1983 BMW R65 "Veille École"

Here's something you may or may not know, depending on your own, personal level of smart-ass-ed-ness. The current BMW logo has been developed over many generations of refinement to the point it's at today - the familiar circle divided into blue and white quadrants. But do you know where it started? Here's where; as a white spinning propellor against a blue sky. That's right, a propellor. Motorcycles were essentially a sideline for the company after the treaty of Versailles banned Germany from making arms in 1918. Talk about making the best out of a poor lot. So almost 100 years later we find ourselves in Sydney with a Frenchman pondering just how to trick up his '83 R65. Then in a moment of divine inspiration, he realises exactly what he should do. Behold the world's first BMW motorbike decorated in the colours of the French Airforce. Vive la différence!

Click to read more ...

Ian Barry's Top 10 Bikes

One of our supporters and co-founder of LA’s Falcon Motorcycles recently shared his all time favorite two-wheeled machines with Architectural Digest. We guessed some of you might not be reading Architectural Digest every day, so for those that missed it, enjoy. Words by Ian Barry himself.

1923 Brough Superior SS80 “Old Bill”

Nicknamed “Old Bill” after a cartoon character popular during World War I, this was the personal sprint bike of George Brough, the founder of Brough Superior in Nottingham, England. Brough was a consummate showman who dubbed his handiwork “the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles,” and in this modified version of his SS80, he put his machine where his mouth was. This bike will be an influence in the creation of the Vespertine Falcon.

Click to read more ...

1985 BMW R80 Café Racer

As a hobby you've got admit that motorbikes are, all things considered, relatively cheap. It's heartening that in this day and age you can still rock on up to your local Ducati store and buy an Italian two-wheeled Ferrari for a lot less than US$20,000. In fact the advertised price for Ducati's top-of-the-line 1198 SP racer in North America is only a smidge under US$22,000. In the scheme of things, that's a silly small price. A 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia would cost you ten times that amount, and I doubt that any of us would be willing to choose a single car over 10 new bikes - let alone 40+ second hand or vintage bikes.

Which brings us rather neatly to this little gem, aka Mark Byfield's cafe'd 1985 BMW R80. With nothing but a bunch of hard work and a cash outlay of less than five Aussie grand, he's managed to create a bike that looks like a million bucks and which rocks our boat a lot more vigorously than any four-wheeled Italian poseur-mobile ever could.

Click to read more ...

Interview: Karles Vives - Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles

Click for larger image.

You've probably never heard of Karles Vives. He is not famous in the motorcycling world and up until 6 months ago he had never attempted to build a bike. That all changed when he picked up a 1982 BMW R100 and Jeremy Churchill’s 'BMW 2-Valve Twins' book and decided to turn a tired old beemer that was drowning in panniers and a chunky fairing into the classic styled scrambler of his dreams. When we spotted this bike, it got our attention like a red rag to a bull and wanted to find out more about this Spaniard and his classy German scrambler he affectionately calls 'Scram'.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background? 

Hi, my name is Karles Vives and I live and work in Barcelona, Spain. I’ve been working as graphic designer and creative director for more than 15 years, but my passion for motorbikes started 20 years ago when I purchased my first motorbike. It was an all red Vespa Primavera 125 that I used to call “the red Baron” :-). Many more followed that first one, from custom to trails, sportbikes, or nakeds, until I got the current BMW GS 1150 Adventure one. I love everything related to “vintage culture”, from photography to music, design or fashion.

Click to read more ...

1979 BMW R100/7 Blitz Street Tracker

A couple of months ago we featured a beautifully shot video of some French gentleman from Blitz Motorcycles in Paris cruising the country roads of France. The video caused quite a commotion with most people liking it, but we also had our fair share of haters — but as they say in France, "such is life." Well, hopefully their latest creation, this rough and raw BMW street tracker will show you that these guys aren't a "bunch of douche bag hipsters" but actually a group of quite talented builders putting out some really impressive bikes.

Click to read more ...

Pipeburn Lost and Found

Check out the Guzzi above. Amazing, huh? We found it last week while doing our usual rounds of the web. We've done just about everything we can to find out a little more about it, but short of photocopying flyers and sticking them to local telegraph poles we've pretty much exhausted all possibilities. Sadly, we're faced with such hot bike tragedies every week here at Pipeburn; really sweet machines that we'd post on the blog in a second if it weren't for the fact that we just can't track down any further info or images on them. So they go into our lost and found folder, never to see the light of day. Until now. If anyone out there knows ANYTHING about these bikes, please feel free to email us and get these rides out of the lost and found and into a post on Pipeburn*.

Click to read more ...

BMW R80/7

Adam Kay from the U.K. was looking for a donor bike that he could customize and ride everyday – he calls it his 'midlife crisis' project. After a little bit of research he came across Victory Motorcycles in Camden London. Rex the owner specializes in BMWs and classic British iron. "Rex had a R80/7 for sale so that's what I got" said Adam. "The style of my custom came from looking at a racing Guzzi I saw on Bike EXIF. I did all the work myself under the guidance of Rex and as I only had two days a week that I could dedicate to the job, it took me 8 months to customize the R80/7". Here's how Adam describes his 'midlife crisis project':

"I wanted a single seat, a long rear mudguard and a short chopped front mudguard like a bobber. I choose not to paint the tank after I had spent ages stripping off the old paint and filler after all that effort I didn't want to cover it up again with paint! I also wanted it to have no decals, because to me a boxer is clearly a BMW, so it doesn't need any info on the tank.  

