Two by Four: A pair of wild BMW S1000 customs from VTR

VTR have a rep for building some of the wildest BMW customs. There’s a regular stream of Bavarian metal rolling through their workshop, and it’s only natural: VTR is the custom arm of the Swiss BMW dealer Stucki2Rad.

They’ve turned screws on everything from classic boxers to the R nineT—and even the R1200R. But they’ve only ever built one S-series BMW. Maybe it’s because the 1,000 cc four-cylinder platform doesn’t really lend itself to run-of-the-mill customization. Or maybe it’s because the first ‘S’ build from VTR ended up breaking the collarbone of shop boss Dani Weidmann.

But the VTR crew recently started itching to build another S-series BMW. So they scanned the Stucki2Rad demo fleet, and picked out two low-mileage 2017 models: an S1000RR and an S1000XR.

If you’re not familiar with them, the S1000RR is a 199 hp thoroughbred superbike. The S1000XR is best described as a ‘tall rounder’: a tourer with the same motor as the RR, but detuned to 160 hp. Both are total beasts.

BMW S1000XR ‘STR10’ VTR decided to tear into the S1000XR first (above). Dani had a mish-mash of ideas in mind; part supermoto, part street tracker and just a little hint of street fighter.

The XR has multiple layers of fairing and bodywork to contend with—so the original idea was just to trim the OEM parts down. But the more VTR cracked on, the more they ended up cutting away. Eventually they committed to a full-on race vibe, with nothing but a handmade alloy number plate up front.

Some of the stock front side panels remained—but they were cut right down, and capped off with mesh inserts. A pair of tucked away Highsider LEDs was added to keep the bike Swiss street legal.

Around the time VTR started working on the tail section, the 2019 S 1000 RR broke cover at EICMA. The guys figured the new RR tailpiece would look ace on their XR project.

With the promise of whisky and cigars at the next custom bike show, VTR managed to convince the right people in Munich to send over a prototype part. It didn’t go on as-is though; VTR modded it with a handmade aluminum inlay, and mounted a pair of Kellermann tail light and turn signal combo LEDs.

The XR also got a set of drool-worthy Kineo spoked tubeless wheels, with a special custom touch. All the spoke nipples are black—except those adjacent to the valves, which are red and blue.

VTR also installed a set of Magura bars, upgraded the controls, and added a Rizoma gas cap. The bike’s shown here with race slicks, but VTR kept a set of street legal tires aside for its new owner.

BMW S1000RR ‘SSR10’ The Swiss wunderkinds took a slightly different approach with their S1000RR. Most of their inspiration came from the US supersport custom scene: it had to be semi-naked, with a short seat and just the right amount of bling.

Like the XR, the RR’s fairing was slashed. But this time, VTR showed restraint—trimming it to a half fairing instead of hacking it up completely.

Next, it was time to figure out the rear section. VTR is a stockist for JvB Moto parts (which are manufactured by Kedo), and just so happened to have a couple of JvB universal tail pieces on the shelf.

After some back and forth over which version to use, they settled on the longer version of the tail section. Then they modded the RR’s subframe to accept it. It sounds simple, but it turned into quite a job—mostly because a ton of electronic gadgetry had to find a new home.

The next challenge was finding a place to put the license plate—which the crew eventually overcame with a custom built part. They also installed a Rizoma gas cap, upgraded hand controls, and Metzeler RaceTec tires.

Both bikes were finished in similar liveries; the Volkswagen Group’s famous Nardo Grey. The color is also on Dani’s personal 5-Series BMW, thanks to a special order paint job. Both bikes also got a smattering of carbon fiber bits, and stunning upholstery from Yves Knobel.

VTR also stripped the paint off the XR’s subframe and swing arm, and redid the forks on both bikes in black. Blue radiator hoses add a dash of color, along with candy red on the RR’s wheels.

Both bikes also feature race-only SC Project exhaust systems, but VTR Customs did send their new owners street legal exhausts too. Yip, both bikes have already been sold—the XR during the Swiss Motor Show, and the RR a couple of days later.