So, the crew at Ellaspede are beavering away as usual when an email comes through from BMW Motorrad Australia. That email centred around the yet-to-be-released BMW R 12 G/S, and asked if we’d be interested in building our own interpretation of the upcoming model using the BMW R 12 nineT as a donor. Of course, it was an immediate yes. That cake didn’t really require any further icing, but we were treated to some anyway when we learned that the amazing crews at Deus Ex Machina and Engineered to Slide would also be putting their spin on things and all three builds would be showcased by ripping around Queensland Moto Park (QMP).

Beyond the prerequisite of building an adventure/scrambler style bike, the brief was very open ended and BMW Motorrad were extremely encouraging of each group to express our own unique design language. So, first up here at Ellaspede, we decided to map out some goalposts for ourselves by creating a user persona to build the bike around. Our theoretical rider was one who commutes to their 9-5 through the week, and loves nothing more than rounding up their mates for an adventure off the beaten track once the weekend rolls around. So essentially, we modelled it around ourselves.
 

Based on this brief, the Ellaspede BMW R 12 nineT had to:

• Be capable on both sealed roads and off-road trails
• Have the ability to carry panniers/luggage
• Be quick to transition from commuter mode to adventure ready
• Be ergonomically comparable to the standard R12
• Retain OEM components such as the TFT screen, key and fuel cap
• Pay homage to the rich BMW GS lineage
• Be robust and hardwearing
• Maintain compliance as road registrable in Australia
• Represent and express Ellaspede’s unique design language

With our outline set, we began the deep dive into the rich history of the GS and Dakar Rally for inspiration. To our surprise though, the desert racing rig that emerged as the most profoundly impactful to our ideation was the 2021 Singer All-terrain Competition Study. In case you have been living under a rock, do yourself a favour and give this a read!

Armed with a direction it was time for Leo to pen a design. From there, certain parts went to Andrew and Celeste for 3D modelling whilst Marshall, John and Ben looked after the hand fabrication side of things. The first challenge encountered during the build was the re-routing a lot of the electrics under the OEM tank. Between the ECU and the sheer amount of cables, it’s a pretty tight squeeze from factory and the team had to implement all of their creative thinking to find a home for everything.

In order to achieve the tight top line of the tank it was decided early on in the process that the battery, usually house under the tank, had to be relocated. The OEM battery was swapped out for a high CCA, small footprint lithium battery that is now housed in the air box. The flow-on effect of the battery relocation led to the crew redesigning the OEM air box and intake to ensure airflow and ease of serviceability weren’t sacrificed. The rear of the bike is definitely one of its stand out features, housing an Ellaspede branded badge which doubles as a backlit running light along with ready to go luggage tie downs. The whole outer body acts as a grab handle thanks to the internally mounted steel subframe and at the same time enables a mounting point for panniers. The rear luggage mounting plate provides a clean visual look, but is easily swapped out for a larger plate when greater capacity is required.

Up front, stainless steel fork covers were rolled out and finished in black powder coat to keep the upside down stanchions happy and a front guard was laser cut, shaped & folded to form a slimline beak over the front tyre. More laser cutting & folding provided the deflector plate above the headlight, with a CNC machined logo insert for visual cohesion. The tank was fabricated by hand from aluminium, and with the aim of retaining the OEM fuel cap opening mechanism we modelled and machined a fuel cap holder out of billet aluminium and welded it in place. Further CNC machining shaped the air box intake covers and the under tank running lights, which read ‘1981 Hubert Auriol’ as a nod to the French Dakar Rally winning legend.

As the clock ticked down toward the QMP launch event we strapped on some Metzeler Karoo 4s, our go-to dual sport rubber, and squeezed in a few shakedown laps of our carpark before loading up and pointing our noses towards the track. Although plenty of hands were raised internally when deciding who would pilot our newly minted adventure machine, we knew the only person who could make it look as good in motion as it did on the side stand was local legend and Ellaspede factory rider Joel. Our carpark laps were proved adequate as the bike held up amazingly on track, with all of the action captured by Ellaspede’s longstanding master behind the lens AJ Moller. You can see all of the the on-track action here.

Since the launch, our team have been working towards building this out as a custom kit ready to be installed in house at Ellaspede onto a brand new R 12 nineT with BMW warranty certification. If you’re interested in this unique offering, shoot the Ellaspede team an email for further details.

Albums we listened to during the build of this bike:

Build Pricing & Enquiries:

For build and pricing details or to discuss commissioning a custom motorcycle build of your own please email contact@ellaspede.com