“BMW Cafe Racer”

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Crowe Customs BMW R80/7

Custom motorcycles are often about sacrifice. As looks improve, functionality suffers. And most of the time, it doesn’t matter, especially if a bike is only ridden for short blasts, or down to a local watering hole. But it’s good to see the occasional long-haul machine given the custom treatment—like this 1978 BMW R80/7 from Crowe Customs of Portland, Oregon.

“This BMW has been my daily beater for the last three years,” says James Crowe. “It’s taken me across the country, up and down the west coast, and up to Canada in the dead of winter. But last fall, it was really starting to get beat. I hadn’t built a bike for myself in over five years, so the timing was right to blow it apart.”

Crowe is working with the bicycle builder Jordan Hufnagel on a project called West America, celebrating the idea of two-wheeled exploration: cross country trips involving gravel roads, swimming holes and carrying large loads. So the modifications to this R80/7 have a serious purpose.

The front suspension is from a Suzuki DR650, which was a surprisingly easy fit. (“The DR650 bearing races are the same as the stock BMW ones,” Crowe notes.) To complete the install, a custom brake rotor was machined, along with new fender mounts. And at the back, Progressive Suspension shocks improve the ride.

Crowe relocated the battery under the transmission and made a new subframe to match the curve of the custom rear fender. New Church Moto created the seat and rear rack, which is supplemented by pannier mounts and soft bags from Lemolo Baggage.

There’s some trick engineering going on here too: the under-tank master cylinder is now actuated by a set of CNC-machined perches and levers, hooked up to an integrated throttle unit. Crowe also made the bars, selecting a wide scrambler-style bend, and designed the ceramic-coated exhaust system.

It’s a practical machine, as the image below shows. And believe it or not, there are even mounting points to carry a full-size MTB bike on the back. Head over to our Facebook page to catch a glimpse of that.

Images courtesy of Jon Humphries.

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BMW R100RT by Cafe Racer Dreams

Two months ago, CRD hit the ball out of the park with an elegant vintage BMW R75. They’ve now revisited the Teutonic theme, this time with a muscular and purposeful R 100RT.

‘Ruby Ring’ was commissioned by an Austrian fan of the Spanish custom builders. And she’s not just a pretty face: the extensive list of mods starts with the engine, which has been heavily upgraded with the help of BMW specialists MaxBOXER.

The 1983-model twin has been boosted from 980 to 1040cc, with lightweight high-compression pistons. They’re running a 7mm shorter stroke, but a large overbore. The heads have been ported, with new valves fitted, and a dual-plug ignition system installed. (This comes complete with 16 maps to choose from, so you can select the power curve you want.)

Carbs are Dell’orto, sucking through K&N filtration, and gases exit via a custom exhaust system built by CRD’s neighbors, a company called GR. A lighter and stronger Sach sports clutch handles the extra power.

At the front, the 41mm forks have been rebuilt. At the back, the entire structure of the R 100RT is new, and is now anchored by Hagon Nitro shocks. The bars are Renthal Ultra Lows, and the pegs are from Tarozzi. Continental TKC 80 Twinduro dual sport tires give the bike a measure of off-road ability.

The stance is appealingly stocky and compact, and the whole shebang is finished in a mix of deep ruby-red paint and gray powder-coat. Muy bonito, ¿no?

Check out previous CRD builds in the Bike EXIF Archives, and keep up with CRD’s news on their Facebook page. Images courtesy of Rafa Gallar.

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Custom BMW R75/6

I’m a sucker for a tastefully updated classic BMW. And this mid-70s airhead is as good as it gets. The bike started out as a stock R75/6, but it’s now way beyond factory spec—thanks to California-based BMW specialists Boxer Metal.

According to builder Chris Canterbury, “The customer saw a similar bike in a magazine, and wanted me to build him his own version. So we took the engine up to 1000cc [from 750cc] with late model heads and carburetors, a BMW sport cam and a lightened flywheel.”

Boxer Metal also fitted a police-spec tank and seat obtained from Europe, and had the bodywork repainted by Chico-based artist Dennis Price. They stripped, rebuilt, powder coated and re-laced the wheels with stainless steel spokes. The front end is now a dual disc setup from a R90S; it’s matched to completely rebuilt forks, with Works Performance providing the rear shocks.

Extreme attention to detail has given this R75/6 a factory-fresh look: Boxer Metal has powder coated the frame parts, and black anodized many of the other components. The exhaust has been treated to a Jet-Hot Ceramic Coating, and the shiny parts are either chrome-plated or new stainless steel.

