At the risk of stating the obvious, some bikes are easier to customize than others. Pick a Triumph Bonneville or Harley Sportster, and you?ve got decades of knowledge to plunder on the forums. Choose a BMW R nineT and you?ll find lots of bits that come off without a grinder. And if you?ve got a Yamaha SR in your garage, there are literally thousands of parts available via Japanese online marketplaces.
If you want to make your life really difficult, though, a BMW GS is the bike for you. Even the early models are fiendishly complex, with oddball suspension systems and a massive spaghetti of wiring. So we?re giving top marks to Belgian builder Thomas Jeukens of Toma Customs, who has done a magnificent job on this BMW R1150GS Adventure.

Just to make Thomas? life more exciting, the build was commissioned by Bernard Cornut, a Belgian commercials producer who is also a passionate and experienced long-distance ADV rider. Bernard is quite handy off-road, and helped Yamaha run the ?World Raid Tour? that launched the Ténéré 700. He was riding alongside experts like 13-time Dakar Rally winner Stéphane Peterhansel and rising star Adrien Van Beveren, so he knows his stuff.

?Bernard wanted to transform his R1150GS, and his wishes were very clear,? says Thomas. ?He needed a lighter and more ?fluid? motorcycle, for his road trips and for off-road use.
?He wanted us to lighten the bike, and adjust the general lines, while keeping sufficient protective equipment for off-road ridi...