BMW Brat Style vs Bobber Frame Design

INTRODUCTION

Hi there folks. My name is Marcus and welcome to montmoto. This week I’m going to run through the difference between a brat-cafe and a bobber in terms of seating position, frame design and suspension support. Then I’m going to mock up both a brat-style and bobber subframe to see what they might look like on this BMW R80 build and ultimately try to decide what direction to take this build. As always - the different sections are in the timestamp below.

You may have seen my previous blogs on how we got to this point - but as a quick recap I’ve bought a 1979 BMW R80/7 motorcycle and I’m going to break it down into each individual nut and bolt and rebuild it into my ideal custom motorcycle. I’m just not certain what that is yet.

This week I’m going to be focused on ONE key decision - am I building a cafe racer, brat-style or bobber motorcycle? This is one of the most important decisions to make on this build as so many design decisions are impacted by it. So to make sure I’m starting this build on the right path, I’m going to mock up how this build might look with a couple of scenarios before I commit to one. And while I do it, I’m going to talk a bit about each of the motorcycle styles.

First, let’s get the original frame and subframe setup here to see what we’ve got.

Just look at how far back the seat on this subframe goes. The general rule for a cafe racer is that the seat should not extend beyond the rear wheel axle. And just look at this battery holder - it’s an absolute monster so irrespective of which motorcycle frame layout I do, I’m going to switch to a new lithium ion battery. 

Just take a look at the difference in size between the existing Westco 12v battery and this new Shorai 12v battery. It’s really incredible just how far battery technology has come along.

OK, but this isn’t the setup we're exploring here, so let’s first mock up a bobber style custom and I’ll talk to you a bit about the history of this genre motorcycle.

History Bobber Style

The bobber style custom motorcycle first came to be in the US in the 1930’s and is the grandfather of the modern day “chopper”. Originally based on production Harley Davidson motorcycles, the goal was to reduce weight by any means possible, including removing the front fender, shortening the rear and removing all side paneling and accessories. Stylistically the seat tube was lowered or removed entirely and often did not have any rear suspension, aka a hard-tail. I’ve owned choppers and while they are beautiful bikes, and there is a place for them in any garage, but I’m getting to old for no rear suspension - my back just can’t take it.

So I bought this bobber seat on sale a couple of years ago on ebay - it’s made by mother road route 66 customs, and I’ll try and add a link in the description below. I love the color of the leather on this seat but to be honest i didn’t think it would work with this build, but now that I see it mocked up, I have to say that I love it. It looks mean and really fits the look I’m going for. I do have a couple of concerns though. I’m not sure that I’d be comfortable ever trusting a single connection point into the frame to sit on and trust it will hold my 220lb weight directly above a wheel spinning at 60mph. The second thing is I would need to figure out how to mount the suspension in a way that doesn’t ruin the minimalist look - but I can’t do a hard tail these days.

OK - take one last look - time to change this up for a brat style setup.

History Brat Style

Many derivatives of the Cafe Racer have evolved since it’s origins in the 1960’s but in my opinion, one of the most interesting branches in the evolution mutation chain is the Japanese “Brat Style” influence. “Brat Style” a motorcycle modification shop opened in Tokyo in 1993 and has become world famous for not only a specific style, but to some degree, a way of life. Sometimes referred to as “The Japanese Bobber”, in terms of the design, you can probably summarize the Brat Style as a crossover between a bobber and a scrambler motorcycle. Similar to the cafe racer, brat style motorcycles are designed for the urban environment, with emphasis placed on minimalism and function over form - which in itself creates a form that is incredible. Typically Brat Style means slab seating, dirt handlebars, wrapped pipes and knobbly tires. They are aggressive and mean.

History of Cafe Racer

We’ve all likely heard of cafe racers these days, as they have become very popular again in the past 10 years. The cafe racer craze started in London in the 1960’s and was particularly associated with Urban Rockers. At the core of this movement,  production motorcycles were modified by their owners to make them faster over a short distance, so their owners could race each other from cafe to cafe - hence the name. This typically involved removing any weight where possible, and stripping the bikes down to their bare essentials. Mudguards, side panels, fairings and fenders we’re to be discarded. Another typical characteristic, in order for the rider to get low for aerodynamics, is clip on handlebars.

Ok, so now that you’ve seen both options, what direction should I take this build? Would you go with the bobber seat with little to no rear suspension, hovering above the wheel, or would you go for the Japanese style Brat, with bench seat and mongrel looks? I’m not entirely sure myself yet. But there is one more thing to do - cut off all the bits from the frame I don’t need with a smaller battery. 

