It takes a lot of religion at hand your {custom} bike undertaking over to another person—after which give them free rein over it. However should you discover the appropriate individual to work with, the outcomes could be spectacular. That’s the story behind this practice BMW R75/5, which turned out so nice that we awarded it our ‘Better of Present’ decide at this yr’s Handbuilt Present.
It belongs to Helmut Siepmann, a product designer based mostly close to Toronto, Canada. The donor bike, a 1971 BMW R75/5, was a real barn discover, full with rust, perished upholstery, and lacking elements. Helmut deliberate to revive it and switch it right into a café racer.
Needing assist with the onerous elements, Helmut referred to as on his pal, Johnny Lorette, a retired device and die maker. “Johnny works on thrilling {custom} automobile and bike tasks out of the very best outfitted two-car storage north of the US border, underneath the label of 1755 Customs,” Helmut tells us. “There’s no web site and no telephone quantity—however there actually is a ready checklist.”
“He obtained excited and provided to assist, nevertheless it quickly ended up with him merely taking the undertaking over fully. Johnny stated, ‘There’ll be no café racer, simply depart it to me.’ In order that’s what I did—with no regrets.”
Johnny’s thought was to modernize some facets of the BMW R75/5, whereas additionally grafting on some options that predate the Nineteen Seventies boxer. Key options of the inventory bike, like its drum brakes, shaft drive, and iconic headlamp, had been all stored as a nod to its origins. “Nothing was off the desk,” provides Helmut.
Johnny went deep on this bobber; so deep, that the work took two and a half years and 1,400 man-hours to finish. “There was by no means a rush or sense of urgency, and all the things was executed with precision and targeted planning. If there was one thing that was not fairly proper, we did it once more.”
Preserving with this ethos, Helmut despatched the drivetrain off to Air Help BMW for a factory-spec overhaul. The engine got here again with rebored cylinders, Mahle pistons, overhauled heads with new guides, valves, and is derived, and new seals, rings, and bearings. The transmission and drive shaft had been refurbished too, and the clutch is all-new.
Gone are the OEM Bing carburetors. As a substitute, 3D-printed consumption manifolds join the heads to a twin Weber carb, fed by Uni foam filters. For the reason that carb sits a lot additional again, the throttle cable now pulls on a custom-made linkage to actuate it.
Shifting to the electronics, Johnny put in a brand new Bosch unit, together with an aftermarket regulator/rectifier and a Motogadget mo.unit controller. The ignition was upgraded to a brand new one from Euro MotoElectrics. However it’s how the electronics are packaged that’s spectacular.
Johnny fabricated a cut up gas tank for the BMW; the left carries gas, whereas the appropriate covers the electronics. Beneath it, a 3D-printed field hosts each final part, together with the battery, with obsessive ranges of tidiness. Aluminum tubes carry the related wires to the engine, eliminating the mess of wires that usually occupies this area on outdated airheads.
Working between the 2 halves of the tank is a CNC-machined construction that Helmut has dubbed ‘The Fish.’ It not solely acts as a help for the tank halves and the seat, nevertheless it’s additionally a structural member of the chassis. And it hides the wiring that runs to the taillights, that are embedded underneath the tail finish of the saddle.
The seat itself sits on a hand-hammered aluminum base, with a particular mechanism to pop the upholstered portion off when it is advisable to entry the taillight’s wiring or bulbs. “It’s not a coincidence that it considerably resembles a bicycle seat,” Helmut provides. “Johnny is well-known for his contribution to downhill and cross-country racing bicycles, that he designed and constructed for Ruthless Cycles.”
Additional again, a beneficiant rear fender hugs the again wheel, mounted on a custom-made help that enhances the design of the ‘Fish.’ Neither the fender brace nor the seat mount present any seen fasteners, giving the entire rear finish a surreal, bobbed vibe.
Evidently, reaching this look additionally meant ditching the OEM shocks. Johnny mounted a pair of pull-type shocks of their stead, hiding them underneath the engine. He then braced the swingarm to compensate for the brand new load angle.
The entrance suspension was swapped out for a springer entrance finish, with a number of notable modifications. Johnny shortened the springs to make the forks extra compact on the handlebar space, then fabricated headlight and fender mounts to maintain all the things tidy. The BMW’s steering head additionally wanted a big rework to accommodate the springer setup.
The unique headlight sits up high, retrofitted with a GPS-enabled speedo from Legendary Bikes. The cockpit additionally wears a set of handbuilt direct-mount bars, fitted with fashionable switches, and Motogadget bar-end flip alerts and mirrors. The little wiring that’s uncovered is wrapped in material conduit, with colours that match the delicate brass accents which might be sprinkled all through the construct.
Even the wheels sport an extended checklist of mods. At a look, they’re traditional 18” Boranni rims, wrapped in Firestone rubber. However the entrance hub incorporates a {custom} brake cooling scoop and venting ports with 3D-printed covers.
Each wheels additionally run with {custom} axles, bearings, and spacers. The entrance wheel wanted these mods to work with the springer fork, however the rear finish was merely performed to match the entrance in diameter. The rear hub meeting really nonetheless makes use of the unique BMW axle internally, with hidden wires that run to the sunshine on the {custom} license plate bracket.
Rounding out the spec sheet is a {custom} exhaust system, mounted as near the body as attainable. Johnny tucked it in so tight, in actual fact, that he needed to create cavities at the back of every muffler to make room for the engine mounting bolts. A CNC-machined aluminum badge adorns every finish can.
Full with a tasteful shade scheme, Helmut’s {custom} BMW R75/5 is flawless. It’s been a minute since we noticed it in individual, however we’re nonetheless struggling to get it out of our heads.
Photographs by Mark Luciani
