Born with a mixture of oil and gasoline in his blood, Kingston Custom founder Dirk Oehlerking is now one of the world’s most recognized customizers.
He won his first motocross race riding a borrowed Yamaha and wearing rubber boots. In 1985 he became German champion and took part in the World Cup in Spain. By the time his riding career ended, he had won over 230 trophies and awards.
Today, his technical talent and passion is applied to very individual and extraordinary custom motorcycles—including official commissions from manufacturers such as BMW Motorrad.
BMW has wasted no time getting the new R18 into the hands of customizers. Five months ago, before the Bavarian cruiser was even in showrooms, Roland Sands unveiled the low-slung ‘Dragster’ concept. Then a couple of weeks later, Bernhard Naumann of Blechmann revealed an even wilder build. Now it’s the turn of Dirk Oehlerking, who…
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The Honda CB650R has a lot going for it. The middleweight roadster is easy to ride and well made, and it comes with decent suspension and a 94 hp inline four. It also has some of the best exhaust pipework of any showroom-stock bike. This modern CB doesn’t, however, get the love that the older…
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Dirk Oehlerking has a portfolio of incredible builds, but there are two machines that stand out. They are the White Phantom and Black Phantom—two classic BMW boxers, with exquisite hand-formed bodywork and an unusual art deco vibe. Dirk refers to his Phantoms as “two that belong together, like Yin and Yang.” But those two have…
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If you live in the USA, you probably won’t have seen the Yamaha MT-125. But the mini ‘hyper naked’ is popular in Europe with younger riders and city commuters, where it’s an alternative to the Honda Grom and Kawasaki Z125 Pro. The MT-125 is loosely based on the more familiar YZF-R125, with a high-revving 15…
Read more »The Glemseck 101 festival being held this weekend is a high-octane celebration of speed and power. At this very moment, thousands of…
Read more »There are one hit wonders, and then there’s Dirk Oehlerking. The German custom builder can’t put a foot wrong, churning out hit…
Read more »Kingston’s classic BMWs are elegant customs that take our breath away, time after time. But there’s something we haven’t seen Dirk Oehlerking…
Read more »Today’s motorcycles are loaded with a level of tech that would have been incomprehensible thirty years ago. And it’s had a knock-on…
Read more »Custom builders must breathe a sigh of relief when a customer drops off a brand new bike. Sure, old motorcycles are simpler…
Read more »Most marques have a golden era—that time when they dominated a race series, etching into memory iconic motorcycles and liveries. Honda has…
Read more »There’s always been a small but vocal clique of motorcyclists who want nothing but absolute power and speed. So why haven’t we…
Read more »The Triumph Tridays is one of the biggest motorcycle festivals in Europe. Every June, the Austrian town of Neukirchen is overrun by…
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