“BMW Cafe Racer” - Σελίδα 7

xurxes · #61 17-04-2013, 10:20

BMW K75 Tatanka

Everyone has their favorite things in life but only a few of us get to enjoy a career working with them. Frank, owner of custom motorcycle workshop Moto Sumisura is one of those lucky ones. Since the age of 6 he has had a love for BMW motorcycles that has had him riding and working on them ever since. Now out of his modest workshop in the North of Italy, Frank is building custom bikes that are causing others to develop that same passion for BMW motorcycles and he's having loads of fun doing it. This bike is the Tatanka 75 and as you can see it's one BMW that's very easy to like.

If we could all take a step back every now and then and have a chuckle at ourselves the world would be a better place. Building custom bikes hasn't come easily though. Frank admits that it has taken him time to develop his craft. Moto Sumisura started out rebuilding old machines and selling them on to turn a profit. Years later and with a portfolio of 8, impressive custom builds under his belt and a cover shot on Italian motorcycle magazine "Rider", he's become somewhat of an expert.

"I take rags and transform them into evening gowns"

The Moto Sumisura "Tatanka 75" started out life as a BMW K75 which at the time of production was labeled as BMW's cheapest motorcycle. Regardless of it's less than flattering "point of difference" the K75 was a solid performer capable of 4.6 second 0-100 times and a top speed of around 120mph (193kmh). This particular K75 was the full fairing, road touring model in electric blue with roaring panther stickers on the front end (perhaps one of ?).

Frank stripped the BMW back to it's bare essentials before rebuilding it in the Street Tracker/Cafe Racer style that has become the trademark of his Moto Sumisura workshop. The only part of the BMW's original bodywork that remains is it's tastefully scalloped tank, now getting all the attention it deserves with a unique metallic bronze and silver paint scheme. The bikes rear end has also lost some bulk with the removal of the entire tail section, giving it a much more compact, stout side profile.

Trimmed fairings, a small headlight with brush guard, gum grips, powder coated rims, low profile indicators and a custom leather clad seat complete the transformation of the BMW. The final product is a much leaner bike that weighs considerably less than it's stock 227kg form. Aside from it now looking about a million times better than how it left the BMW factory 30 years ago, I think you will agree that from the look on Franks face, the bike is now also a lot more fun to ride.

xurxes · #62 17-04-2013, 10:20

BMW R80 by Workshop Maquerelle

I've always loved the use of wood in cars. When I was young a neighbor converted an old '30s Chevy into a jaw dropping Hot Rod with a solid walnut dash he carved, sanded and lacquered himself (I seem to remember him saying he had applied 15 coats of clear to it!). Everything on the car was amazing, but it was that walnut dash that really got people excited. When it comes to motorcycles the use of wood is sadly not something you see very often, so when I came across this custom BMW R80 by Workshop Maquerelle in France you can imagine my excitement.

Workshop Maquerelle is a two man team made up of Stefan and Till who started the company in late 2011. Jump forward to April of this year and their first full custom build was rolling out the door, a 1978 BMW R80 named "Mary Magdalene". I was lucky enough to get the low down on the bike from Stephan and access to these, the first studio shots of the bike.

"Our first customer handed us his bike with blind confidence because he liked what we said and our ambitious ideas!"

"We had no obligations with this build. No Cafe Racer or Street Tracker template to follow. We proposed the idea of building a "James Bond" motorcycle reminiscent of his Aston Martin and seductive in its styling. We designed parts that we felt would appeal to women and perhaps even seduce them with its fine details and pleasantries. The passenger pegs for instance, feature laser etched wood inserts with "s'il vous plaît.." (please) engraved in to them."...What else would one expect from a pair of Frenchmen!?

Stephan and Till both come from artistic backgrounds which can clearly be seen in their design approach to this build, but the Mary Magdalene isn't just about good looks. The bikes owner, a busy fashion worker can keep his iphone charged with a custom plug integrated into the completely revised wiring harness. The BMW's 34 year old motor has received reliability tweaks rather than performance ones by changing the engines internals during the rebuild to allow it to run on modern high octane fuel without skipping a beat.

