Photo: Ondrej Zdichynec
Prague is undoubtedly one of the coolest tourist hotspots in central Europe, but it may not be the first place you’d think to look for a top-tier custom bike shop. Nonetheless, the Czech capital is where you’ll find Gas and Oil Bespoke Motorcycles, established back in 2014 by one Matej Sysel. The Gas and Oil (G&O) team slowly expanded as the years went by, with each new project being better than the last.
Nicknamed the Black Sword, the machine we’re about to look at was put together a couple of years ago. Matej and his crew were approached by the owner of a BMW R nineT Racer from the model-year 2018, which had barely been ridden in stock form at all. The client was happy to give them full creative freedom from start to finish, but his fixed budget would dictate the extent of G&O’s custom treatment.
As you can tell, Gas and Oil still managed to knock it out of the ballpark, so let’s dive in and examine how they achieved this. For starters, each and every piece of factory bodywork was taken off the R nineT, making room for a new outfit that gives it a slimmer appearance. The centerpiece is a Yamaha XJR’s gas tank, which was revised to accommodate the stock fuel pump and sit on the BMW frame like it was always meant to be there.
Behind the repurposed XJR tank, we spot a tailor-made black leather seat and an aluminum tail section, both sitting on a bespoke loop-style subframe. Its underside is encased in a plate that’s meant to act as a rear fender of sorts, while also housing a small but bright LED taillight. Motogadget turn signals are attached to the subframe tubing a bit further ahead, but the most intriguing part of this bike is arguably the front end.
That retro-style half-fairing was first designed as a CAD model, then 3D-printed, and ultimately fitted in place via custom mounting hardware. Surrounding a vintage-looking headlamp, the Black Sword’s front fairing is accompanied by a tiny fender lower down. In addition, the cockpit area is home to underslung mirrors and bar-end blinkers from Motogadget’s inventory.
A pair of Metzeler Roadtec tires embrace the R nineT’s original wheels, and some purposeful engine mods increase its power output by around 12 percent. That means a total of 123 ponies at the crank, all made possible by K&N air filters, a complete Sharon exhaust system, and Dynojet’s tried-and-true Power Commander control unit.
The exhaust pipework features a two-into-one layout, ending in a reverse megaphone silencer on the left-hand side of the tail. With all these bits and pieces coming together, the last thing Gas and Oil needed to address was the paint job. This R nineT cafe racer is finished in black for the most part, but the top portion of its fuel tank wears a dark grey hue to avoid the overused, murdered-out aesthetic.
As you can tell, Gas and Oil still managed to knock it out of the ballpark, so let’s dive in and examine how they achieved this. For starters, each and every piece of factory bodywork was taken off the R nineT, making room for a new outfit that gives it a slimmer appearance. The centerpiece is a Yamaha XJR’s gas tank, which was revised to accommodate the stock fuel pump and sit on the BMW frame like it was always meant to be there.
Behind the repurposed XJR tank, we spot a tailor-made black leather seat and an aluminum tail section, both sitting on a bespoke loop-style subframe. Its underside is encased in a plate that’s meant to act as a rear fender of sorts, while also housing a small but bright LED taillight. Motogadget turn signals are attached to the subframe tubing a bit further ahead, but the most intriguing part of this bike is arguably the front end.
That retro-style half-fairing was first designed as a CAD model, then 3D-printed, and ultimately fitted in place via custom mounting hardware. Surrounding a vintage-looking headlamp, the Black Sword’s front fairing is accompanied by a tiny fender lower down. In addition, the cockpit area is home to underslung mirrors and bar-end blinkers from Motogadget’s inventory.
A pair of Metzeler Roadtec tires embrace the R nineT’s original wheels, and some purposeful engine mods increase its power output by around 12 percent. That means a total of 123 ponies at the crank, all made possible by K&N air filters, a complete Sharon exhaust system, and Dynojet’s tried-and-true Power Commander control unit.
The exhaust pipework features a two-into-one layout, ending in a reverse megaphone silencer on the left-hand side of the tail. With all these bits and pieces coming together, the last thing Gas and Oil needed to address was the paint job. This R nineT cafe racer is finished in black for the most part, but the top portion of its fuel tank wears a dark grey hue to avoid the overused, murdered-out aesthetic.
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