Say Hello To The World’s Sexiest BMW S1000RR: The Optimus Praëm

The BMW S1000RR is about as close to two-wheeled perfection as you can get, but two French brothers reckon they can make it even cooler. In collaboration with BMW Motorrad France, Paris-based custom house Praëm has decided to find out. Run by Sylvain and Florent Berneron, Praëm is well known for its beautiful 1970s and 80s-inspired endurance racing machines. With wild paint schemes, distinctive fairings and relaxed regulations, we can see why the pair fell in love with this era of two-wheeled motorsport.

Taking a Suzuka 8 Hour bike as inspiration, the brothers set about re-designing the ballistic 200bhp S1000RR. This involved disposing of the entire factory-spec fairing and in its place fitting hand-made panels. The finished result is truly stunning; a blend of retro aesthetics and modern technology.

Everywhere you look you can’t help but notice another intricate detail. At the front of the bike, it’s pure endurance, with an offset headlight, gaping ram air intake and an old-school screen. And thanks to that partial fairing, the beautiful four-cylinder engine is on full display. The guys have done a great job hiding unsightly wires from prying eyes, and the custom-made engine covers give the bike ‘that’ seventies look.

Round the back you find an all-new subframe, which supports an incredible tail section inspired by the iconic Suzuki XR69; a feature which ties in beautifully with the modified aluminium fuel tank. We also love the Stäubli endurance-style quick-fill fuel cap system - a unit which is bad for security, but great for aesthetics.

Oh, and have you seen the paint? My goodness. The colour scheme is a homage to the first BMW Art Car, the Alexander Calder BMW 3.0 CSL that raced in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans. It works perfectly on this machine and brings everything together into one cohesive, retro-styled package.

In terms of performance, very little has changed. A full Akrapovič exhaust system with custom muffler should free a few extra horses, a new endurance-spec radiator has been fitted to ensure that the bike runs cool, and the stealthy Rotobox carbon wheels have shed some unsprung weight (5kg/11lbs to be precise).

Thankfully, none of these visual/mechanical modifications have compromised the standard bike’s epic performance. As Sylvain explained to the guys at Bike Exif: “This is about performance and style, not just style”. To prove this, the brothers gave the bike a good thrashing around Circuit Paul Ricard in France. It looks right at home on the track, and probably ended up scaring quite a few of the track-day regulars.

Unfortunately the Optimus Praëm is not for sale, with BMW Motorrad France using it for shows throughout the year, but you’ll be pleased to know that Praëm is happy to modify your very own S1000R to the same spec. “We can replicate this bike, as long as the donor machine comes to our workshop.” As with most things custom, there is no word on price. But, as they say, if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it…