Meet Chris Pfeiffer - BMW's resident madman

The 36-year-old German was here to strut his stuff at the Brisbane Motorcycle Expo, and pulled up for a quick interview.

Married with two young kids, he's amazed at how quickly his chosen sport has developed from something a few nutters did on the weekend, to full-on occupation, These days, Pfeiffer says he spends very little time at home - to the extent he keeps a motorhome on the continent so the family can sometimes travel with him.

When he does make it home, one of his favourite occupations is skiing, helped by the fact there's a chairlift right outside his back door.

Competitive by nature, Pfeiffer has entered into downhill mountain bike races and numerous ski competitions over the years. But his real claim to fame, before becoming a stunt guru, was competing at the top level in international trials and becoming a national title-holder in the sport.

He reckons trials is the perfect training for stunt work, though it no doubt helps if you start early. His father was a rider, too, and one of Pfeiffer's favourite childhood memories involves his dad and a motorcycle. "I was four or five. We went shopping for trousers and we came home with a bike," he says, chuckling at the memory.

He remembers being given his first motorcycle at nine - a Suzuki 50, which led to a long string of Fantics.

It wasn't until the 1990s, when he first clapped eyes on the work of stunt legend AC Farias, that Pfeiffer got the current career bug. "I had all the videos," he says, confessing to watching over and over again.

So how much practice does it take to keep sharp in this business? About an hour or two a day, he reckons, in between cross-training on the mountain bike or skis.

What would he have done if bikes hadn't got into the picture? "A musician," he says emphatically. He has broad tastes in style, plays the clarinet, and loves the piano accordian.

As for his bike, the F800 has surprisingly few modifications. He's fitted a hand-lever for the rear brake just underneath the clutch lever, an idle control on the handlebars and runs extra oil in crankcase. From there it's a matter of pumping the tyres up to suit the conditions and going for it.

Pfeiffer says he doesn't know how much longer he'll keep going, but reckons there's plenty of years left in his current career. And then? Well maybe he'll end up training the next generation of nutters…

(Pics: Lou Martin)

See www.chrispfeiffer.com