“Exclusive” is the buzz word here. You’ve got the same model that Colin Edwards rode to win the 2000 World Superbike Championship, a former BMW Motorrad designer, a French military aeronautical engineer and a bit of help from the renowned watch makers, Tag Heuer: in essence, you’ve got a recipe for the most bespoke and exclusive hand built motorcycle on the planet.

Introducing brothers Sylvain and Florent Berneron, the designer and engineer in question, and the brains behind PRAËM, a two man team devoted to enhancing and fine tuning one of the most celebrated racing bikes of recent years. We all know that the RC51 (also known as the RVT1000R and VTR 1000) is a highly sophisticated bike, but under the scrutinizing eyes of the Berneron brothers, shortcomings were noticed.

Firstly, the suspension and brakes didn’t quite lend themselves to the full power of the RC51, and secondly, and most importantly, the tank was slightly off and the way that it hugged the rear cylinder of the V-twin engine caused overheating. Apart from that, the brothers focused on upgrading the bikes technology and playing with its aesthetics – since the RC51 was such a machine back in its day, they left the geometry alone and focused on more pressing concerns.

The brakes needed an upgrade and were treated with new Brembo assemblies with Sicom carbon-ceramic discs, and Ohlins provided the PRAËM with new front and rear suspension. Rotobox carbon fiber units replaced the old factory wheels, which are now wearing Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC@ superbike rubbers. The engine was also rebuilt and treated with new titanium valves, a ram-air intake, a Power Commander and a lighter crank shaft. It now produces 165 hp and 125 Nm of torque.

Despite the high quality improvements, it’s the looks that are probably going to divide opinions about this build. You’re either going to love it or hate it. Even if you’re not happy about the beautifully crafted wire front fairing, you have to give kudos to the brothers for an interesting idea and the hours of meticulous fabrication that surely went into it. It works very well with the brushed aluminum parts and stainless steel features, that were inspired by Korean artist Seung Mo Park. The wire arrangement isn’t just there to please the eye either, it actually works to direct airflow, too.

Naturally, the fuel tank was built from scratch to deal with the rear cylinder problems, but Sylvain and Florent machined almost every single piece of this bike in one way or another.

Other features include a custom sub-frame, an Alcantara covered seat, LED lighting and a very expensive time-piece from Tag Heuer nestled into the cockpit. It’s removable too, and comes with a strap, if you fancy wearing it on your wrist rather than just staring at it on your tank.

As mentioned, we’re pretty damn sure that this is going to be an opinion splitter, but which side of the fence do you fall on?

If you’re unsure, let the fat wallets decide for you: the PRAËM SP3 goes under the hammer at the Bonhams auction in Paris on the 4^th of February. We’re interested to see how it performs…