Plenty of people talk a big game and smack talk has filtered down from the highest levels of sport to the worst kind of keyboard warriors. Sometimes it can be funny, other times it’s down right wrong but there is something particularly satisfying about seeing the guy with the big mouth get taken down…

We’re huge fans of BMW’s retro lineup here at Pipeburn. Hell, Andrew, the fearless co-founder of Pipeburn, recently shelled out his own hard-earned cash for a brand spanking new RnineT.  Lots of others have too. Since its release in 2014, the retro-inspired BMW has been sitting comfortably…

Plying your trade in a workshop that is literally a stones throw from the centre of Rome means any artist is surrounded by thousands of years of inspiration. A handy boost for those building custom bikes where the stimulus to creativity goes far beyond the mere mechanical…

The rather edgily named ‘Schizzo’ series of builds from Germany‘s Walzwerk Racing were intended to show just how changeable the BMW R80 and R100 monolever bikes can be. You name the style, the bike can probably handle it…

Listen to any good rock song from across the ages and that rhythmic pulse that you tap your foot to is provided by the bass player. Often maligned, rarely the charismatic front man, what they provide is the reliable foundation for every great song and band…

Here’s a movie idea. A BMW that’s owned by the chief of police gets purchased by a somewhat suspect hemp farmer who uses it for ‘deliveries’. It’s then customised by a bunch of Austrian bike freaks and turned into an endurance racer for a wealthy goldsmith. Too far-fetched to be believable? Think again, because that’s the gospel truth when it comes to the history of Titan Motorcycles’ latest build, a BMW R80RT endurance racer.

The European ‘Sultans of Sprint’ race series is open to anyone with an air-cooled European twin and a penchant for insanity. Rather than just awarding points for running the quickest time down the short-range drag strip, extra marks are given for bike presentation, hair-raising moments on the track and how much the support crew drinks the night before the race meet. Having another crack at the title is France’s Lucky Cat Garage with their incredible Boxer-powered custom dubbed ‘The Bombinette’.

A loose collection of keen motorcycle fabricators, Slovenia’s ER Motorcycles have been producing exceptionally clean, modern takes on classic bikes since the workshop was established in 2009. Their latest bike – a 1993 BMW R100 dubbed ‘Logan’ – was commissioned for Jan Mursak, a professional hockey player known for his accuracy with a puck, sportsmanship, and powerful right hook.

Business seems good for Dutch builders Ironwood Motorcycles. Last week it was their sweet restomod Honda that garnered a great response. This week, it’s a Flying Brick that’s reminded us how no serious custom garage collection is complete without at least one example of Bavaria’s take on the inline four. And if we had to choose one right now to add to the collection, it’d be this cafe’d ’86 K100 that would get the nod.

With the success of the original BMW R nineT you can’t blame the big Bavarian for wanting to cash in on the success of the model. To do that they’ve increased the line up to five variants all designed to appeal to various sectors of the market. While many categories enable them to get away with cosmetic changes, the desire to pay homage to the original all-terrain long-distance enduro G/S requires a whole lot more. Sadly the R nineT Urban G/S doesn’t quite tick the box with urban being the operative word. But never fear, Spain’s XTR Pepo is here, with a knockout 2016 R nineT that drops the urban pretence and delivers an authentic Paris-Dakar race replica known as RAID.