Made in Taiwan as a quality feature: customizer Winston Yeh creates motorcycles that awaken desires all over the world. His signature: clean, harmonious, black. Just like the R nineT conversion Bavarian Fistfighter.
Bavarian Fistfighter
Rough Crafts
Winston Yeh
R nineT
2015/2015
Cafe Racer
Taipei is full of two-wheelers. It is the vehicle of choice for getting around in Taiwan's overpopulated capital. Nevertheless, what Winston Yeh is doing is entirely unusual. The Taiwanese ride scooters instead of motorcycles and they ride because they have to, not because they want to. "In 2009, I founded my custom shop Rough Crafts, and there are still very few who understand what I do", says Winston. It's 10 p.m. and he is tinkering in his workshop. Perfection knows no overtime – least of all in Taiwan, where people work harder than anywhere else. For Winston, his home is the ideal place to have parts produced. He himself concentrates on what he does best: design. During his studies, he went to LA with a scholarship in 2005, where he had a chance encounter with Roland Sands, and ended up working for him.
Winston Yeh
Rough Crafts
Winston's bikes are never obtrusive, loud or in need of explanation. "I like subtle design. This is why all my bikes are black", he says. Harmony is the number one priority. Nothing is to stand out or distract. What he especially likes about the Bavarian Fistfighter is what is not there: the rear. "If something looks unusual, it is by no means wrong." He arrived at this name because the cylinders of the engine stick out from the outside like two balled fists – while the pistons on the inside move back and forth like the hands of a boxer. For the design, Winston delved deep into the history of BMW: the wheels are recreated after the snowflake wheel rims made of cast aluminium on older air-cooled boxers. The tank and front fairing are also a mix of various eras from the BMW history. "The people are to recognise the classical lines of BMW. This is important to me, because they can identify with this."
Standard frame with extension for the bench to be fitted
Aluminium tank inspired by historical BMW models, front trim panel similar to the R 90 S, suspended seat, missing rear
Inverse fork painted black, Rough Crafts headlights and perforated section in front of the radiator
Snowflake wheel rims made of cast aluminium
Rough Crafts exhaust
Carbon look, pin stripe made of silver leaf