For over half a century, the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America has served as the bedrock for blue-and-white roundel enthusiasts. Amassing a dedicated roster of roughly 25,000 members bound by a shared adoration of two wheels, the organization continuously pushes for the advancement, safety, and camaraderie of the global motorcycling community.
For those enthusiasts, the crown jewel of the MOA calendar is its National Rally, an annual migratory celebration that shifts coordinates each year to explore a new corner of the continent. For the recent gathering, the faithful descended upon the scenic grounds of the Champlain Valley Expo Center in Essex Junction, Vermont. The expansive venue was transformed into a bustling temporary metropolis for two-wheeled enthusiasts, featuring nightly live concerts, technical seminars, riding clinics, motorcycle giveaways, and a massive vendor marketplace showcasing the latest gear.
At the center of the weekend's festivities was the second annual Builder's Best Motorcycle Show. The curated exhibition gathered 30 hand-selected custom and classic motorcycles, intentionally opening the field to both Bavarian machinery and non-BMW entrants. Backed by industry partners like Bridgestone, Quadlock, Kabuto Helmets, and Spiegler Performance Parts, the stakes were elevated this year with a formal prize purse, offering $1,000 cash for the top spots in the BMW and Open categories, alongside $500 for second and $250 for third. Rather than relying on a rigid panel of judges, the winners were determined entirely by popular vote, via ballots cast by the thousands of passing rally-goers. The show proved to be a major highlight of the weekend, and organizers have already confirmed its return for a third iteration at the 2027 National Rally in Great Falls, Montana. As excited as we are for that event, we want to look back at our seven favorite custom motorcycles from the BMW MOA Builders Best Show.
Tyler Golletti’s 1921 Harley-Davidson Model J
Representing the rugged spirit of the open class was Tyler Golletti of Topsham, Maine, who brought out a spectacular 1921 Harley-Davidson Model J. Back in its heyday, the Model J was Milwaukee's flagship touring machine, powered by a 60.34 cubic-inch (989 cc) inlet-over-exhaust F-head V-twin engine. Operating on a primitive total-loss oiling system and an early coil-and-battery ignition, the mechanical marvel churned out roughly 17 horsepower, which was just enough to propel the steel mount to a dizzying top speed of 60 mph via a three-speed, hand-shifted gearbox. Tyler’s incredible presentation ultimately earned him second place in the highly competitive Non-BMW category.
While many century-old machines are relegated to the sterile confines of museums, Tyler treats his Model J with a refreshing level of utilitarian disrespect. The historic machine is a hardened veteran of both the grueling 2023 Motorcycle Cannonball and the 2025 Motorcycle Trans Am, demanding endurance events in which riders pilot century-old motorcycles across the varied terrain of the United States. To survive thousands of miles of modern pavement on a machine built before the advent of interstate highways requires a rare combination of mechanical empathy, stubbornness, and roadside fabrication skills.
A closer inspection of Tyler's vintage rig revealed an array of custom touches that beautifully bridged historical preservation with contemporary culture. The most striking element was the custom solo saddle, wrapped in genuine Louis Vuitton leather that had been unceremoniously cut apart from a sacrificed designer handbag. Mounted directly ahead of the handlebars sat a manual, mechanical roadbook holder used to scroll through paper turn-by-turn route sheets, a mandatory addition since the strict rules of pre-war endurance rallies completely forbid the use of modern GPS navigation technology.
HellGate Moto’s 1994 BMW K1100RS
Taking top honors and walking away with the coveted $1,000 grand prize for Best BMW was Nick Rovello, founder of Centerport, New York’s HellGate Moto. Nick brought a wealth of expertise to the build, leveraging his 23 years of experience as a certified BMW master technician and shop foreman.
The donor for this award-winning streetfighter was a heavy-set 1994 BMW K1100RS sport-tourer, a machine revered for its bulletproof 1,092cc longitudinal inline-four engine and 100-horsepower output. The motorcycle arrived at the HellGate workshop under remarkable circumstances, having miraculously survived a devastating house fire. While the reaching flames never actually touched the chassis, the intense radiant heat was severe enough to melt, warp, and deform the bike's expansive factory touring plastics into a surrealist plastic sculpture. Luckily, the core wiring and mechanical components remained completely unharmed, providing Nick and his partner, Anthony Logalbo, with the perfect excuse to strip the bike down to its bare essentials.