The wood details on the the BMW are made using a process similar to how skateboard decks are built. 5 layers of wood were cut and bonded with resin for each part with the seat pan shaped using a vacuum mold. The wooden details can be seen surrounding the twin headlights, in the form of racing style number plates in the rear and as laser engraved details on the engine and fuel tank.

Other custom work on the bike includes the conversion of all lighting to LED, custom Maquerelle low profile indicator housings, chopped and reshaped fenders, the tan leather seat and the front fairing which was bought at a flea market before being reshaped and blend with the shape of the German made tank.

This is number one for Workshop Maquerelle and a great start for the fledgling company. Maybe custom wood detailing on motorcycles will be the next big thing? Keep an eye on Maquerelle on facebook for more of their work.

xurxes · #63 17-04-2013, 10:21

BMW R26 the Loud Kraut

"
All men's misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone"

The sad individual responsible for that quote obviously never had a motorcycle project in the shed waiting to be worked on!

This BMW R26 named "The Loud Kraut" was the result one man's wife leaving him for 8 months to teach abroad. While this of course would have been a difficult time, I think it's safe to say that for this R26 that event was nothing but good fortune.

Builder Steve from Germany wanted to create a bike that was a salute to it's original engineers. It's a quality rebuild that embraces the classic BMW style. While the white walls and the paniers may not have been quite what BMW had in mind I'm sure the Loud Kraut would have them smiling.

xurxes · #64 17-04-2013, 10:22

BMW R80 Ruby Racer

Hot on the heels of my recent post about Les Ateliers Ruby's leather jackets UK based, custom workshop Kevil's Speed Shop, has released images of their latest BMW which just so happens to be based on a Ruby helmet design.

Kevil's Speed Shop owner Kevin Hill received a special order from a customer in Warsaw who wanted the 1983 BMW R80 built as a tribute to the candy striped Ruby Pavilion Helmet. The bike under went Kev's standard set of custom modifications to reduce weight and improve performance before receiving it's unique paint job and custom leather saddle.

This R80 certainly isn't going to be to everyone's liking but beneath that candy striped paint scheme is a very tidy BMW Cafe Racer. I'm particularly fond of the black finish on that big boxer motor, it does a great job of reducing visual bulk while adding a mean streak to offset its tongue-in-cheek veneer.

Kev builds BMW Cafe Racers like this from as little as 5,000 pounds, including the bike (!!) which I'm sure everyone will agree is a pretty good deal. Check out Kevil's Joker to see another fine example of his custom BMW Cafe Racers.

xurxes · #65 17-04-2013, 10:23

BWM Cafe Racer "The Bull"

Stumbled across this 1961 BMW R69s Cafe Racer named "The Bull" today. It's a strange combination of parts but it certainly looks mean.

xurxes · #66 17-04-2013, 10:29

BMW R80 cafe racer

If you’re into BMW café racers, you probably know the BMW Café blog, run by Dutchman Michiel de Molenaar. This BMW R80 is the bike that originally got Michiel hooked on building and riding old motorcycles, and shows what can be done with a small budget and a lot of inspiration. He started with a crashed 1988 model, which means it should have a 797 cc version of the classic boxer twin. But the previous owner had changed the original engine for a one-liter motor of unknown provenance. Then the gearbox packed up, so Michiel retro-fitted the transmission and kickstart from an R65—which also allowed him to run a smaller and lighter battery. The exhaust system is home-made, using an old Virago muffler and a one-dollar stainless salad bowl.

“The new rear subframe is made out of a chopped-up bicycle carrier I found in someone’s trash,” says Michiel. “The only really expensive part is the [Acewell] instrument. I wanted a rev counter, speedo and all the idiot lights, but I also wanted to have the most minimalistic cockpit I could find—so I decided to spend some money on that.” The clip-ons are ebay items and the rear sets came off an early 90s Honda sports bike of unknown description. The headlight is a modern Ural part, and the rear fender started life as a Honda CX500 front fender. As they say, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”—and Michiel has shown that you don’t need a huge bank balance to make a bike look like a million bucks. Check out his lovely Honda CB750 cafe racer for even more Dutch goodness.
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