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BikeExif BMW motorcycles BMW R nineT Clutch Custom Custom Motorcycles Other Motorcycle Blogs

Remaking The BMW R nineT, Paris Style

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
The BMW R nineT ranks as one of our favorite modern motorcycles. But although it’s classy, it’s also laden with components all vying for attention.

This new build from Paris’ Clutch Custom Motorcycles is less fussy, and more chic. It’s as though the BMW’s ready-to-wear outfit has been swapped for an elegant haute couture suit.

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
This is an approach that builder Willie Knoll excels at. Like a fine tailor, he massages every angle into place, until the balance and flow are just right, without being showy.

“The idea with this build,” says Willie—who was actually born in the USA—“was to create something classy but aggressive. A bike that runs great, with great lines and big attention to details.”

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
Gone is the BMW’s muscular, hunched stance. To slim the bike down, Willie has modified the backbone of the frame and fabricated an all-new subframe. There’s now a harmonious line from front to back, and a more austere aesthetic.

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
Up top is a stylish custom-made fuel tank, which looks like it could have been taken from a vintage Japanese motorcycle. Beneath it are a pair of discreet hand-made side covers, and behind it, a one-off brown leather seat with a subtle hump.

The whole setup is visually lower than before, but that’s an optical illusion. Willie’s wisely left the suspension travel and ride height alone.

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
He’s bumped the wheel size up an inch though. There are now 18-inch rims at both ends, laced to the stock hubs with stainless steel spokes. The tires are Pirelli’s grippy, well-regarded Angel GTs—a most appropriate choice.

The usual stellar Clutch craftsmanship is on display throughout. The gas cap, front fender, rearsets and clip-ons are all one-offs—along with a bunch of hidden brackets designed to mount (and hide) “the ugly stuff.”

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
There’s a CNC-milled top triple clamp and a big-bore, stainless steel exhaust system. These were fabricated in-house too, and will soon be for sale via the Clutch website.

Willie’s also done a number on the wiring. He’s added a smaller battery and a host of Motogadget bits, while simplifying the harness along the way.

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
A few carefully selected bought-in parts match the workmanship. There’s also a smaller headlight, and a LED taillight with integrated turn signals, embedded in the rear loop.

The stock oil cooler has been ditched for a neater unit, and the brakes and controls are from Behringer.

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
The final color scheme is wonderfully subtle. There’s a deep mid-blue for the tank, and black, polished or stainless finishes everywhere else (including the cylinder heads).

French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.
It’s a direction we’d never have thought of for BMW’s best-selling roadster. But the execution is flawless.

Suits you, sir?

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French tailoring: Clutch Customs gives the BMW R nineT a stylish new suit.

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BikeExif Clutch Custom Custom Motorcycles Kawasaki motorcycles Kawasaki W650 Other Motorcycle Blogs

Going With The Flow: Kawasaki W650 by Clutch

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
Before the ‘new’ Triumph Bonneville came along, there was the Kawasaki W650. And some would argue that it captured the spirit of the Meriden original even better than the later Hinckley-built Bonnie.

Willie Knoll of Paris-based Clutch Custom Motorcycles is a fan. His Bonneville T100 from last year is one of our all-time favorites, so we were keen to see his version of “Big Green’s memory machine”—as Motorcycle Classics has called the W650.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
This latest Clutch build is based on a 2001-model Kawasaki W650. “The idea was to create a simple, classy and minimalistic motorcycle,” Willie tells us. “With a touch of drag bike styling, fine lines, and good detailing.”

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
For Willie, visual ‘flow’ is critical to a good custom build, and he doesn’t disappoint. The slightly matronly stance of the W650 is gone, replaced by a lower, sleeker vibe.

By cutting and machining seven centimeters out of the fork tubes and shortening the rear shocks by three centimeters, Willie give the W650 a more sporting stance. He’s also taken a couple of centimeters out of the swingarm and fabricated a complete new rear frame for straighter lines.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
The tank is from a Kawasaki 750cc twin, reshaped and tunneled underneath for a good fit. It now hides some of the electrics, and is topped off with an exquisitely knurled gas cap—a Clutch signature touch.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
The rest of the electrics live in a fabricated stainless steel box—including a Motogadget m-Unit digital control unit, the ECU, and the key start mechanism. It’s all hooked up to a brand new wiring loom and the sole instrument is a 49mm Motogadget Motoscope Tiny analog speedo.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
The air-cooled, 360-degree crank motor has been completely rebuilt and treated to a set of Keihin FCR37 flatslide carbs: the scarlet red velocity stacks are the brightest splash of color on the whole bike.

The exhaust system is simple and understated—45mm stainless pipes fitted with vintage-style Spark mufflers.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
The overall effect is raw metal, with lustrous nickel-plating for the frame and swingarm. The stainless steel handlebars are custom-made, and fitted with discreet black Motogadget m-Switches.

The rider’s boots rest on beautifully machined custom footpegs attached via stainless brackets. In fact, there’s classy machining work everywhere; the taillight is especially noteworthy.

Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.
As usual, Willie has made virtually everything in-house, apart from the deep claret paint on the tank, the Avon Roadrider tires and the wheels—which are 18-inch rims laced with stainless spokes. (That’s one size down on stock for the front rim.)

It’s the work of a perfectionist, but that’s what makes a Clutch bike extra-special: immaculate visual ‘flow’ and peerless craftsmanship.

And it gets a big Oui from us.

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Going With The Flow: an immaculate Kawasaki W650 custom from Paris-based Clutch Motorcycles.