“BMW Cafe Racer”

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BMW R100T custom

When I first saw this BMW, I struggled to put a date to it. Was it an older bike freshened up, or a relatively new bike that had taken a trip back in time? It turned out to be an R100T resto-mod, customized to make it look older than its 1979 model year. It’s owned by Oakland-based Jean-David Gerber: “My goal was to have it overhauled in such a way that it would look more like a bike from the 1960s—a ‘naked’ bike, with fork gaiters and spoked wheels and so on. As you know, BMW used to have a very conservative approach to the design of their ‘airheads’: most parts are interchangeable throughout the 25 years of their production, from 1970 to 1995. Greg Hutchinson, one of the airhead experts of the San Francisco Bay Area, kindly agreed to teach me the basics of mechanics.”

Jean-David replaced the wheels, tank, turn signals, valve covers and handlebars with parts from older BMW models. The seat is a modified police seat from a R90/6. The objective was to have a later-model 1000 cc airhead that “looks old, but still fresh.” The ‘Sienna Ivory’ color comes from a modern Vespa GTV250 and none of the metal parts were polished (to retain the patina) but some were bead-blasted. The engine was overhauled and kept stock—except for fitting dual plugs, electronic ignition and a deeper oil pan—so as not to compromise reliability. The result is understated and low-key, but to my eyes, creamily delicious. See the full restoration, beautifully photographed, on Jean-David’s Airhead Reborn blog.

Nikon D300 | 1/2000s | f/2.8 | ISO 320 | Focal length 120mm

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BMW R60/5 cafe racer

Most images that we receive fall into one of two categories: average photographs of a very interesting motorcycle, or beautiful photographs of a fairly common motorcycle. So when you happen across a photographer who is also a vintage bike nut, it’s a marriage made in heaven. This exquisite customized R60/5 is owned by commercial photographer Josh Withers, and he’s shown off the bike to perfection. It helps to live near a Californian beach, I guess, but this machine would look equally gorgeous in the grungiest Atlantic City alleyway. The Berlin-built R60/5 was in the middle of BMW’s ‘slash 5’ range—the others being the R50/5 and the R75/5—and had a 600cc air-cooled motor in the traditional boxer configuration. Josh’s machine is a 1973 ‘toaster‘-tank model from the last year of production, and he paid just $500 for it. As with many bargain bikes, the problems soon started to mount up, and Josh ended up doing a bare-frame restoration. But the result was worth it, don’t you think?

| 1/125 sec | f/18 | ISO 100 | EF24-70 f/2.8L USM

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BMW R100 race replica

Three years ago, Ritmo Sereno of Tokyo produced a stunning orange BMW R80 track bike—the highly successful ‘Nakajima’ racer. Now a Ritmo customer has commissioned a road-going version—and this is it. It’s based on a 1991 R100 RS, but many of the other details are close to the track machine. The suspension is Öhlins front and back, the brake system is from Brembo and carburetion is Keihin FCR. Ritmo has paid a lot of attention to weight, so the 230kg-or-so of the stock machine has been reduced to a gossamer 175kg. (The battery holder, oil catch tank and the frame from the engine backwards are handmade in lightweight aluminium alloy.) Power is now around 80bhp at the back wheel, helped by a custom-made 2-into-1 exhaust system routed through a modified center stand. Ritmo has documented the entire build on its website—the link is here (via Google Translate). The level of craftsmanship is extraordinary, but if the authentic orange paint job is a little too garish for you, check out the original and (equally illustrious) Nakajima racer, a lovely blue R90/6. Is there a better custom BMW builder in the world today?

PS: This BMW is one of the feature bikes in the first collection of Bike EXIF motorcycle t-shirts. Hit the link for more details.

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BMW R1200 custom

Most motorcycle marques can point to a single early model that set the tone for those that followed and established the brand. In BMW’s case it’s the R32. It was unveiled at the Berlin motor show in 1923, and it was a good fifty years later before BMW Motorrad shook off the R32′s iconic black-paint-and-pinstripes look. This ‘R1232’ is a very unusual custom built by a team led by Jean-Luc Dupont of the French BMW dealer Panda Moto 89. Jean-Luc is based in Villeneuve-Sur-Yonne, south east of Paris, and he’s known for creating BMW customs based on current production models.

According to the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America website, ‘Jean-Luc had the idea of creating a modern interpretation of the R32 using current technology. This would be a complete motorcycle design and production exercise, and would require everything to be fabricated … “Harley-Davidson has built its reputation on having their motorcycles as a modern interpretation of the past. I wanted to do the same for BMW, and where better to start than BMW’s first motorcycle, the R32?” said Jean-Luc.’

