We’ve always admired custom motorcycle workshops that keep pushing the boundaries. Austria’s Vagabund Moto have been doing good work since day one, but they’ve never rested on their laurels. The founding duo of Paul Brauchart and Philipp Rabl seems to level up on every build, relentlessly experimenting with new designs, materials and processes.
Their 15th build pushes the envelope to the breaking point. It’s a 2016-model BMW R nineT with hand-formed metalwork, 3D-printed parts, and bodywork that opens via remote control. All because their client asked; ?I would like to have the best motorcycle you’ve ever done.?

Vagabund used one of their previous builds as inspiration: ‘The Whale,’ a classic BMW R100R with a monocoque body that also lifted up. ?It was about reinterpreting ‘The Whale’ with a new 9T,? explains Paul, ?and giving it a more modern or futuristic look, consistent with this new motorcycle.? ?All the bodywork was crazy stupid. We hadn’t planned to do an opening system like ‘The Whale,’ because underneath the fuel tank it’s packed with ugly electrics and tech stuff. Stupid as we are, we finally decided to double the work by doing a full aluminum body with a fuel tank, and additionally doing a second mono body over it.?

Given the level of metalwork needed for this job, Vagabund collaborated with one of the best in the business: the enigmatic craftsman Bernard Naumann, who works under ...