BMW has revealed the result of its latest collaboration with a legend of motorcycle design. The R18 One Eight C was built and designed by legendary bike builder Paul Yaffe, inspired by the iconic 1950s Mercury Lead Sled.
Based on the BMW R18 Transcontinental, the design was only decided on after Yaffe spent more than 3,800 miles (6,115 km) riding the bike to Sturgis. It was on that trip that he decided he wanted to build a big wheel bagger unlike any he’d made before.
And he wasn’t messing around, the front wheel was custom commissioned, and measures in at 26 inches by 5.5 inches (660×140 mm). It was cut from a single, 400 lb (181 kg) block of aluminum and requires a custom-made front tire.
Read: Would You Have Paid $17,000 For This Custom BMW R80/7?
The front wheel is so large that the frame of the BMW R18 Transcontinental had to be stretched and raked to fit it. In addition, Yaffe had to get special triple trees (the yoke that connects the forks to the frame) engineered to correct the trail measurement and optimize handling.
Although that’s the most attention-grabbing detail, it is by no means the only one-of-a-kind component. The steel front fender was made from scratch, the R18’s faring was cut and restructured, a new chin spoiler was developed to conceal the radiator, and a set of Yaffe Monkey Bars was made special for this project.
“The team wanted to retain the saddlebag lids, latches and speakers so a new set of ‘skins’ was created to give the bags a completely new and unique stretched profile while retaining the excellent engineering and functionality that BMW had created for them.” said Yaffe.
Leaning into the Lead Sled aesthetic, Yaffe installed an air suspension and side pipes. To honor the bike’s maker, they worked to retain the Boxer head pipes but removed the catalytic converters from the head to make way for a custom perforated high-flow baffle system.
To finish it all up, the team chose to go with a simple paint finish. Yaffe says he didn’t want to distract from the R18’s new stance and profile, so the emphasis was on creating a minimalistic allure.
“We went to work perfecting all the fabricated body panels and smoothing everything to a glass-like finish,” he said. “The trick is not to overdo it! We think it came out spectacular!”
The R18 One Eight C will make its official public debut at the MBE Show in Verona, Italy.
