We really like what we’ve seen so far from the guys at Praëm. Their first proper build, based off a Honda RC-51, was waaaay outside the box, and featured some really interesting design elements for us to chew on. Their follow-up to that work is no different.
The Praëm BMW S1000RR is a modern riff on the classic superbike design – think of it as a 21st century take on late-20th century racing.
As the name suggests, the donor bike is a BMW S1000RR, but the styling comes from something you would see in the 1980s – perhaps at the Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race, as Praëm suggests in their text.
The “Optimus Praëm” build is a logical, yet a highly more functional, response to what we have seen in the café racer scene as of late, and it bodes well for the future of the custom motorcycle community if more of the same is to come from other builders. Fingers crossed.
Praëm is comprised of Sylvain & Florent Berneron – Sylvain being a former BMW Motorrad designer, while Florent has a background in aeronautics and mechanics. You probably are familiar with their work under the Holographic Hammer name. If not, you need to check it out.
For their encore public build, Praëm is unsurprisingly working with BMW Motorrad France, hence the choice of the BMW S1000RR as the machine’s underpinnings.
Other contributions come from Competition Werkes for the exhaust, Rotobox for the wheels, Pirelli for tires, and Rizoma for some of the hard parts.
Praëm says that their S1000RR tips the scales at 405 lbs, fully fueled and ready to ride, which is savings of roughly 40 lbs off the base unit. With that in mind, Optimus Praëm looks like it would be just as at home at your local track day, as it would outside a bike-night parking lot.
It is refreshing to see more functional custom motorcycles entering into the space, especially for one that draws on inspiration from motorcycling’s rich history. There is something more authentic about this machine than many of the other builds we have seen lately. We hope that inspires others to follow.
Source: Derestricted
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