BMW Motorrad’s Custom Speed Shop has built a one-off naked superbike to honour Steve McLaughlin’s historic 1976 Daytona 200 victory, and it’s being raced at this year’s event.
The BMW R 1300 R Superhooligan is a one-off creation from BMW Motorrad’s Custom Speed Shop, built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Steve McLaughlin’s victory in the very first AMA Superbike race at Daytona on March 6, 1976.
McLaughlin and his Butler & Smith teammate Reg Pridmore, who went on to claim the inaugural AMA Superbike Championship that same year, both piloted BMW R 90 S machines to make history. Now, half a century on, BMW is bringing the story full circle.
The project was led by Philipp Ludwig as project manager, alongside vehicle designer Andreas Martin, colour and graphic designer Theresa Stukenbrock, and prototype builders Paul Summerer and Thomas Becker. The result is a machine that sits firmly in the custom naked superbike genre while drawing clear visual threads back to the R 90 S of 1976.
The R 1300 R’s 107kW boxer twin forms the mechanical heart of the build, but virtually everything else has been reinterpreted. The front fender and tank side panels are painted in the original BMW R 90 S colour of the period, and the starting number 83 pays direct tribute to McLaughlin’s Daytona entry.
The same blue found on BMW M 1000 RR brake calipers appears on the aluminium rear frame and the fixed fork tubes of the fully adjustable Wilbers upside-down front fork which has been extended by 30mm for additional lean angle clearance. That blue carries through to the spring of the Wilbers rear suspension unit as well.
Performance hardware is thoroughly race-focused. A BMW M 1000 RR carbon front wheel reduces unsprung mass, while a wide suite of carbon fibre components from both the BMW Motorrad accessories catalogue and Ilmberger Carbon Parts keeps overall weight in check.
An Akrapovic titanium exhaust system with carbon end silencer handles sound duties, with BMW Motorrad milled footrests and Advik fully adjustable hand levers rounding out the cockpit. Top speed is quoted at 275km/h.
Brand ambassador Nate Kern will race the Superhooligan in the Mission Foods Super Hooligan series presented by Roland Sands, held as part of the MotoAmerica Daytona 200 weekend from March 5 to 7, 2026.
The bike won’t be alone in the paddock. The original victorious BMW R 90 S racing machines from the 1976 season will be on display alongside the Superhooligan, freshly prepared by BMW Group Classic from the BMW Museum’s in-house racing workshop.
McLaughlin himself will be in attendance, along with AMA Superbike Champion Reg Pridmore, the daughters of Gary Fisher, whose own R 90 S led the race before a gearbox failure denied a sensational BMW 1-2-3, and long-time Butler & Smith chief mechanic Udo Gietl, whose engine tuning work was central to BMW’s success that day.
Spencer has a keen eye for hard news, and does some of his best living on deadline day. He loves more than anything to travel on his Aprilia Tuareg 660, and is adamant that Melbourne Bitter is a world-class lager. He also knows how to operate the big computery thing in the office. By night, Spencer plays guitar with Melbourne punk outfit LOUTS.
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