The PRAËM RR tips the scales at 20 kilos (44 lbs.) lighter than the standard bike, and the Berneron brothers have wasted no time enjoying the improved power-to-weight ratio on the track.
“We rode it at Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France a few days ago,” says Sylvain, “and we have three more days of riding planned. We need to ride it 1,000 km before we can do a full race.”
A race? “We are trying to connect racing and customizing,” he explains. “Creating a race bike is a form of customizing—in the old days, a lot of race bikes were prototypes based on road bikes.
“Customizing is the same: you have a vision, and you make it happen to see how it works.”
The PRAËM S 1000 RR has now returned to BMW, and they probably won’t be letting go of it any time soon.
Frédéric Stik, BMW’s French general manager, is obviously pleased with the result: “Sylvain and Florent have managed to create what would have been the perfect race bike in the eighties. It’s a new and fresh vision of what can be done in the custom motorcycle field.”
If you want PRAËM to modify an S 1000 RR for you, they have all the facilities in-house apart from the paint.
“We can replicate this bike, as long as the donor machine comes to our workshop. The S 1000 RR is too complicated to be worked on by just anybody.”
We have one more burning question: is the PRAËM BMW road legal? “It depends on the country,” says Sylvain. “In France, as long as you don’t modify the ‘main construction’—the ground clearance, wheelbase, steering angle and so on—you can ride it. Maybe not in Germany though, as it is at the moment.”
If you want to see the bike in the metal, there will be plenty of opportunity in France this summer. The bike will be on display at the MotoGP, at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz, and at the Moto Legende show. It’ll also be one of the stars at the BMW Motorrad Days at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
There is also a good chance, if the Berneron brothers get their way, you might see it being ridden in anger at a track day—just as it should be.
BMW Motorrad France | Facebook | Instagram
