Nice Werk: Marcus Walz reveals kits to tweak the BMW R18
Whenever a concept motorcycle becomes a production motorcycle, there are tears over how far the final product has strayed from the original design. The BMW R18 is no exception?but ultimately it’s an unavoidable scenario. Concept bikes are there to turn heads, but production bikes need to consider practicality, mass appeal and homologation for different markets.
So once the bike’s rolled off the assembly line, it’s up to customizers to ‘fix’ it. This slick R18, from the famed German shop WalzWerk, is the third in a rapid sequence of subtly tweaked R18s that we’ve shown recently. And it makes a really strong case for the behemoth boxer’s potential, landing surprisingly close to the first R18 concept’s mark.
WalzWerk’s decision to nip and tuck the R18, rather than completely redesign it, is a deliberate move that’s informed by their current business model. The shop’s main focus right now is series builds?so they’ve designed the R18 in such a way that they can easily replicate it.
WalzWerk founder Marcus Walz explains the logic: ?I’ve built bikes for a living for 31 years now. I don?t have to reinvent the wheel, or build an R18 spaceship like some of my competitors did already. I?m more focused on doing things in a commercial way, if you know what I mean.?
?Together with the Schizzo and the R nineT series bikes, we build around 70 bikes per year from the ground up, including R18s. And believe me...
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