Blitz BMW R100RT ‘La Parisienne’
If you visited the BMW Museum in Munich a few months ago, you might have noticed an interloper: a brawny custom with a Yamaha XT500 tank. Sharing space with a BMW concept car and an immaculate 1982 R100 RT, the custom looked like a pit bull amongst immaculately coiffed poodles.
The juxtaposition was not as incongruous as it seemed, though. The ‘Yamaha’ was actually a BMW R100 RT, just like its neighbor on the stand, albeit in disguise. It was built by the controversial French workshop
Blitz Motorcycles and is called ‘La Parisienne.’
Confused onlookers who failed to recognize the bike can be excused—this R100 has been customized almost beyond recognition. The rear frame is completely new, and fitted with a bespoke seat and a mono shock. The frame and forks have been powdercoated in dark gray, and the engine, bars (from an R100 RS) and wheels powdercoated in a sinister black.
The bike has also been rewired with simplified electrics; a compact li-ion battery now hides in a box under the transmission. Mini switches control the blinkers and the digital speedometer display, and the engine start button is screwed into the bracket of the front brake lever. The levers (shortened) and brake master cylinder are from a Yamaha R1.
Vintage-style lights add a retro touch, along with 18” Coker rubber. The carbs sport handcrafted intakes and the shorty muffler is painted a high-temperature black on the outside and red on the inside. And yes, the tank really
is from vintage Yamaha XT500 enduro—mounted on the frame exactly as it was found.
The effect is brutal and even disorientating. But it still caught the eye of the BMW museum curators. Maybe the Teutonic purveyors of motorcycling efficiency
do have a sense of humor after all.
Head over to the Blitz website to see more of Fred Jourden and Hugo Jezegabel’s builds. And follow the news from the 17th arrondissement via the Blitz Facebook page.
BMW R100S by Deus
You don’t see many 1970s BMW R-series customs in the USA. But this very sharp R100S cafe racer should prompt a few searches for old airheads on eBay. It’s set for launch at The One Motorcycle Show in Austin this weekend, and was built by Michael Woolaway, motorcycle design director at
Deus USA.
The R100S was one of BMW’s more sporting bikes, with a quarter-mile time of just under 13 seconds. The ‘S’ designation meant you also got a small fairing, twin discs at the front, lower bars and a racier seat. But it was still a long-haul bike built for the autobahn.
That’s something Woolie set out to change. “I wanted to build something that didn’t look much like a BMW,” says Woolie. “I tried to style it a bit older than an R100S.”
It’s a ground-up rebuild, starting with the frame. Woolie removed the brackets and the sub-frame and its mounts, and then fabricated a new chromoly sub-frame. More fabrication quickly followed: the tank, seat, fenders, foot controls and rear sets are all made by hand.
Up front, Öhlins forks have been shortened and re-valved by Ed Sorbo at Lindemann Engineering. Pierre Vallaincourt at Works Performance engineered the rear suspension. The battery is now hidden under the seat, protected by a heat shield rated to 1200 degrees. And the mirrors, handlebars and bar mounts are all top-shelf components from Rizoma.
The riding position is more aggressive than the stock R100S, but still practical. “It’s got a big tank and you’re all stretched out, so you really feel like you’re tucked in behind it,” says Woolie. “It’s a fun bike and a bit faster than I actually expected.”
If you can’t make it to
The One Motorcycle Show, head over to the
Deus USA website to examine the BMW in more detail.
BMW R75/6 by Kingston Customs
Custom motorcycle builders in the USA and UK have relatively few restrictions on what they can and cannot do. Then you have countries like Taiwan and Germany, which force builders to abide by draconian regulations.
German bikes require approval from the TÜV authority—which ensures a high quality of work, but also adds complications for the builder. (And is one reason that the new wave custom scene in Germany has lagged behind other countries.) But there are a handful of German builders who are able to work within the restrictions, and get their bikes road-legal. One of those builders is Dirk Oehlerking, the founder of
Kingston Custom and creator of this surprisingly radical BMW R75/6.
Oehlerking is an accomplished mechanic with a long history of wrenching on and racing bikes. (He was a German national enduro champion in 1985). He’s been operating Kingston Custom since 2010, creating a stream of mild-to-wild customs across several genres.
This R75/6 is a new approach for Oehlerking, though. “I wanted to build an old-school BMW with character,” he says, “using elements of the bobber and Brat styles.” Inspiration started with the tank, which comes from a 50 cc Yamaha ‘Mokick’ and adds an unusually svelte touch for a vintage BMW. The original front fender has been swapped to the rear.
Oehlerking has stripped down and completely rebuilt the motor, finishing it off with glass bead blasting for a factory-fresh finish. It’s now hooked up to a Norton-inspired exhaust system with a reverse cone muffler. The wheels are also bead blasted, and have been fitted with new Metzeler rubber—19” at the front, and 18” at the back.
In keeping with the low, bobber-style stance, the R75’s forks have been shortened by 88mm (3½ inches). The back end is suspended by a pair of authentic Sachs Hydro Cross shocks, a type popular with vintage dirtbike riders. The battery is now hidden next to the transmission in a custom made box, and the foot controls are aluminum.
It’s one of the more unusual customs we’ve seen lately, with an original style and high-quality fabrication. For an insight into Oehlerking’s work and his background, check out this recent interview on
Bubblevisor.
