If you want to build a custom based on a current-production BMW, the top choice right now is the R nineT. We’ve also seen builders extract stunning results from sportier BMWs like the S 1000 R superbike and even the big R 1200 R roadster.
We didn?t see this one coming, though: A flat tracker based on the featherweight new BMW G 310 R.

Powered by a 313cc single and made in India by TVS, the G 310 R is a sign of BMW casting its net wider. Early reports hail the compact roadster as having build and ride quality that punches far above its weight.
We’re keen to swing a leg over the little G, but never would have pegged it as a custom platform. Trust the Japanese to prove us wrong.

You’re looking at the work of Takashi Nihira, who is making a name for himself via his Tokyo workshop called Wedge. Before setting up Wedge, Nihira-san worked at a car dealership as a mechanic, painter and metal shaper?so he?s able to handle every aspect of a motorcycle build.

The G 310 R commission came directly from BMW Motorrad Japan?without a concrete brief.
?I felt a different kind of pressure,? Takashi explains. ?Usually an owner exists. To a certain degree, I know the direction of the custom bike based on the owner?s tastes and riding style. But this was difficult because I had too much freedom.?

He admits that he had to stop himself from going overboard. But if this is Wedge reined-in, we’d love to see Wedge unleashed. The G 310 R’s transformation is not...