"I began with a total strip down to the frame. The frame had all parts that were not needed cut off. Battery box, plastic covers hooks, seat hinges and a few more bits. The frame, subframe, swinging arm, side stand, top yoke and wheels were powder coated in satin black. Most nuts, bolts and other chromed parts were re-plated in a dull chrome or were replaced with stainless steel parts. The brake system was replaced from an under the tank unit to a handlebar mounted reservoir system. A second brembo was added. 2 new stainless discs replaced the single steel disc and steel braided hoses are used. The engine and gearbox was painted with black heat resistant paint. New shorter and loud exhausts are used. Graphite impregnated exhaust wrap for the header pipes to give the bike a meaner look. New alloy rear mudguard cut to fit - original front mudguard cut to new size and shape painted matt black. Replaced the touring seat with a customized single scrambler seat. The tank was then stripped to the steel and hand sanded, then a clear coat of lacquer was used to seal it.

"I changed the R80/7 from what I thought could be seen as a rather dull machine to a thing of old school rebellion. I wanted a machine that could be ridden every day and one that looks as cool as any custom. I think this BMW does just that. I also wanted to challenge myself as I have never done anything like this before so this could be my "midlife crisis" project. I think I have done a great job on this motorcycle and have a commission to customize a R80/7 to look like mine. I’m also working on a new luxurious R80 custom which should be ready next year." 

Adam is now working on his next project, a 'lux' R80 custom which we look forward to sharing with you when finished. You can see more build pics and info on his site Untitled Motorcycles.

1953 BMW R51/3 Cafe Racer

Steven Whelan is an American living and working in Germany. Over the years he has amassed a motorcycle collection that Jay Leno would be envious of. Some of his bikes include a 1936 BMW R12, 1952 BMW R51/3, 1964 BMW R69S, 1950 Vincent Comet and a 1962 Triumph 6T Thunderbird that was restored as a copy of the Steve McQueen fence jumping German bike from the film "The Great Escape". 
So when he decided it was time for a new project, Steven had his mind set on building a Rocker-styled cafe racer, inspired by the 1939 Supercharged Schorsch Meier BMW Type 255 which won the 1939 Isle of Man TT. "I found a complete 1953 R51/3 and started the project by finding an aluminium specialist in Germany that had already made pre-war racer style aluminium tanks and mudguards" says Steven. The frame was then modified by welding anti-flex reinforcement and adding a pre-war  style 2-spring seat. A replica "Rennbrotchen" seat extention was  added allowing the rider to flatten out while driving. After searching many biker flea markets and through contacts, Steven was able to find several unsual and rare racing parts from the 1950's and 60's. I will let Steve tell you about all the specs and mods: "The wheel hubs are original Hoske racing full-width hubs; a Rausch headlight sporting a peaked Hella chromed rim holds both the 3" speedometer, tach and 700cc Keyser cylinders with modified heads replaced the original BMW 500's. Added to the engine were two Mikuni VM 28mm carbs with replaceable K&N filters or polished inlet tubes, & replica Hoske racing exhausts. The gearbox had the original air cleaner mount machined off to resemble the pre-war machines and was re-built using 4-speed racing gears. The front fork is a 1960's Ceriani  that was originally sold in the 60's as a replacement for the BMW /2 series Earl's Fork, but was shortened to retain the original R51s wheelbase. Handlebars and mirrors are from a R75/5, tail light is a Miller/Vincent replica and a modern fly screen was fitted. The silver mudguards with black tank & hand pinstriping was used to give a more Rocker look & feel to the bike. Lastly the classic Avon Speedmaster Tires were fitted to the aluminum rims." 

As far as vintage racers go, they don't get much cleaner than this. The attention to detail is superb and apparently, so is the handling. Steve tells us he is still breaking this beautiful Beemer in, but did "reach 70 MPH in one burst, and on curving roads the bike handles superbly." 

BMW R80 Cafe Racer

After two blown engines Englishman Chris Simpson decided to try and squeeze a R80 RT engine into his 1979 BMW R45 frame. "The powers that be said the engine wouldn't fit, as you can see it obviously does" Chris explains. "The only engine mods were a lightweight flywheel and the air box was removed and replaced with a Bellmouths. It has custom stainless 2-1 exhausts with a stainless megaphone, fully custom sub frame with hidden battery under the seat pod, a large EARLS oil cooler from a Ford Cosworth. The controls are from a Aprilia RS 50 and an Aprilia RSVR. It has had a full race wiring loom fitted and all lights ignition removed and now starts with a master arm, start button and no key". Chris custom made the fairing and brackets from a Classic Yamaha race fairing, it has a Manx Norton front mudguard, hugger made from the R80 front mudguard, twin disk conversion, rear sets from a Kawasaki and a upside down gear box. This beautiful Beemer is just one of the projects Chris has on the go, he's also building a Mike Hailwood Honda Replica which we look forward to featuring when completed. You can view the 'before' shot of this BMW on our Flickr page.