It’s interesting to compare the specifications of the original R32 with Jean-Luc’s creation. The 1923 bike had 8.5hp and weighed 122kg. The R1232 has 107 horses and weighs 235kg (520 lbs), which is reasonable by today’s standards. So the power-to-weight ratio has increased by more than six-fold. (The six-speed gearbox will ease progress even further.) If there’s a question mark, it’ll be over the braking system and the 2.5” wide tires, which roll on 21” rims at the front and 19” at the back. But then again, you can’t have everything. The R1232 took US$95,000, 16 months and over 600 hours of work to create, and you’ll find the full specification (in French) and more photos on the Panda Moto website. [Images by David Ducastel.]

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BMW R69S

When this R69S rolled into the workshop of Tokyo resto-mod specialists Ritmo Sereno, it was a slightly gawky custom with mismatched curves and a shapeless silver tank. With their usual attention to detail, Ritmo reworked it into a beautiful cafe racer with more conventional BMW lines and a useful performance boost. The front wheel was dropped down a notch from 18” to 17”, and Excel rims fitted both front and rear. A front brake from a Suzuki GT750 was installed, and the stock Bing carburetors were replaced by a Keihin FCR setup—breathing through new intake manifolds machined from a 70mm bar of 2017S aluminum. New rearsets pushed the riding position forward and the new tank, although it looks authentic at first glance, is actually a fiberglass skin over a handmade 13.5l aluminum interior. A full rewire and custom accessories such as new blinkers completed the job. Ritmo CEO Siroh Nakajima has catalogued the build in detail on his personal blog—head here to check it out.

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BMW R60/5 custom

I’ve always had a soft spot for 1970s BMWs, but I haven’t seen anything quite like this slash-five before. It’s owned by Frenchman Gaëtan Pillaud, and he calls it a ‘Clubber’—a mix between a clubman and a bobber. The bike started life as a 1973 R60/5, which means it has an aircooled 599cc boxer twin motor, shaft drive, and a kickstart mounted on the back of the gearbox. It’s got a Trackmaster tank and seat sourced from eBay, military-spec Firestone ANS tires, and café racer clip-on bars from LSL. Gaëtan dropped the forks at the front to improve the bike’s stance, and fitted custom shocks to keep the back end under control. The alloy rear fender was made by French motorcycle legend George Martin, and the exhaust is an authentic Dunstall. If the headlight, almost dwarfed on this bike, looks familiar, that’s because it’s from an AMF-era Harley shovel. Even the wiring harness has received attention—it’s sheathed in woven cotton in true vintage style. It’s a little rough around the edges, but this Beemer has a strange charm all of its own—the perfect machine for a spirited blast down a winding road in the Pyrenées. [Via Ze Last Chance Garage.]

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1934 BMW R7

Issue #3 of BMW Motorcycle Magazine showcases the amazing R7 concept, describing it as “one of the most important, innovative and visually stunning motorcycles ever produced.” We agree. Although this BMW is over 70 years old, it could almost be a contemporary concept. It was shelved as WWII approached, and put in a box. In 2005, that box was opened, and BMW Classic started the restoration. There’s more information about the project on Phil Hawksley’s BM Bikes.

PS: Bike EXIF is now on Pinterest, and has over half a million followers. We’re showcasing the best motorcycle images and links from around the net, as well as our own greatest hits. Check out our boards here.

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BMW R75/5 Café Racer

Canadian Hector Catre sent us these pictures of his gorgeous BMW R75/5. He spent 700 hours restoring this classy café racer, which actually started life as a 1972 BMW R60/5 short wheelbase ‘Toaster’. The R75/5 was one of the lightest 750cc motorbikes of the early 70s, and extremely reliable. Many are still on the road with over 100,000 miles on the clock, even without overhaul. Hector will get a lot of mileage out of this beauty.

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Magni-BMW MB1

Magni is one of those motorcycling names, like Egli, that hovers on the periphery of stardom. Egli is inseparable from Vincent, but Magni is associated with MV Agusta, Honda and Moto Guzzi. Some of the earliest Magnis, though, had BMW power. The MB1 shown above uses a heavily modified airhead taken from a BMW R80, bored out to a liter. Franz Eieresser has owned this bike since new: he ordered it in 1987, and supplied the engine to MV Agusta importer Hansen/Schneider of Baden-Baden. Franz restored his bike a year ago and describes it as ‘a fun factory’. Although the top speed is only around 200 km/h, he says it’s a lot of fun getting there. [See also the stunning 1977 MV Agusta Magni 860.]

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1983 BMW R80 Bobber

This amazing BMW was reportedly built by a fellow named Rodney Aguiar, who has worked for Roland Sands. It’s a BMW R80 given the bobber treatment, and the detailing is exquisite—from the blacked-out boxer engine and mechanicals to the way the coil of the monoshock matches that signature BMW yellow paintwork on the tank. It’s strange, but it all hangs together somehow: it reminds us of the work of Deus in Sydney. Information about this bike is scant, but if you know more, drop us a line in the comments. [Via Bubble Visor, with thanks to Mitch Alison.]