Deluxe R nine T conversion.

L'Echappée Belle ("The Great Escape") sidecar design wins Custom Contest.

BMW Motorrad was invited to a custom contest in Paris. French customisers were requested to submit drafts for an R nineT conversion. The artists were given total creative freedom. The jury, consisting of Fred "Krugger" Bertrand, two-time custom champion, and Ola Stenegärd, motorcycle designer, evaluated the large number of proposals. The winner, the French customiser Old School Engineering (OSE) won over the jury with their unique sidecar design. The prize: a brand-new R nineT, plus 10,000 euros. The winners can use the prize to implement the design they submitted. The result: "L'Echappée Belle" - "The Great Escape". OSE presented their sidecar at the Custom Contest in Paris. The team showed that sidecars are by no means out.

"

A sidecar? A sidecar. "

R nineT with an off-road touch.

"From the start it was clear to us that if we were to install a sidecar, the bike would also need tyres for off-road driving", says Krotki. And he was right: the Continental TKC 80 studded tyres give the R nineT an extraordinary off-road touch. The rear wheel of the R nineT was mounted on the sidecars. The footrests come from the R 1200 GS.

The bike and sidecar are immaculately painted in bold bilious green. But they also customised the small details: light brown covers were sewn for the seats. Other eye-catchers are the additional headlights, which are mounted on the centre and on the sidecar on the RnineT.

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"

We definitely wanted to keep the scrambler look of the R nineT. "

Benoit Krotki (OSE)

The common man's car

But why a sidecar? In times of economic crisis, the sidecar was the common man's car. Lots of luggage could be transported in it, or you could travel with your family. The vehicle was made for "great escapes". The boys drew on this and installed a Watsonian Squire sidecar on the R nineT.

"We had a few problems with the installation of the sidecar on the R nineT housing," says Krotki. After much deliberation, the boys had to make some changes to the original design. "These are the pitfalls that come with modifications", admits the customiser.

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The number one topic of conversation.

At the beginning of October, the bike was presented at the Maison des Métallos in Paris. "L'Echappée Belle" - "The Great Escape" was already the number one topic of conversation there. Now the boys will present their bike at different exhibitions. "We are excited for the worldwide comments on our sidecar concept", says Krotki.

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