The standard R75/6 had around 50 hp, but this machine is probably putting out closer to 70—which should give spritely performance for a bike weighing just over 200 kg wet (460 lbs).

Classic style and a decent turn of speed—what more could you want?

Images courtesy of Oliver Hutton. For a different take on the BMW R75/6, check out the Wilkinson Brothers’ cafe racer.

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Custom BMW R80/7

BMW Motorrad has a gap in its product range large enough to drive a Bundeswehr Unimog through: it doesn’t have a retro roadster to compete with the hugely popular Triumph Bonneville or the expanding Moto Guzzi V7 fleet. Which is strange, given the remarkable popularity of the classic R-series with custom builders.

Here’s the latest vintage Beemer to catch our eye. It’s an R80/7 built by Luka Cimolini in his garage in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Luka’s original plan was to customize a Dnepr, but documentation issues put paid to that. So he snapped up a 1977 R80 in the UK and shipped it to eastern Europe.

It took Luka two years to build this machine, his first custom. But he’s hit the ball out of the park at the first attempt. Slammed low and with a kicked-up seat, he’s given the high-riding R80 a low and sporty stance.

The mods are extensive, with the most obvious being front forks dropped almost two inches and 11-inch shocks fitted at the back. The rebuilt engine is hooked up to universal Megaton reverse cone mufflers, and Luka modified the subframe to take the custom seat unit. The fenders are bobbed BMW originals, and BMW /5 headlight brackets cradle a customized Dnepr lamp. The brake and clutch levers are Triumph, the steering damper knob is from a BMW R26, and the tacho is from an R69S. The grips are Lambretta.

It’s a wide-ranging mix of parts, but they hang together remarkably well. The bike can hold its own against airheads from established builders such as Cafe Racer Dreams and El Solitario.

BMW, it would seem, is taking note of the trend. One of the biggest news stories from this week’s EICMA motorcycle show in Milan is the announcement of a retro roadster from BMW, to be revealed next year. A development of the LoRider concept, it’s likely to be powered by the current air/oil-cooled, 1170cc boxer motor and feature inverted forks. Can’t wait.

Images © Ciril Komotar. With thanks to Andraž Kopitar of the leading Slovenian custom motorcycle site 7seven Customs.

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BMW R45 cafe racer

There’s something about the compact, muscular stance of 70s-vintage BMWs that makes them prime candidates for customization. This cafe racer comes from leading glass artist Francesco Pagnin of Treviso in Italy, who calls his motorcycle workshop ‘Franz Garage’. It’s based on a BMW R45, the 473cc boxer-engined middleweight built throughout the late 70s and early 80s. After a complete mechanical and electrical overhaul, Francesco built a seat and tail unit and modified the rear frame to suit, using 8mm tubing. There are neat touches throughout, with minimal instrumentation and a new headlight assembly and rearsets. The tank is from an R100, the bars are adjustable Tommaselli items and the mirrors are from Rizoma. Completing the radical transformation of this unassuming R45 is a delicious white, black and gold paintjob from Patron Racing, and stubby custom mufflers built by Francesco himself. Molto bella. [Thanks to Michiel of BMW Cafe. If you like this, check out the BMW R100/7 Scrambler we ran a year ago.]

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1973 BMW R60/5 Custom

BMW’s classic Boxer engine is one of those powerplants you either love or hate. It looks like no other, and invariably dominates the appearance of a bike. I have to admit I love the look of this motor, and so does Terry Whitehurst. He started building his R60/5 custom a year ago, with one thing in mind: minimalism. He was looking for the lines of a race bike but with a twist, taking a dash of inspiration from a ‘47 Panhead. So Terry removed the airbox, fitted K&Ns, and junked the stock Bings for new Mikuni carbs. (“Why do they call Bing carburetors Bing? Because it’s the sound they make hitting the trash can.”) He shortened and reinforced the subframe, and coated the entire chassis with POR-15 before topping it off with a semi-gloss top coat—“literally tougher than powder coat.” The stock forks were shortened 2”, and the wheels were powdercoated and fitted with new stainless spokes. Terry gave the electronics serious attention, fitting a Thunderchild diode board, Dyna III ignition, and brand new cloth wiring. That killer exhaust, by the way, is not a modern concoction: it’s a 30-year old Luftmeister racing system with a custom baffle in the muffler.

