Magnificence is a phrase simply ascribed to stunning, usually delicate, objects. However when you possibly can assign it to a purposeful and muscular motorbike, you realize you’re trying on the work of a grasp craftsman. Tom Simpson of Foundry Motorbike has actually earned that accolade through the years, and this 1979 BMW R80 showcases the height of his ability.
The trail of this elegant machine, monikered ‘Midnight Racer,’ has been something however serene although. A store undertaking over eight years within the making, the BMW R80 all too usually discovered itself pushed to at least one facet as shopper commissions took priority. Then final yr, with completion lastly on the horizon, the construct was interrupted as soon as extra.
Tom was knowledgeable the lease on his den of over 12 years, was to extend by thirty p.c in a single day. With new digs to supply, a number of undertaking bikes, and a complete workshop’s value of kit to relocate, it’s honest to say that Midnight Racer has triumphed in opposition to adversity.
The precise genesis of the construct stretches again even additional, to when Tom supplied the tank from a Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport to the body of an ongoing airhead undertaking. That machine would go on to turn into the Foundry ‘Silver Racer,’ a machine to which Midnight Racer owes important lineage. However the concepts and contours sparked by the sight of that Italian tank sat atop the Bavarian body endured, and Tom wanted one other crack at it.
“To not upset the purists, however the donor bike was immaculate,” Tom tells us, as he casts his thoughts again to the start of the undertaking. He additionally assures us that every one the inventory bits he eliminated went to good houses; a mammoth activity in itself, contemplating how little of the usual machine stays.
The primary half that Tom set about, was that distinctly Jetsons-like exhaust. “I had an thought to make the exit appear to be a Jet turbine from the Fifties,” he explains. “And that’s the difficulty with a store undertaking—as soon as I’ve considered doing one thing a sure manner, I can’t not do it!”
With the strains of the exhaust coming collectively, Tom returned to the Moto Guzzi gas tank. Substantial reshaping was required to navigate the R80 body, however loads of house was additionally realized to accommodate and conceal away all {the electrical} requirements.
With the considerably shallower facet profile of the tank revealing much more of the boxer engine, Tom wished to have a good time the motor by conserving the wiring as clear as doable. The reg/rec was relocated to the backbone of the body, whereas Dyna mini coils had been hidden within the timing chest cowl, from which 4 vents had been milled out to assist regulate warmth. The result’s an virtually impossibly minimalist cabling configuration.
The ugly rubber airbox that usually sits towards the again of the BMW R80 engine was additionally discarded. The highest cowl was then prolonged 4 inches to satisfy the Weber DCOE twin-choke carb, which sits proudly on the fruits of Tom’s customized intakes.
On the extremities of the engine, these gloriously Artwork Deco rocker covers had been created by welding further plates to the prevailing covers, earlier than the flowing geometric strains had been machined in. Easy, top-hat-shaped pins lock down the covers instead of the usual nuts. An expensive coat of bronze Cerakote covers the whole energy unit.
Shifting outward, Tom shortened and polished the forks, earlier than calling Wealthy Chanter at Wheels in Movement to lace 19” Morad rims to the freshly painted hubs. On the rear, Tom ideas his hat to considered one of his favourite builds, the Fortunate Cat Dash Beemer, because the inspiration for the hub’s machined-out triangles—the brake footwear and polished springs peeking between the breaks within the midnight blue. (That hue, current all through the machine, has turn into one thing of a Foundry signature, discovering its manner onto a number of builds in recent times.)
The solid headlight is all Tom’s handiwork. As his store identify suggests, Tom beforehand labored as a blacksmith, and forging his personal elements is an ever-present side of his builds. However having run out of scrap to smelt, Tom wanted a brand new supply. Now, when he visits his most well-liked suspension associate, Quantum Suspension, he leaves with the contents of their aluminum scrap bin, alongside together with his springs of selection.
The fats, clear yokes had been made to Tom’s design, completely complementing the fork-mounted distant reservoirs for the Hel Efficiency braking upgrades. Whereas at it, Tom transformed the rear brake to cable over rod actuation, rebuilt the gearbox, and transformed the clutch to hydraulic (a activity he casually describes as “good enjoyable”).
The Tarozzi adjustable clip-ons and foot controls are amongst Tom’s favourite off-the-shelf elements, which he then, predictably, modifies additional. The rearsets mount into eccentric adjusters throughout the body, permitting for a 360-degree rotation of positions. At a lofty 6’4”, Tom appreciates greater than most the aches of an ill-fitting machine, and prefers to supply a rider triangle that’s tailorable to all physique varieties.
Nestled between and behind these footrests you’ll discover extra avant-garde design. The finned battery field was impressed by the underbody diffusers of high-performance race automobiles, translated with Foundry’s signature type.
And what a signature type it’s. Just like the best within the sport, Foundry creates an aesthetic you may attribute to their store even when all logos had been obscured from view. It’s a heady mixture of mid-century and art-deco cues, blended with a retro-futuristic vibe—and Midnight Racer wears it nicely.
Tom had one final hurdle to leap over earlier than his BMW R80 lastly made its debut at this yr’s Bike Shed Present. He notes, with a shake of his head, how the gas filler cap was nonetheless a strong block of fabric lower than 24 hours earlier than the doorways had been set to open. However after eight lengthy years within the making, the ultimate push was nicely value it.
It’s yet one more gorgeous machine from the Foundry workshop—which might be opening to the general public from its new location very quickly.
Foundry Motorbike | Fb | Instagram | Photos by Thomas Kettlety
