Marcus Walz made his bones constructing excessive choppers within the 90s. However as the brand new wave café racer scene blossomed, the founding father of WalzWerk Bikes pivoted in the direction of extra up to date {custom} construct kinds. WalzWerk now builds round 100 bikes a 12 months—and not less than 80 of these are traditional BMW boxers.
That type of output calls for a gentle stream of donor bikes, so the WalzWerk crew is all the time on the hunt for appropriate candidates. “We purchase round 120 BMW R80 and R100 Monolever fashions a 12 months,” says Marcus, “The bulk come from family, heirs, and survivors—and virtually each certainly one of them has a private, and infrequently tragic, story behind it.”
The historical past of this 1987 BMW R80 was so compelling that, as soon as he’d heard it, Marcus determined to maintain the bike for himself. The concept was to customise it in accordance with WalzWerk’s in style ‘Schizzo’ template—however to maintain as a lot of the unique patina intact as potential as a nod to its provenance.
The story goes that the BMW R80’s sole proprietor, ‘Mr. H,’ purchased it in 1987 from a BMW supplier in Hamburg. On the time, you possibly can spec the R80 with a second entrance disc brake, a windshield, and a set of Krauser circumstances; Mr. H ordered simply the circumstances and instantly put the bike to work. Over the subsequent 30 years, he and his spouse racked up over 300,000 km [about 186,400 miles] on numerous journeys throughout Europe.
After Mr. H handed away, his spouse mothballed the BMW—dragging it out of the storage solely as soon as so {that a} native motorbike supplier might put it by way of a TÜV inspection. When Mrs. H died final 12 months, possession of the BMW went to their daughter, who determined to promote it to WalzWerk.
“After we picked up the BMW,” Marcus tells us, “their daughter visibly struggled to half with it and shed a number of tears. Along with the motorbike, she additionally handed us a folder full of data, with numerous workshop and TÜV receipts, which documented each single kilometer of the machine.”
“The rationale that she provided her dad and mom’ motorbike to us was as a result of she favored the concept of it virtually changing into a brand new motorbike—a type of rebirth, as she put it. We favored this concept too, and determined to proceed writing the historical past of this BMW.”
WalzWerk’s Schizzo BMWs are ground-up rebuilds that depart no bolt untouched. That type of method is often at odds with the concept of a constructing patina-laden machine, however Marcus has managed to tug it off right here. For instance, though the engine, transmission, and ultimate drive look battered on the surface, they’ve all been torn aside and rebuilt on the within.
WalzWerk additionally made the requisite body mods with out repainting the unique body. Then they bolted on certainly one of their Schizzo subframes, ending it with a worn look in order that it wouldn’t look misplaced on the in any other case aged bike. A slim saddle sits up prime.
Subsequent, the group shortened and rebuilt the entrance forks, and fitted a neat little entrance fender. Additionally they added a second disc brake to the entrance, utilizing a classic Brembo caliper to match the inventory unit. A brand new YSS shock does responsibility out again, whereas chunky Firestone Deluxe Champions wrap across the unique BMW rims.
The cockpit is a considered mixture of outdated and new. Marcus stored the OEM handlebars, clamps, and switchgear, however changed the grips and put in a brand-new Motogadget speedo. The headlight is new too, as are the custom-made fork sleeves that host a pair of tiny LED flip alerts.
Three-in-one LEDs deal with taillight and switch sign duties out again, whereas a WalzWerk license plate bracket attaches to the decrease shock mount.
WalzWerk constructed a contemporary wiring loom for the R80 with a Motogadget controller, then put in a Lithium-ion battery, tucking it away in certainly one of their signature battery packing containers below the transmission. Ending touches embrace a pair of {custom} headers and barely blemished SC-Mission cans, and WalzWerk engine badges which have been scuffed as much as look as outdated because the bike they adorn.
“The primary objective and essentially the most tough factor was to maintain and protect the true and distinctive patina which the bike has greater than sufficient of,” Marcus provides. “There are such a lot of issues on that bike that inform the story of greater than three a long time, and it might have been a disgrace to destroy all this.”
One half that Marcus couldn’t save was the BMW R80’s gas tank, which was rusted past purpose. So he used a gas tank from one other boxer, portray it to match his 1959 Porsche 356 survivor.
“My 356 has virtually the identical historical past because the bike,” he says. “It’s nonetheless in its unique colour and has by no means been restored.”
“I purchased the automotive in California a couple of years in the past from the heirs of its first proprietor. I stored the unique patina and rebuilt all of the technical components just like the suspension, brakes, gearbox, and engine, with out destroying the patina. Right this moment the automotive runs like new and is the star at each classic automotive present—particularly after I park the BMW subsequent to it.”
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