Everyone knows the story of the BMW R80 G/S. It’s the bike that ignited the dual sport market, and created ripples that are still felt in showrooms today. Conventional wisdom says that the launch of the G/S in 1980 saved BMW Motorrad from extinction. But the story goes further back than that, because the idea…
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Back in the 90s, if you wanted a big touring motorcycle, the BMW K1100LT was probably on your shortlist. It was the first Beemer to displace more than a liter, with a fuel-injected engine and low-maintenance shaft drive. Compared to the behemoths from Harley and Honda, the K1100 was a technological tour de force. And…
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Classic BMW boxers are so prolific as custom donors, that most builds these days are very formulaic. But there are dozens of swing-and-miss examples out there, that prove that it still takes a sharp eye and a measure of good taste to get them right. This 1974 BMW R90S scrambler from Injustice Customs in Sweden…
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BMW’s bestselling GS range owes its popularity to the R1150GS. Sure, the R80G/S is the granddaddy of all adventure bikes and the R1100GS sold in scores—but it was the R1150GS that really took the GS brand mainstream. The thing is, it hasn’t been in production for 16 years, and that means it’s getting harder to…
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BMW Motorrad has a few quirky gems in the back catalog—like the early-90s R80R Mystic. As one of the last two-valve boxers…
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Nothing grows knowledge like experience. So the best way to figure out how to design a continent-crossing motorcycle, is to actually cross…
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If you ask us, the BMW G650 Xcountry was ahead of its time. First released in 2007, it encapsulated the tracker vibe…
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Every style of custom motorcycle has a clear-cut formula, but we like it best when builders tear up the blueprint and blur…
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At the risk of stating the obvious, some bikes are easier to customize than others. Pick a Triumph Bonneville or Harley Sportster,…
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Any project worth doing has a few challenges along the way. This tidy BMW R75/5 started out as a true basket case,…
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When it comes to racing, BMW is all about superbikes these days. But until the turn of the century, the Bavarians were…
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The world’s first big-bore dual sport, the BMW R80G/S, broke cover forty years ago. Born from off-road competition, it soon dominated at…
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