Rejecting the common urge to build another run-of-the-mill cafe racer, the HellGate team set out to construct a lean, aggressive naked streetfighter. They began by shaving every redundant bracket and mounting tab from the main steel frame, before fabricating a completely bespoke rear subframe that seamlessly carried the horizontal lines of the aluminum fuel tank. Up front, they executed a brilliant family transplant by retrofitting a modern BMW S1000RR sportbike fork, internally upgraded with a Traxxion AK-20 cartridge kit and clamped by premium Powerbrick triple trees. The motor breathes through a Powerbrick DNA air filter kit and barks through a stunning, custom stainless steel 4-2-1 exhaust system that snakes across the left side before exiting out of a carbon fiber tip nestled neatly beneath the tail. The bike was finished in a contemporary coat of Cacti Green paint by Coach Autobody, contrasting beautifully with the blacked-out running gear and advanced Motogadget electronics.
Bob Fair’s 1974 BMW R60/6
Hailing from Pennsylvania, builder Bob Fair captured the eyes of everyone in the Champlain Valley Expo Center with his striking 1974 BMW R60/6 cafe racer, affectionately dubbed "Little Blue." The factory R60/6 is an iconic piece of West German engineering, centered around a 599cc boxer-twin engine producing a modest 40 horsepower and 36 lb-ft of torque. Bob's machine emerged as the quintessential embodiment of timeless cafe racer style, boasting a deeply polished chrome and vibrant blue finish that sparkled brilliantly under the exhibition lights.
The immaculate condition of the motorcycle has a harrowing origin story. Bob discovered the donor bike languishing in a forgotten corner of an abandoned industrial warehouse, where it had sat neglected, with the entire crankcase and combustion chambers completely filled with stagnant water. Undeterred by the severe internal corrosion, Bob embarked on a comprehensive, ground-up mechanical rehabilitation, completely rebuilding the boxer motor with fresh internals and precision-machined tolerances to bring the air-cooled twin back to life.
To achieve the textbook low-slung stance of a traditional cafe racer, Bob heavily modified the rear section of the chassis with a custom subframe specifically engineered to accommodate a set of laydown rear shock absorbers. The custom fabrication continues upward with a handmade, swept-back cafe racer tailpiece that establishes a perfectly balanced bone line across the machine. Nestled tightly within the rear frame hoop is a streamlined strip of integrated LEDs, providing a minimalist aesthetic without sacrificing street-legal visibility. The stance is completed by a traditional front fairing, clip-on handlebars, and a pair of rebuilt wheels featuring gloss-black powder-coated rims laced up with fresh stainless steel spokes.
Robert Laguarta’s 1953 Nimbus Model C
Texas collector Robert Laguarta injected a heavy dose of pure historical elegance into the exhibition with his museum-grade 1953 Nimbus Model C. Unlike many of the heavily modified customs surrounding it, Robert’s entry was a masterclass in faithful, concours-level historical restoration. The Nimbus Model C is an extraordinarily unique piece of Danish motorcycling history, manufactured in Copenhagen and instantly recognizable for its distinct, exposed 746cc inline-four-cylinder engine with an overhead camshaft and a smooth shaft-driven final drive.
The engineering architecture of the Nimbus is a fascinating study in mid-century minimalism, producing 22 horsepower at 4,500 rpm and running through a three-speed gearbox. The chassis itself is constructed from an unusual, riveted, flat spring-steel strap frame that completely lacks a rear suspension, relying instead on a rigid rear end and a sprung solo saddle to isolate the rider from the road. In another brilliant stroke of quirky utilitarian design, the bike's fuel capacity is actually contained directly inside the cavernous, oversized top tube of the flat-strap steel frame.
Robert's restoration work on the Danish icon was so thoroughly flawless that it looked as if it had rolled off the Copenhagen assembly line that very morning. Every bit of hardware, from the distinct telescopic front forks to the delicate external valve gear of the exposed overhead cam, was finished to an immaculate standard. The presentation provided rally-goers with a rare, educational look at a landmark European design that prioritized industrial simplicity and effortless serviceability well ahead of its time.
