which made hiding everything even harder.?
The R nineT’s new handmade fuel tank is a work of art, effortlessly blending details inspir...