Holy Marlboro, batman!
I’m the biggest Formula 1 nerd I have ever met. Say what you will about tobacco advertising in motorsport, it still produced some of the greatest and most-legendary racing liveries the world has ever seen. There is no comparison. Tobacco advertising made cars, motorcycles, racing jackets, pitlane teams look cooler than ever. I said it, kill me.
Who was the king of tobacco-based advertising in motorsport? You already know the answer to this question, because it’s been unanimously decided already: MARLBORO. How could a brand speak such volume with such simple liveries? I have no idea, but I like to pretend the amazing looking cars gave famous racer, Ayrton Sena, a competitive edge.
Roland Sands took a 2008 BMW R 1200 GS and completely transformed it into this beautifully vintage-styled off-road masterpiece. Sands took the front end off an R NineT and retrofitted it with forks from an Africa Twin with Ohlins cartridges to maximize the motorcycles off-road abilities.
The gas tank was borrowed from an R80, and set up to run the robust fuel injection system found in the 1200 GS’s engine. A skid plate, fork guards, crash bars, LED lamps, and an Akrapovic exhaust was also added to complete the look and provide more functionality to the bike, making it a dangerous off-road weapon.
Now that you’re more informed on the bike itself, It’s time to discuss the amazing merchandise collection RSD brought us to celebrate the build. The merch kit comes with an ash trey, shirt, string bag, hat, lighter, and photo of the RSD Dakar GS for a price of $160 (only 150 packages are available – don’t miss out). None of these items are sold separately, so you’re stuck buying the entire package. That’s not a huge deal though, these trinkets and apparel items are wicked cool and feature a confident nod to the Marlboro Dakar racing heritage through its design. I’ll be buying one; race you there.