Next week I’ll be working on the carbs to clean them up and buy me time to get the frame and rims in to get powder coated. So if you’d like to follow along on this project hit subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next one.

How to Mock-up a Cafe Racer Design Using Photoshop (for Wrenchers)

In this blog post I’m going to teach you three photoshop basic tools so by the end you’ll be able to turn this old BMW motorcycle into this custom cafe racer, using photoshop. So let’s get started.

Introduction

How’s it going readers? My name is Marcus and welcome to montmoto. I’m going to break this blog into 3 Parts.

In Part (1) I’m going to show you how to set up your Photoshop workspace as a blank canvas and step by step show you which buttons to click to get there.

In Part (2) I’m going to explain the concept of Layers in photoshop and how they are the only concept you really need to understand to get started doing any motorcycle mock ups.

And finally in Part (3) I’m going to show you step by step how to use our new knowledge to create a motorcycle that doesn’t exist in this world - you’re very own dream custom bike.

Part 1 - Photoshop for Wrenchers

As the name of this section suggests, this blog isn’t meant to be an exhaustive tutorial on how to use photoshop. It’s intended for someone who is comfortable with using desktop software and wants to do some very basic mock-ups and prototyping to create a custom motorcycle. 

Part (1) Photoshop Workspace Set-up

When you first open Photoshop the first thing you want to do is go toe ‘File’ and select ‘New’.  This will bring up this “New Document” interface. From here you can navigate to the ‘Web’ tab and select ‘Web Large’ as this one is HS with 1920 x 1080 aspect ratio. This next step is optional but instead of straining your eyes staring at a white screen all day, it’s pretty common practice to pick another color. On the right hand side of the New Document dialog box there is a ‘Background Contents dropdown menu. Pick any color you feel like. For this video I chose custom and picked a basic gray color. Once you’ve done that, hit the ‘Create’ button in the bottom right hand corner. And well done, we’ve set up our blank canvas and are ready to move on to Part (2).

Part (2) Photoshop Layers

OK, let’s just step out of Photoshop for a moment to learn a bit about Layers. They are a fundamental part of what we need to understand in order to be able to prototype our motorcycle. So here goes. 

A layer can be thought of as a sheet of clear transparent paper. In this little graphic this transparent sheet is called Layer #1 and right in the middle of it is I’ve drawn a nose. Now let’s imagine we placed another transparent sheet on top of this one, this time called Layer #2. On this layer I’ve drawn 2 eyes and a smiley mouth. Finally let’s imaging Layer #3 stacked on the very top. This one has the large circle for the outline of a face. 

When all these layers are stacked on top of each other, you can see the overall picture which is that of the smiley face, here in the bottom right hand corner. But what is the point of having each component of the smiley face on different layers? Well it frees you change out some of these layers later, so if you decided that you want the face to be a frowny face, you would turn Layer #2 with the smile off, and instead turn on a Layer that has a frown drawn on. This will be incredibly useful to us as we work on our motorcycle modifications later in the video.

Now switching back to photoshop we see that in the bottom right there is a tab in the UI called ‘Layers’. We’re going to cliche this and rename it to “Base Motorcycle”. At the very bottom of the screen there is a ‘Plus button’ to create a new Layer in the layer tab. I like to create 3 or 4 layers and rename them when I get started.

Part (3) Step by Step

Now for the fun part of Photoshop, here I’ve got a folder with various motorcycle photos. I have my own BMW R80/7 as I bought it, as well as some motorcycles I have Googled and saved over time. Now making sure that I have selected the ‘Base Motorcycle’ Layer I created (see this box on the lower right corner) I’m going to just crab the photo and drop it onto the workspace. Nice. Now we have a photo on our base layer.

Stepping out of photoshop again for a minute, what we’ve done here is add a photo to one layer, and the other layers are blank. I’ve show an incredible sketch of a motorcycle here with a tree in the background to represent that. But we only want the motorcycle, none of the background. So we’re going to need to use a photoshop tool to draw around the area we want to keep and then ‘Cut’ it out of the layer and “Paste” it onto a new layer. That means we just have the motorcycle on it’s own on a layer. The next step is to separate out the different components of the bike you want to be able to change out. So imagine we want to be able to change the rear wheel. We can select the wheel, ‘cut’ it from the layer it’s on and then ‘paste’ it onto it’s own layer, Layer #3 in this example. What this means is that we can now turn on an off any of these individual layers to only show the components that are on them. So if we turn off the original Layer #1 with the background, we’ll only see the other layers that have the motorcycle on it, as shown in the bottom right hand corner. 

