Custom Motorcycle
BMW R 18 Magnifica
Another custom has been spawned from BMW’s R 18 and this one is Radikal by name and radical by nature.
Dubbed ‘Magnifica’ this custom creation was unveiled overnight at the exclusive Top Marques show in Monaco.
The term ‘seat like a plank’ has been used many times but never before quite as literally as what we see here.
Radikal Chopper’s Andrea Radaelli says he drew inspiration for the design of the BMW R 18 Magnifica from the vintage motorbikes of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s and in particular the BMW R 37, objects that “have an incredible charm that even today many modern motorbikes cannot replicate“.
The use of wood responed to the desire to put something ‘alive’ on the motorbike. Moreover, the wood fits coherently with the design of the R 18 Magnifica, giving somewhat of a chic, retro, and modern effect at the same time.
No CAD or render as a starting point, but at most a sketch of the bike: the rest was all down to the creative imagination of Andrea Radaelli.
The R 18 was initially considered without all the elements necessary for series production and then rethought respecting the proportions between the front and rear of the bike, to achieve a harmonious visual logic.
Nothing on the R 18 Magnifica is bought, everything (or almost everything) has been thought out and built by hand. The exception are the rims, machined from billet but to a design by Radikal Chopper.
Even the innovative brake discs and calipers were specially created.
Tail and seat are one-piece and give the idea of floating in the air.
The rear end is mahogany with a polished stainless steel centre section.
The forks have the same slope as the original ones but a look reminiscent of those on vintage bikes, inside, however, they are completely modern, built from billet parts.
The electrical system has not been modified; everything is fully functional and they claim the bike is perfectly serviceable. Beneath the retro aesthetics lies a technologically modern motorbike, lightened by around 100 kg: the weight of the BMW R 18 Magnifica is in fact around 250-260 kg, compared with 345 kg for the original model.
