From series to exception: how FCR Original transforms a motorcycle into a work of art
When a production motorcycle becomes an exceptional creation
At FCR Original, every bike tells a story. A story of passion, craftsmanship and daring.
Here, production machines enter the workshop as basics, and leave as unique works of art, shaped by the hand, eye and sensitivity of our craftsmen. Specializing in the preparation and transformation of BMW and Triumph motorcycles, we work on these icons of the road to reveal their full potential. These models, renowned for their reliability and charisma, become one-of-a-kind creations in our hands, where tradition and modernity converse at every frame line and key stroke.
Nothing is left to chance. Each project is born of a meeting between a machine, an owner and a vision. Behind each transformation, there’s an idea, a desire, a dream to materialize: to make the motorcycle as beautiful as it is efficient, as unique as it is moving.
The art of transformation: between know-how and emotion
Transforming a production motorcycle into a motorcycle of exception is not simply a matter of changing parts or modernizing a model. It’s a human adventure, a constant dialogue between technology and aesthetics.
“Every bike that comes into the workshop has its own character. Our job is to reveal its uniqueness.” Explains Alex, designer at FCR Original.
It all begins with meticulous observation. The original lines are studied, the proportions analyzed. The designer sketches, the mechanic imagines the possible, and the whole team seeks the perfect balance between
From sketch to road: the designer’s eye
It all begins in the design office, where the vision takes shape. Sitting at his drawing board, Alex sketches the first lines.
“The idea is to respect the soul of the original motorcycle while sublimating it,” he explains, his eyes riveted to his sketches. Silhouettes of BMW R NineTs, R12s and Triumph Bonnevilles intermingle on the sheets.
These iconic models, which he knows by heart, are the ideal foundation for his work:
“They already have a strong soul, but we’re looking to give them a new expression, to make them timeless.”
Each pencil stroke traces an intention: racier, more balanced, bolder. Then, little by little, the vision leaves paper for the studio.
Volumes materialize, proportions are refined, and the material finally speaks. “A motorcycle is all about balance. Design must serve the road, not dominate it,” continues Alex. Between technical rigor and artistic freedom, he finds that point of harmony where the machine becomes sculpture and the sculpture, motorcycle.
Mechanics as language
A few metres further on, Yohann, a passionate mechanic, makes the material vibrate. Under his hands, engines come back to life, frames regain their original tension. Every gesture is measured, every tool has its weight, every sound carries a message. Where others see a simple mechanism, he perceives a breath, a rhythm, a soul to be awakened.
“A motorcycle is like a clock,” he often says. “Every part has its role, every setting influences the rest.” So he dismantles, cleans, adjusts, polishes, listens. Noises, vibrations, silences – everything counts. Nothing escapes his gaze. The slightest play, the slightest tension, the smallest variation in the sound of a twin-cylinder tells him a story.
He seeks the perfect balance between flexibility and rigor, between raw power and the smoothness of fluid control. Through his work, the engine doesn’t just become more efficient: it becomes
Balancing hands and time
Meanwhile, Benoît makes sure that everything runs like clockwork. He receives parts, checks each order, verifies references and the quality of each component before it enters the project flow. At first glance, his work may seem invisible, but it’s essential: without him, no motorcycle would ever see the light of day, on time and to the highest standards.
“Nothing is left to chance. When a piece arrives, it has to fit perfectly into the flow of the project,” he confides, looking around the workshop with an attentive eye. Between shelves of rare pieces and waiting prototypes, he orchestrates the pace of creation, managing time and materials like a conductor manages the tempo of his symphony.
Every bolt, every mirror, every tank has its place in this controlled ballet. It anticipates the needs of the mechanics, prepares the assemblies to be assembled, and makes sure that everything arrives at the right time, at the right station. This fluidity, this silent rigor, is what enables FCR Original to remain true to its claim: to deliver tailor-made motorcycles of absolute consistency.
Benoît is the workshop’s memory. He knows the references, the suppliers, the deadlines, the compatibilities. He speaks the language of craftsmen and machines, translating the needs of each so that everything converges towards a single result: a finished, perfect motorcycle, ready to tell its story.
