The world of custom motorcycles is full of beautiful machines, but many of them see little mileage. While that doesn’t stop us from admiring them, we’re suckers for bikes that are designed to be ridden in anger.
Right now, we’re hooked on this BMW R nineT flat track weapon, built by Dan Riley. Based in Burnsville, Minnesota, Dan’s a freelance graphic and product designer who operates as Gunn Design.

The project kicked off in April last year, when Ola Stenegärd himself (then BMW Motorrad’s Head of Vehicle Design, now at Indian) reached out to Dan about customizing an R nineT Pure. Dan’s been riding since age four, so building a show pony was never an option.
Since then, this hooligan racer-slash-street tracker?dubbed ‘Maxx Headroom’?has gone through multiple rounds of changes, and spent as much time on display as it has on the race track.
It’s been shown at Sturgis, Wheels & Waves California, The One Show, The Handbuilt Show and Glemseck 101, and raced at almost all of them.
Most of Dan’s changes have been focused on shedding weight, adding performance, and improving ergonomics: all critical elements of flat track racing. He’s done most of the work himself, all from an area in his design studio where he can ?build bikes and get messy.?

The R nineT’s stock bodywork has been replaced, and the new fuel tank is from a 1990 Honda CB400. It was a tricky job: Dan had to cut the bottom section off ...