Ok, back into photoshop to make this happen. We need to use the ‘Pen Tool’. It’s basically just used for marking around the area you want to select. So, again, always making sure you have selected the layer you want to make the selection from, we’re going to use the pen tool, zoom in, and click on the outline of the motorcycle the entire way around, like this. Here is some soothing music to watch this bit to. When you get the full way around close the selection by clicking on the first point you selected.

Great, back to the right hand box, to the Paths tab. You’ll see we have a new path there. You want to right click it and “Make Selection”. Then you need to press the “Command” + X key to cut the selection. What you are doing here is slicing through the base layer with the motorcycle. You now need to put it somewhere. Use one of the other layers you created earlier or create a new one with the plus layer box like we did earlier. Now to paste it you press “Command” and “P” buttons pressed together while in the new layer. You can press the little eyeball button in the Layer tab next to your base layer to turn it off, and you should see the old background disappear.

Let’s create a new document in the same way we did earlier. Now let's grab an image with a component we want to add to our motorcycle design. On this one I really like the back end and want to use the rear wheel and seat set up. Grab it, drop it into the document and use the same process with a pen to mark out what we want and then cut and paste it onto another layer in our Base Model. 

Finally I’m going to show you the last tool you need to be able to make this look great - the opacity slider. You can select a layer and slide the opacity to make the image more or less transparent. This helps with overlaying over the old motorcycle to drop it in just the right place.  Use the corners pulls to scale the image bigger or smaller.

So now you have all the tools you need to be able to cut images and save them to other layers and then turn the layers you want on and off. Playing around in photoshop you should be able to design your own custom cafe racer to be your dream build.

If you want to learn more on photoshop there are a bunch of tutorials on it here on youtube - it’s how I leared, and if you want another take on how to design your cafe racer, I’ve included For the Bold’s video on this very topic.

As always - good luck and have fun!

How to Buy a Used Motorcycle for Less than Half Price?

Introduction

How’s it going folks? My name’s Marcus and welcome to montmoto. In this blog post I’m going to talk about how you can save some money when buying your cafe racer donor motorcycle. For example, when I bought my 1979 BMW R80/7 from craigslist, after a little haggling back and forth with the seller, I paid $2400 cash, and that is a lot of money to throw at a cafe racer project from the beginning. But what if I told you, you could quickly make back more than half that money, more than $1600 in fact, and reduce the cost of your donor motorcycle to about $800? Would it make the decision to give this a go easier? Let me talk you through just how I did it.

Meet Heidi

Just before we jump into the details I need to introduce you to my 1979 BMW R80/7 - or as I call it, ‘Heidi’. It all started in January 2019. I was at work and decided to have a look on craigslist to see if there was an old BMW R80/7 for sale. I found this listed for $2500 and arranged with the seller to come and see the bike after work. I was so excited when I arrived at the house as I saw it sitting in the driveway. I immediately knew it was the one and after some half hearted haggling from me, I paid $2400 cash. I rode my new bike around the corner and  pulled into a gas station and took these pictures. Absolutely delighted with it.

Saving Money

‘Get to the bit where you save all that money’ - I hear you say. Good point. The next morning (a Saturday) I pulled the motorcycle out of the garage and took stock of what I really had. Remember, I paid $2400 for the motorcycle, but given this is for a custom cafe racer build, there are lots and lots of parts on this bike that are (1) tricky to find original and (2) there is a market for them in the US.

Let’s run through the bike together. First of all, the rear panniers are classic, but 100% not the look I’m going for. I wonder would anyone want these? A quick look on eBay confirmed ‘yes’ some people would very much want these and would be willing to pay $127 for them. Won’t need the pannier frames either and they’re worth $181. In fact, not only am I not going to need the pannier frames, but I’m not going to reuse the subframe on this build so that’s another $90. Can also get rid of the rear shocks for $131. Ok, we’re already up to more than $500 back for parts we won’t need. 

OK, what else? That Corbin seat is pretty appalling, surely that’s not worth anything? Oh right, found one on eBay with a backrest (which mine doesn’t) for $400, so let’s be conservative and say $300. What about those little plastic side panels that hide the battery? $85. The battery underneath is a wet cell 12V, definitely getting rid of that and the massive cage it’s in $34. Don’t like the foot rests, or the passenger footrests $125. I’m going to change the exhaust system out $200. Same with the front shocks $150. And adding in things like rear break lights, indicator lights, horn and handlebar controls is another $150. Add this all up and we get savings of in the region of $1600.

