BMW has wasted no time getting the new R18 into the hands of customizers. Five months ago, before the Bavarian cruiser was even in showrooms, Roland Sands unveiled the low-slung ?Dragster? concept. Then a couple of weeks later, Bernhard Naumann of Blechmann revealed an even wilder build.
Now it?s the turn of Dirk Oehlerking, who runs Kingston Custom. He?s based in Gelsenkirchen?a six-hour ride from the BMW factory in Berlin?and has built around 17 BMW customs over the past 35 years. This is arguably his best yet.

The swooping lines and quality of finish are next level. But this is not a styling exercise endlessly refined in a CAD program on computer; Dirk still works in a totally analog way.
The design process begins long before the first screws are turned. ?I put a lot of thought into it beforehand,? he says. ?I have a constant stream of images running past my mind?s eye when deciding what style to focus on.?
?Once I?ve made that choice, I start with a sketch in pencil and Tipp-Ex [correction fluid]. Then I keep going, until I know in my heart of hearts: that?s precisely ‘it’.?
The BMW R18 has been designed with customization in mind, following the trail blazed by the R nineT. The showroom bike is something of a rolling homage, with visual (and technical) details echoing the R5 of the late 1930s. It also has a focus on modern-but-no-frills tech?such as the 1,802 cc (110 ci) pushrod motor.

Oehlerking often takes a deep dive into the bikes that he customi...