Building on the thriving bike-modding culture of Japan, the Japanese division of BMW Motorrad has come up with the ‘Ignite Straight Six’ project. Two of its latest creations are based on the BMW K1600GTL luxury tourer and boy do they look mean.
The first beast was customised by Keiji Kawakita of Hot-Dock and is called the Juggernaut, and as you can tell from the pictures it builds on the steampunk motif. Most traces of BMW’s original aesthetics have been stripped clean and replaced with a much sinister, industrial looking metal work. The placement of some of the 12 gauges may evidence form over function, but it’s a formula that works well given that the mods on this bike in particular more cosmetic than mechanical.
Kawakita’s rat bike may ooze ruggedness with its exposed rivets and pipes but for a sleeker piece of machinery, look no further than the Ken’s Factory Special K1600GTL.
Founder Ken Nagai initially conceptualised a menacing hog before realising that a digger would be a lot more challenging and yield a more unique end-product. The change here was pretty radical, especially when you consider how big a departure it was to go for that large20 inch aluminium disc that replaces the bike’s rear rim.
Ken’s Factory Special takes the K1600GTL completely apart to get the chopper style in place. It’s a lot lower and longer, with new handlebars, radiator and fuel tank covers. There’s even a metal seat in place, which does look like it could be a little uncomfortable. But if looks are what this project is about then both bikes are completely nailing it.