Now I get it. I hear you say “But Marcus, you’ve sold so much of the bike, what are you left with?”. I’ll tell you what you’re left with. You have a frame to build on. A fantastic engine, carburetors, gear box, drive shaft, and rims. The parts you want for the foundation of your build and none of the rest. And the best bit is, you only paid about $800 for them.

7 Tips When Buying Your Cafe Racer BMW Airhead Donor Bike

INTRODUCTION

How’s it going Folks? My name’s Marcus and welcome to montmoto. In this blog I’m going to talk about where to buy your BMW airhead motorcycle, what to look out for - both generally when buying a used motorcycle and specifically with the old BMW R-Series bikes. So let’s do it.

Ok, first of all - where should you look for your bike? This first section of the blog is intended for folks looking to buy a bike in the US and as a result is possibly not as relevant for folks living in other parts of the world. So if you prefer just the tips on what to look for when you’re checking over a potential bike, feel free to skip to the next section.

Craigslist

The first place I always look is craigslist. Every time I go there I see something that I could make work. Honestly it’s a bit of a dangerous site to go on and search bikes because there are so many options on any one day. If you’re looking for a specific model like an R80 in my case, or specific year of that model (older than 1981 in my case), you might have to wait a while and be patient - but I have found this by far to have the most motorcycles for sale within my local area. In fact, the day after I decided I was going to take this project on, I went onto craigslist and found my very own R80/7.

One of the main advantages of using a website like craigslist is the search capabilities and filters. You can filter:

1. to your local area and set mile ranges.

2. by vehicle specifics like mileage, price and title status. 

3. by a private seller or dealership. For an old bike like this that you’re going to tear down and rebuild, I really don’t think you want to be paying the premium that a dealership charges but I’d certainly recommend getting a bike that has a clean title (more on this later).

Some of the down sides of craigslist though are, it is a little riskier because you are going to meet a stranger and you may or may not have cash on you to purchase the bike. There have been some horror stories of opportunists taking advantage of situations like this, so just be careful, bring a friend and meet in a safe place.

BMW Airhead Forums

The second place I looked we’re on specialist motorcycles or BMW airhead forums.  Websites like www.advrider.com and www.airheads.org have rooms dedicated to selling used motorcycles.

I think one of the main advantages to this is that if you are buying a motorcycle from an active forum member you can get a feel from who you are buying from as well as maybe some of the work they have documented doing on the motorcycle. It, to some degree, takes a little bit of the risk of buying from a complete stranger knowing that the person selling the bike is at least passionate about it.

The real downside here is that you can’t filter by location and have to be patient for the right motorcycle to come up for sale. I’ve often found great bikes on there that I would love to buy, but they’re 3000 miles away and not worth all the hassle involved in getting them home.

Other Sources

As with any motorcycle, there are other places to keep an eye out like www.ebay.com and www.cycletrader.com  and www.facebookmarketplace.com 

OK - on to the next step - you’ve found a bike you’re seriously interested in, what are the next steps. Before you go to see the bike, ask the owner not to start the bike before you arrive. This might not be possible if it’s being ridden to a location that suits you both, but if you’re going to visit the seller, there is no reason why the bike can not be cold-started when you arrive. We’re going to break our inspection into two parts, (a) Bike cold and (b) bike warm + test ride.

BIKE COLD CHECKS

1. Check paperwork and VIN Numbers

When you arrive the very first thing you want to check is, does the title VIN number match the numbers stamped on the motorcycle. On the R80/7 the VIN number can be found on a flat rectangle or space on the lower left side of the motorcycle. This number should match the VIN number in the title document. If it matches, then check the VIN number stamped into the frame of the bike, which on the R80’s is on the front right hand side of the frame between the gas tank and the front forks. If either of these numbers are different from each other, or the VIN number on the title document, something is up and I’d walk away. While you have the title document in your hand, you should make sure it has no “liens” and that it’s not a duplicate title document. Ask to see the sellers ID and makes sure the names match on the title.

2. General Inspection

The next thing you want to do is just a general inspection - what some people call “kicking the tyres”. What you’re asking yourself here is “has this bike been taken care of?”. It doesn’t matter where you start this inspection, what you’re doing is building up a big picture of how this bike has been treated. While you’re doing this part of the walk around with the bike still off, you’re asking the owner as many questions as you can about the history of the bike - again, to build up this mental model of the life it has had. Here is a non exhaustive list of things you could look out for.