Signature color
In the paint booth, Céline prepares her hues with almost religious concentration. Guns, masks and color samples line up on the table like a painter’s brushes before a canvas. Every preparation is a ritual, every nuance a search for balance between light, depth and emotion.
“Each shade tells a story,” she confides. “Color is the final touch, the one that takes the motorcycle from object to emotion.
Under her precise gestures, steel lights up, shapes come to life. She observes how light glides over metal, how a hue reacts to varnish, how a reflection changes the perception of a line.
Céline doesn’t paint a motorcycle: she reveals it. Matte black absorbs light and reinforces the raw strength of a frame. Deep burgundy catches the eye and conveys the warmth of a passion. A barely perceptible golden border marks the discreet elegance of the hand that placed it.
Each coat of varnish is designed to last, but above all to live. FCR Original paint isn’t just beautiful when static: it expresses itself in motion, in the interplay of reflections and speeds. It’s at this precise moment that the motorcycle becomes a work of art, when technique gives way to emotion.
The play of light on a tank, the depth of matte black, the reflection of chrome… so many details that make up the FCR Original visual signature. An unmistakable identity, born of a rare know-how where rigor meets sensitivity, and where color becomes a language in its own right.
Fire and form
In a corner of the workshop, the blue light of a torch cuts through the shadows to reveal Mathéo‘s concentrated silhouette. The dry, steady sound of welding punctuates his day. The air is charged with golden sparks, heat and living metal. Every movement is measured, every gesture calculated: here, steel is not just worked, it’s tamed.
“Welding is sculpture,” he says with a smile, without looking up from his piece. “Each bead must be strong, but also beautiful. Under his hand, the metal melts and bonds, until it becomes a single material. The lines he draws are both structures and signatures. They are the frames, the supports, the anchors: everything that gives the motorcycle its strength, its balance, its soul.
Mathéo doesn’t just build a frame: he sculpts the foundation of movement. He knows that too rigid a frame betrays comfort, too open an angle betrays nervousness. His eye, honed by years of practice, immediately perceives the right tension, the perfect proportion.
All around him, the workshop seems suspended. The flashes of light from the torch reflect off the waiting parts, the bare frames and the carefully arranged tools. Every weld, every stitch, every angle becomes a declaration of intent: to make metal a living material.
He is the one who literally gives shape to the vision of Alex and the whole team. Where design meets material, Mathéo traces the invisible link between idea and road. His expertise transforms raw metal into pure forms, ready for mechanics, design and, above all, emotion.
A collective work
What the public sees is a finished motorcycle. A perfectly balanced work of art, with pure lines and masterful detailing. But what we see inside the workshop is much more than a mechanical object: it’s a human adventure. Weeks of reflection, repeated gestures, tests, doubts, concentrated silences and knowing smiles when everything finally comes together.
Every FCR Original motorcycle, whether born of a BMW R12 or a modern Triumph, is the fruit of a choreography of talents. From the design office to the paint booth, from the welding table to the mechanical workbench, each craftsman adds his own note to this symphony of metal and emotion. Nothing is trivial, everything is thought out, weighed and felt.
The first pencil stroke sketches out an intention. The first weld gives it shape. The first start-up breathes life into it. And at every stage, the human hand remains at the center. It’s the hand that adjusts, that refines, that feels the right tension in a part, the texture of a material, the grain of a sound.
It’s this
The result? A bespoke creation, born of a shared passion for turning mechanics into an art form. A motorcycle capable of rolling, vibrating and passing the test of time. A living machine, made to be admired as much as driven. A work of art that can’t just be exhibited in a workshop or gallery, but is fully expressed on the road, where light, noise and movement tell the story of those who shaped it.
Living creations
Our motorcycles aren’t meant to sit behind glass. They are designed to be admired in motion. Every bend, every acceleration, every vibration is an extension of the gesture of those who created it. They embody a mechanical art de vivre, where every curve, every material and every sound tells a story. These are motorcycles that catch the eye, arouse emotion and symbolize the elegance of French tailoring.
At FCR Original, a production motorcycle doesn’t just become a unique machine. It becomes the reflection of a story, a gesture, an emotion. From Alex’s hand to Mathéo’s, every detail tells the same story:
“A motorcycle isn’t just a means of transport, it’s a rolling work of art.“
Photo & video credits: FCR Original