With several official LEGO Technic sets over the years (most recently the 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure), LEGO motorcycles are a frequent subject among custom model builders, but none in the last year or two have quite captured my attention like this fantastic 1957 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL built by Taiwanese LEGO fan Maxime Cheng.
Click through to see more details of this beautiful LEGO Harley
In the past we’ve featured tiny motorcyles made with a handful of pieces, so let’s take a look at something bigger. This model of the odd Lazareth LM 847 bike by ianying616 is created with mostly Technic pieces. Comparing it to the original, the builder has done a spot-on job — this could be mistaken for a picture of the real thing from a distance. All of it is good, but I’m a sucker for that engine detail and the tubing.
I’m a sucker for builds with low parts counts and clever parts usage, and they don’t come better than this bike by Brian Kescenovitz. It won’t pay to get into each clever use of a part, because almost every brick that went into this is placed in an ingenious manner. However, the use of the Exo-Force leg for the fuel tank and the bad robot arm for the underside of the frame stand out among the rest as examples of perfect placement.
No less impressive are Brian’s other tiny bikes, a flowing white touring bike and a streamlined red racer.
Fans of the graphic novels or the AMC show will appreciate these Walking Dead LEGO creations by Jonas Obermaier. The first scene features everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic redneck, Daryl Dixon. Jonas created a sleek motorcycle for Daryl that has just enough detail (look, there’s even some chrome!) to look like a million bucks. He also turned out Daryl’s legs for a more natural pose.
Jonas’s other Walking Dead build is a gruesome scene featuring Negan. There are a lot of interesting building techniques here, but what I love most is the ribbed hose (cut into strips) used to enhance Negan’s bat. And word on the street is that Jonas is working on a larger Walking Dead display for ComicCon Germany, so we should be seeing even more Walking Dead LEGO very soon!
Unlike many of my childhood friends, I’ve never been fond of motorcycles. Well, some of them look cool and I heard some of them are really fast but while all of my mates spent hours drooling over pictures of bikes in auto magazines I was pretty content with a huge yellow pneumatic tractor from LEGO Technic on a table in my room. And now, 15 years later, here I am, feasting my eyes on the new LEGO Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure on my table, thinking that I’ve been missing something in my life till this very moment. Although there have been plenty of LEGO Technic motorcycles before it, this 603-piece beauty is the first licensed motorcycle released, and the retail price of $59.99 / 49.99€ makes this BMW a solid bargain among all the licensed LEGO Technic sets.
Reviewing a BMW R 1200 GS set gives a lot of opportunity for reflection upon the licensed models in the Technic theme, as well as comparing them to the old Model Team sets, and this is what I’d planned to base my review on until I got my hands on the set. The problem is this BMW doesn’t need to be compared to other bikes, cars, or cranes. It stands out against every other 2017 Technic set. Its announcement was highlighted by several official press releases, emphasizing that this bike is a self-contained and stand alone model. It’s not a primarily meant as toy, nor is it merely a sophisticated mechanism or a dodgy Technic machine by Billund’s designers. Rather, it’s a decent, scaled copy of a BMW motorcycle made of Technic pieces — and this is what makes it genuinely beautiful.
In the world of LEGO motorcycles, it can be difficult to create a model that stands out from the pack. André Pinto has managed to do it not only through a superb technical build, but also a striking colour scheme employing lime green as a dazzling highlight.
Make sure that you zoom in on this model to not miss any of the terrific details in the engine. A favourite part of mine here is the older black ladder elements André has used to give the distinctive slatted detail around the pistons.
Building anything tiny out of LEGO is always a joy — especially when you’re able to use parts creatively as something other than what they were designed for. Cole Blaq‘s hoverbike, which is modified heavily from a bike frame, has a few things that stand out. One is that jetpack that seems to be mounted at the back of the rider, but what really tickles my fancy are the telescopic fork tubes that utilise paint roller handles. Bring your own helmet if you’re up for a fast ride… no license needed where there are no roads built for it.
This morning LEGO announced a brand new partnership with BMW Motorrad (BMW’s motorcycle brand) and revealed the first product of that partnership: the LEGO Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycle. The Technic roadster will have 603 pieces, and stands 18 cm high, 33 cm long and 10 cm wide. The set will include a special commemorative Technic piece to celebrated LEGO Technic’s 40th anniversary in 2017, and will be available Jan. 01, 2017. We don’t have word on the price yet.
While this is the first licensed motorcycle, the news closely follows LEGO picking up the Caterham Seven license, and LEGO has a long history of other licensed vehicles, such as the Volkswagen Beetle and Ferrari F40. Read the full press release below.
I do love a good bike with a classic look, and the late-50s/early 60s BMW R60 is a fine example. This LEGO version by Taiwanese builder Maxime Cheng shows off all the great lines of this old-school German bike. My favorite details are the twin bicycle seats, though Maxime’s done a fantastic job with the detail work on the engine also.
And I love this image of the work-in-progress model next to its reference image.
Check out this beast of a biker by Serbian builder Djordje. The bike is fabulous, with some nice Bionicle parts use to create the fuel tank and wings at the rear, and a wonderfully-detailed engine nestling within the frame. But the hog rider is the main attraction — a great piece of character-scale building with an expressive face and good use of different colors to clearly suggest a biker jacket and jeans. Great stuff.
Chopper bikes were instantly popularized around the world following the 1969 film Easy Rider and this LEGO chopper motorcycle by red is a lovely example. One of the features of this particular build is the sparing use of technic parts. Instead, red has chosen to create brick built features. For example, those over-sized wheels have been painstakingly built using 1×1 round plates radiating out from an octagonal bar frame part.
The shapely brown leather seat is best seen from above, this angle also allows the drive chain to be seen in all its functional glory. There are some great parts utilised throughout the build but little touches like the pearl gold gas tank cap and the pith helmets really make this model shine.
With awesomely aggressive styling, this Kawasaki Vulcan bike by André Pinto was inspired by the work of custom motorcycle shop Oficina MRS. The bright green tank and panels give this bike a jolt of energy, and the custom chrome pieces kick that up even more.
