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Highlighting 100 years of BMW motorcycles this year is an R 18 boxer customised by former European motocross champion Dirk Oehlerking’s company Kingston Custom.
It’s been designed as a unique take on streamliner bikes of the 1930s. Oehlerking and BMW call the bike The Crown.
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Aside from the overall shape, the most striking feature of The Crown is the front suspension. Oehlerking engineered a custom front swingarm, eliminating the traditional telescoping fork, a feature seen on other BMW motorcycles over the years.
The bodywork is hand formed in aluminum sheet, with tight-fitting slash-cut exhausts and a champagne and mother-of-pearl livery with gold accents and brass fasteners.
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For all the modifications, The Crown is 5cm longer and weighs 40kg less than a stock R 18.
The bike is on display at the BMW Motorrad Days in Berlin. Oehlerking is one of the world’s most recognised customisers and specialises in one-off BMW boxers from his plant in the city of Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
![](https://autonews.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bmw-r18-crown-1.jpg)