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BMW R100 Scrambler

BMW’s R series is seriously challenging the Honda CB as the custom platform of choice; over the past few months, a remarkable number of stylish 70s BMW customs have been popping up in the Bike EXIF inbox. This one was built by Karles Vives of Barcelona, Spain, and it’s an RT model—which in BMW’s complicated lexicon, means it’s a tourer. (This was best explained by Cycle magazine’s April 1979 test: “The new RT can best be described as a full-house touring version of the RS, which is a semi-touring version of the S, which is a sporting version of the pipe rack R100T, which is a bunged-out version of the R80/7. Which is a slightly overbored and subtly refined update on the discontinued 750cc model.”) The RT was also the most expensive motorcycle in the world in the late 70s, surpassing even Harley-Davidson’s Electra Glide.

Anyway, back to the vehicle in question. “I always wanted to have a unique motorcycle,” says Karles, “the bike that I couldn’t find in any store. I have never done any job on a bike: I have never changed brake pads or removed the battery, so thinking about a custom project seemed to be an impossible mission.” Karles decided to give it a go, and found an R100 RT from 1982 that was the perfect base for his project. “I started to work hard with a lot of enthusiasm and patience, looking for accessories, removing all the parts I didn’t want, and trying to fix the new ones. At my side I had Jerry Churchill’s book, —a great tool for beginners like me—and also the help of some ‘masters’ from the BMW Classic forum.

“The main idea was to get a comfortable riding bike with a cool look, and trying not to spend a lot of money. So I went for the Scrambler style, with a high handlebar, solo seat and off-road tires. After three months, this is the result. Hope you like!”

[moonwalker]

ΣΤΑΜΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΔΕΝ ΑΝΤΕΧΩ ΑΛΛΟ

ΘΕΛΩ ΚΑΙ ΕΓΩ

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BMW R69S custom

I’d be a very happy man if this was the sight that greeted me when I opened my garage door on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, this is not my workshop; it’s that of Ritmo Sereno in Tokyo, a treasure-trove of exquisite vintage machinery. Right now they’re working on this R69S, which is being customized to a client’s specification. The Munich-built R69S had a long production run—throughout most of the 1960s—and was powered by a 594 cc boxer twin putting out 42 bhp. It was not the fastest machine you could buy, but the engineering was state-of-the-art. The motorcycle magazines were enamoured: in 1962, Cycle Worldsaid, “Whatever the BMW’s merits in a contest of speed, it is still the smoothest, best finished, quietest and cleanest motorcycle it has ever been our pleasure to ride. To be honest, we think that anyone who would worry much over its performance-potential is a bit of a booby. The R69S is fast enough to handle any encounter, and it has attributes that are, in touring, infinitely more valuable than mere speed.” Ritmo hasn’t revealed the mechanical modifications yet, but the suspension, bars and exhaust system are new. The bike has also been fitted with revised bodywork including a new fairing, fenders, seat and rear cowl. For more pictures of the original

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BMW R80 custom

There are some bikes that are all show and no go, but this BMW reflects a different kind of ‘show’. It’s positively theatrical. Secreted amongst the mechanicals are an antique glass doorknob, a brass bicycle bell and a tiny cameo portrait—see images below—added by the owner, Vancouver-based artist and actor Justin Wright. His Beemer started life in 1987 as an R80/RT, and was customized by an engineer/machinist called Kurt Lang. “Kurt decided to use the bike as a custom platform,” says Justin, “and in his words, ‘To see what I could do with metal for a motorcycle’.” Kurt spent a winter building this BMW, and after a couple of months of riding, sold the bike to Justin. I don’t know how much money changed hands, but there are a lot of man-hours here. The tank, seat and engine top case are all polished, hand-made aluminum. The headlight, brake light and footpegs are also aluminum, and were hand turned on a lathe. The straight bars, controls and the entire exhaust are hand-crafted in stainless steel. And if you’re wondering why the engine looks a little unusual for an R80, it’s because the cylinder heads were replaced with those from a much earlier model BMW—for the rounded look—with the remaining fins rounded off. Despite the elegant little accessories, this BMW is intrinsically functional: “Everything not necessary has been removed,” says Justin. “The bike is basic and detailed with purpose in mind. I think of it as a futuristic motorcycle built by someone in the 1930s.” [Images by Jason Lang.]

UPDATE 25 July 2010 We’ve added two new images at the bottom of the photo gallery below to show the seat and exhaust more clearly. There’s also a basic YouTube that reveals what the R80 sounds like when started up.