Three-wheeled motorcycles get a bad rap, but we can think of a few good uses for them. They’re especially useful for riders who love the feeling of riding a bike, but are physically unable to keep one upright. And if you must ride a trike, you might as well do it in style.
This glorious contraption was built for one such customer, with a BMW R18 as a donor. It’s the work of Yuri Shif’s award-winning ShifCustom workshop, located in Minsk. And if ever there was a style that suited the R18’s monster 1,802cc boxer motor, this is it.

ShifCustom’s reverse trike has all the sensibilities of a Can-Am Spyder, but with a far more classic vibe. Their design riffs off the iconic BMW 328, mostly because their customer is a huge fan of the brand. But we’re picking up hints of the Morgan 3 Wheeler here too. As you’d imagine, there’s very little here in the way of plug-and-play stuff. ShifCustom’s 15-strong team engineered the chassis and formed the bodywork in-house, relying on aftermarket suppliers for only a handful of parts, and outsourcing only the leatherwork.

Most of the engineering is tucked away under the R18’s new hood. There you’ll find a custom-made front subframe, bolted to the main frame via reinforced mounting plates, and holding a double wishbone independent suspension system. The whole setup was designed digitally before ShifCustom put welding torch to metal.
The system includes an extended steering ne...