1984 BMW R65 Café Racer - “The Wasp”

“Barn find,” they call them. And the ‘they’ in this case would be an American-dominated coalition of nations that do actually have barns. Which kind of leaves those in the world who don't actually have barns as part of their local bucolic repertoire kinda in the lurch, don't you think? Well, not being a nation of people who take these kind of things lying down, us Aussies refused to put up with second best and trumped the barn with a marvelous creation we call the “shed.” See, whereas a barn can contain many things that aren't even remotely cool (take the humble yet smelly cow) the average Aussie shed will always have something cool it it. It's the law in some states. Forget animals, ploughs, and nesting birds - sheds are much more likely to be inhabited with things like engine parts, bar fridges, welders and greasy tools. Oh, and BMW motorbikes, if Tony Botrall's find is anything to go by... 

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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!

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