The R100 was the mainstay of BMW’s range between 1976 and 1996, giving it an incredible 20-year production run. It’s now hugely popular with custom builders, who have transformed R100s into cafe racers, bobbers, scramblers and street trackers. Here’s our pick of the best.
Dirk Oehlerking has a portfolio of incredible builds, but there are two machines that stand out. They are the White Phantom and Black Phantom—two classic BMW boxers, with exquisite hand-formed bodywork and an unusual art deco vibe. Dirk refers to his Phantoms as “two that belong together, like Yin and Yang.” But those two have…
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Most custom builders are low-volume guys. It’s often a sideline to a day job, or part of a wider operation selling parts. But there are a handful of companies that have a veritable production line, and in Europe, one of those is WalzWerk. “We build around 50 of our ‘Schizzo’ BMWs per year, which is…
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Ever heard of analysis paralysis? It happens when you’ve got so many ideas, your project stalls because you can’t make your mind up. Tomoyuki Soeda at Deus Ex Machina‘s Japanese outpost had a dose of it when he designed this R100RS—but then he hatched a plan to overcome it. Soeda-san managed to distill his ideas…
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Like many things from the early 90s, the BMW R100R suffers from an identity crisis. BMW released it as a sort of classic roadster version of the mighty R100GS—combining the tank and seat of an adventure bike with smaller wheels, revised suspension, and a ‘retro’ chrome headlight and clocks. Despite its quirks, the R100R has…
Read more »In the thriving world of BMW R-series customization, there’s a strong design trend in Europe that hasn’t taken off in other countries…
Read more »Ironwood Custom Motorcycles get frequent requests for their signature R-Series BMW bobbers. But when a regular client rolled in with a unique…
Read more »If you want to earn a living in the custom business, scale is everything. Reinventing the wheel with every build will be…
Read more »We thought we were tired of seeing classic BMW boxers with skinny seats, but as it turns out, we were wrong. Bolt…
Read more »We’d love to peak behind the curtain at Bolt Motor Co. Shop boss Adrián Campos is also the sporting director for Campos…
Read more »In just four years, Sinroja has become one of the most talked-about custom shops in England. As immaculately finished bikes set sail…
Read more »The battle between form and function rages on a daily basis in the custom scene. As much as we hate to admit…
Read more »Love ’em or hate ’em, BMW’s GS behemoths have dominated the ADV market for almost four decades now. Five years ago, the…
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