If you cast your mind back a few months you’ll remember that we teamed up with Nigel Petrie of Engineered to Slide to announce that Speedhunters would start looking into the two-wheeled world.
You may also remember that Nigel was working on a project for BMW, an R NineT with a customized RAYS Volk Racing TE37 fitted to the back.
When I saw Nigel today chatting to his fans at his booth. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to chat with him about his now completed bike project, and better still, push it somewhere a little quieter to grab some detail shots of it.
With so much happening at the event and nobody wanting to miss anything, a little garage at the back of the paddock served as the perfect backdrop to immortalize his latest creation.
As Nigel explains it, all in all, this was a pretty simple project to get done with the majority of the work focusing on the one-off exhaust system, the rear wheel and of course and paint. Oh, yes, and the little carbon fiber canards that were added to mimic Nigel’s 180SX. This was pretty much what the theme of the whole bike is; a two-wheel version of his famous drift car.
This is a NineT like you’ve never seen before.
The stock exhaust we saw back in May has been replaced by a hand fabricated 2-into-1 system that snakes up along the frame and tucks under the saddle, splitting into a twin set-up for a more balanced look out the back.
The red really helps to emphasize the fusion of old school inspired design with the modern, high-end execution BMW is known for. The big air-cooled flat-twin adds visual drama.
What grabs the most attention is the rear 18-inch TE37. What was once a 10.5-inch wheel was cut and narrowed to 6-inches in width, to allow the 200/50R18 bike tire to bead properly. Nigel did a really nice job of smoothing away the weld and matching that trademark RAYS bronze finish. Of course, the stand is also something he fabricated, because he wouldn’t have it any other way.
This will have hopefully come as a nice unexpected spotlight from WTAC, but stay tuned for more from Sydney Motorsport Park.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com
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Looks ace!
I want to know what it sounds like, I have a 660 big single with two arrow cans, and without baffles it's very loud. This must be another level!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy5envYK7wQ
Now begins the trend of fitting bike tires on cars, haha. Love the bike! I agree though, I'd love to hear the sound of this thing.
Bike tires would make sense on cars with extreme cambers
As much as I appreciate any bike content we can get, this is a really lame concept and half assed execution. Hell the title isn't even accurate since there's only one TE37 on it.
This is unreal. Hats off to the talented Designer / Builder / Machinist .... I hope I can someday get to this level of skill.
Great work! head over to his website and see a bit more in depth details. Some people may think it was "half assed" but it took time and effort. All of his projects are awesome and innovative. It led me to start a hilux build, not as extensive as Nigel's by any means.
That unshielded undertail exhaust ought to be pleasant, eh? Like heated seats on a car. A car parked inside a smelting plant.
The ray Rims looks terrible on a bike.
Yeah, the wheel looks incredibly well altered, but there's no escaping the fact that it looks like someone threw a car wheel on a bike because it was all they had on hand.
you must live in a cave ,like ruckus scooters has been doing stretches and riding on golf cars to street car rim and motorcycle tires.its look like a wannabe ruckus but bike style.
i made my on homemade stretch on a Chinese scooter riding on 12x7 rear rim.best thing i done get alot of grip and i dont have to hard find stock 10x2.50 -3.00 tires,all american tire maker dont make tires for Chinese scooter
It's an exercise in art and engineering, nothing else. Hence why the tyre is still brand new.
I can't help wondering how symmetrically balanced that rear is.
It must affect the riding dynamics and bearing life
No because the wheel offset is matched to factory, and all single sided arms on bikes run a huge hub and bearing
Not really thinking about the offset. More about the fact that the majority of the rotating mass is on one side of the wheel but the longer I think about it the more confused I get.
my scooter runs on a homemade stretch that i had to move the gy6 engine fit inch to one side to fit a 12x7 rim.is easy to offfset a bike tire or scooter,
ruckus been doin the that since 2yk,if you have mess with a ruckus or gy6 stretch ?the same thing as this bike/
Isn't this always the problem with bikes?
You can have a single-sided swingarm out back and show off the rear wheel, but you can't seem to get a matching piece of machinery up front to show that one off.
Great match of wheel design and color to the bike's red bodywork.
I bet you could!
If I am not mistaken Bimota offers on their lineup a single front-arm bike; (albeit trick stuff and expensive) but I am sure It can be pulled off to have a matching TE37 upfront.
So the title of this article "TE37's" actually would be true. The title has an "s" but I don't see the matching...call me picky but that's a clickbait!
Point #2....SH starting to cover bikes? Since when there are expert on SH about this subject? I am not hating....but this "move", (if you wanna call it that way) it's purely to gather a larger audience. They probably hit a plateau and can't think of other ways to get more ppl on here.
I'd say, offering bikes on SH WOULD make sense if there's (or are) true enthusiasts behind the camera that actually RIDE, and/ or mechanics that wrench on bikes on a daily basis, not simple photographers that just blab their own opinion.
Matching schmatching.
That has to be the coolest bike I've ever seen!
Now I want to put TE37s on my GSXR1000R and CBR600RR! TE37s are life!
Now the guys will have a serious problem with the riders if they won't make a new department for the bikes.
I was considering an RnineT for a while and sometimes it was paying me a visit in my dreams (Yup I'm that king of guys), now after seeing this I've started daydreaming.
So he cut the center portion of the wheel barrel out and welded together the outer portions? Sounds pretty unsafe for street use.
The build looks lazy and rim looks non-proportional to bike. These kind of ideas are usually born from guys who don't ride as enthusiast, but ride for the sake of creating a conversation piece. To each is own...
plus 1.
I appreciate the craftmanship, able to put it all together. But I also share this view; the owner ride for the sake of creating conversation rather than as a real biker.
I can't believe no one has touched on the fact that the girl in the third pic is wearing HKS yoga pants
did he use a ruckus hub or made his own?look sick than stretch fat tire on bikes and it look like wanna be ruckus