At the Top Marques event in Monaco, BMW unveiled a new custom chopper motorcycle. Created as a one-off project in collaboration with Radikal Chopper, the R18 Magnifica is an almost entirely handmade blend of old and new themes.
His designer Andrea Radaelli was on hand to bring his vision of this stunning motorcycle to life. Mahogany, brass, and aluminum were used in its design, and it also has a non-standard frame and cast-aluminum wheels.
Radaelli wanted to emulate the classic motorcycles of BMW’s past. So in the final version of the chopper, there are references to motorcycles of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. According to the designer, the motorcycles of the era when BMW released the classic R 37, “have an incredible charm that many modern motorcycles cannot reproduce even today.”
One of the few surfaces not processed by hand is aluminum wheels, but even they give the impression of being hand-carved. Brake discs and calipers are also completely individual components created specifically for this assembly.
“Despite the stunning old-school look, the undercarriage is almost completely standard, like the R 18, which means it works the way a new motorcycle should work.”
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During the assembly process, the motorcycle lost about 100 kg. This is almost a third of the total weight of the original motorcycle. This one weighs just over 250 kg.
It’s not the first time the trio of Radaelli, Radikal Chopper, and BMW Motorrad have teamed up. In 2020, they built the same retro-modern chopper motorcycle called Ad Maiora. This motorcycle received the MBE award from Motor Bike Expo as the best non-standard motorcycle at the exhibition.