Ken Gurak’s 1975 Kawasaki H2C 750
Ken Gurak absolutely stunned the crowds with a time-capsule presentation of a 1975 Kawasaki H2C 750, a machine that looked so unbelievably pristine it could have been extracted directly from a factory shipping crate. Ken’s fanatical attention to detail paid off handsomely, as the screaming Japanese triple swept the field to claim top honors for both the Open Class category and the highly coveted People's Choice Overall award. This particular machine represents a holy grail for metric collectors, as it is one of only 4,935 highly refined units produced during the final year of production for the legendary line.
The 1975 H2C represents the pinnacle of the notorious Kawasaki "Widowmaker" dynasty, widely remembered as one of the most volatile and fearsome high-performance motorcycles ever unleashed on public roads. Powered by a 748cc air-cooled, two-stroke inline-triple engine, the factory rated the bike at 74 horsepower, which was more than enough to propel daring riders past 120 mph and clock blistering 12-second quarter-mile times. Ken’s pristine example was finished in the exceptionally rare, and now highly sought-after, factory Candy Purple paint scheme, accented by flawless period-correct chrome.
Ken originally located the rare piece of two-stroke history in Delta, Ohio, back in May of 2022, kicking off a meticulous 15-month restoration process. The engine underwent an uncompromising mechanical overhaul, including a complete teardown, balancing, and rebuilding of the complex multi-bearing crankshaft assembly. To unlock even more performance from the iconic triple, the cylinders were given a precision overbore to accept high-performance Wiseco pistons and rings, ensuring this award-winning "Widowmaker" strikes with even more venom than it did in the summer of 1975.
Don Krumholz’s BMW R69 AMOL Special
Don Krumholz brought a monumental piece of American road racing folklore to the Vermont showgrounds with his exquisite BMW R69 AMOL Special. For the uninitiated, the AMOL designation refers to highly modified, race-tuned versions of BMW’s classic 594cc boxer-twins built by AMOL Precision, a legendary New Jersey-based machine shop founded by Oscar Liebmann that operated as one of the very first official BMW motorcycle dealerships in the United States.
The AMOL-tuned boxers carved out a fierce reputation throughout the 1960s and 1970s, establishing themselves as dominant forces in the grueling world of East Coast endurance racing. The peak of their historic track pedigree arrived in September of 1968, when legendary racers Kurt Liebmann and Fred Simone piloted an AMOL Precision R69US to an outright victory at the Virginia International Raceway Five-Hour endurance race, beating out fields of much lighter machinery. Don’s motorcycle serves as a beautiful, running monument to that specific era of American competition tuning.
The AMOL Special has been fully restored from top to bottom, balancing vintage racing aesthetics with precise mechanical restoration. The bike features a minimalistic front fairing, clip-on handlebars, and rearset foot controls that instantly dictate a committed, aerodynamic racing tuck. The tuned 594cc boxer motor breathes through open velocity stacks and barks through a gorgeous pair of swept-back, period-correct cone mufflers, creating a machine that looks and sounds ready to grid up for another five hours of high-speed track duty.
Andrew Dow’s BMW R100/2
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Andrew Dow perfectly captured the resourceful, blue-collar spirit of the custom world with his beautifully executed BMW R100/2. By night, Andrew owns a local bar, but by day, he transforms into a dedicated motorcycle fabricator. This tidy, minimalist Airhead was envisioned and constructed as a personal ride for his wife, Stacey, thoughtfully blending iconic mid-century styling with the reliable power of a modern powertrain.
While there is no official "R100/2," Andrew created his own by drawing on visual cues from the legendary touring models of the 1960s and upgrading them with modern updates. He wedged a larger boxer engine into the chassis before engineering a custom, heavy-duty Earles-style leading-link front fork. To ensure his wife had modern stopping power, Andrew modified the vintage-style front end to accept dual-disc brakes, an engineering upgrade that Stacey openly praises as an absolute game-changer for modern road safety.
The stunning motorcycle almost never made its formal appearance at the Builder's Best show due to a heartbreaking transit mishap. During the drive from Detroit to Vermont, another motorcycle shifted loose on the trailer, damaging a six-inch-long patch on the R100/2's fuel tank and stripping it down to bare metal. Completely undeterred, Andrew sourced some automotive rattle can paint and clear coat at a local shop, executing a flawless emergency repair right on the rally grounds. He carefully sprayed, wet-sanded, and buffed the patch until the damage was completely unnoticeable, a heroic, parking-lot save that serves as a testament to Andrew's skill and dedication.
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