Shinya Kimura’s Take On The BMW R 18 Is Called The Whale

BMW has handed off one of its R18s to a custom builder to see how he has interpreted the motorcycle. The result is called “The Wal,” which is German for the whale.

The bike was built by Japanese customizer Shinya Kimura, who follows in the footsteps of Roland Sands and Dirk Oehlerking as customizers hired by BMW for the “SoulFuel” series. Having historically worked on older motorcycles, the BMW impressed him.

“The basis is the R18, powered by the latest and greatest engine I have ever worked on,” said Kimura. “Following a whole series of conversations, this eventually led to my personal interpretation of the R 18, in which I applied the entire range of my activities as a customizer.”

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Kimura was first given a tour of the bike at BMW Motorrad in Germany before taking delivery of the bike he would be customizing in February of 2021, which helped him form a plan. Despite that, Kimura neither sketches nor blueprints nor mocks up the parts he is building for the bikes he works on. The hands-on process requires him to build the bike with a very specific customer in mind, which, in this case, was him.

“I built the R 18 entirely for myself. When I rode the production R 18, I thought it might suit my build and riding preferences better if I designed it to be a little more front-facing with a fairing,” said Kimura. “I decided to adopt the frame, wheels, and tires as well as suspension elements and brakes because I didn’t feel the need to change them after I had ridden the bike.”

The result is a bike that is something like a “Sports Endurancer,” said Kimura, which was actually the inspiration for the name.

“It was very important to me to preserve the two characters of the R 18 as I experienced them when riding,” he said. “Thanks to its mighty engine, the bike is wild and has almost inexhaustible power on the one hand, yet it is completely good-natured on the other. Just like a whale, hence the German animal name for this R 18.”

In all, Kimura lowered the handlebars six inches and narrowed them by eight inches. He made the fuel tank longer to move the seat back and it gained about a gallon of capacity in the process. The seat pad was designed by Kimura but made by BACKDROP Leathers in Japan and is intended to provide more support.

A semi-shell fairing is added for better handling at high speeds. The “paint” finish, meanwhile, is actually a bronze powder coating designed to highlight the hammered texture of the metalwork.

“What I like best about my version of the R 18 is that I was able to change the style and seating position to my liking without destroying the excellent original functionality of the R 18,” said Kimura. “But drastically changing the seating position and adding my own style and taste was a big challenge in my interpretation of the BMW Heritage. Besides, all these computerized systems and wiring were quite new to me and I learned a lot.”