2.1 TANK

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Check the tank - has it been dented or scratched. Small dents are not too difficult to repair - but they may indicate that this bike has been in an accident “(and by the way - if you’re buying a 40 year old bike, chances are it has at some stage been on it’s side. Here is my tank on the bike I bought for example. While you’re looking at the tank, open the fuel cap and have a look inside. Does it look clean and no rust/ old paint floating around in there?

2.2 BRAKE LEVERS AND BAR ENDS

After the tank check the clutch and brake levers to see if they’re bent or broken. If they are, it might indicate the bike has been dropped. Are they new? Another possible red flag - why buy levers for a bike you’re selling? Damaged or new clutch or front brake levers mean take a closer look at the cylinder heads on these Boxer Engines.

2.3 CYLINDER HEADS

Moving down from the tank, look at the cylinder heads. Are they scratched and scuffed or do they look new? If they’re new, why did the owner replace them? With these R80 cylinder heads extending out, they can easily be damaged in a fall - so get as much information here as possible. Sticking with the cylinders, have a look at the cylinder fins. Remember, these fins are used to keep the bike cool, so are they damaged? Do they have lots of chips and dings from years of rocks chipping away at them? 

2.4 ENGINE

Check where the cylinders connect to the engine housing. There are two rubber grommets under each cylinder. Check for signs of leaking oil from here. Time to get on your knees and look under the engine, any signs of oil dripping or pooling? Does the gasket between the oil pan and engine look clean and free from oil? If the bike is parked near or in it’s usual spot, are there signs of oil on the pavement that it rests? If there is, ask why? Mine was an oily mess - but I was reasonably happy that I would be able to resolve this when rebuilding - let’s see if I was right. Check the oil dipstick for both level and color. If the oil is a dark black it hasn’t been changed in a while.

2.5 FRAME

While you’re looking under the bike, check the frame, kick stand, engine, exhaust manifold for signs of rust. A little rust is not a major problem but excessive rust is a red flag that this bike has not been taken care of and could mean worse problems are hidden in the engine for you. Also try and judge “is it straight”. This one is super tricky unless it’s a real mess, but look to see if the frame is true, and not warped or bent anywhere indicating an accident and may mean you have to scrap the frame.

2.6 RIMS

Looking for any dents or fractures in the rims. Check the tires. Are they worn bald? If you want to be super thorough, check the tire date codes - I’ll have a link in the description to a Revzilla guide on exactly how to do that. Not a problem in itself, but another indicator that the bike wasn’t serviced or cared for. On the front rim check the brake disc. Is it rusty from lack of use and sitting outside? Does it have grooves in it from where the previous owner didn’t change the brake pads in time? Chances are that if they haven’t even changed their brake pads, they haven’t done more important maintenance like changing oil regularly etc.

BIKE RUNNING CHECKS

OK so you’re all done with your cold bike walk around. You’ve got a general feeling about how well this bike has been cared for as well as an idea how honest the seller is with you about some of the issues that exist. It’s finally time to start the bike.

These old bikes often throw out a lot of white smoke and can rattle about a bit when they start. Ask the seller to do the start up sequence for you, so you can watch - because you need to pull the choke on the carburetors on these old machines. This is done with a metal switch dial on the left hand side of the bike but could also be done individually on each of the carbs depending on how it has been set up. And don’t be too alarmed if it is a little unsteady or irregular in it’s rhythm when it first starts, it needs a minute of two to settle down, push the choke back in and warm up. 

So, the initial cloud of white smoke has passed (hopefully), the choke is back in, and the bike is running and warm. What are we looking for here? At this stage we’re really doing 2 things. We’re listening and we’re waiting. 

3. Listening

First we’re listening for any knocking sounds on either side of the engine. We want to crouch down next to the cylinder head and really listen. A broken rod might sound something like this - and would result in me walking away.

Second we listen to see how the bike sounds when you gently rev the throttle (make sure it’s in neutral). Does anything get louder, or does it become irregular? Place a hand on the each end of the exhaust pipes (careful not to burn yourself - it doesn have to be a seal - just enough to feel the pressure. Does the pressure feel the same coming out of the exhaust?

4. Waiting

While the bike is heating up we’re waiting to see if any engine warning lights come on. To help kill time you can check the headlight and high beams are working, that indicator lights on front and back work and that the brakes feel good when you sit on the bike.

Get off the bike one last time while it’s running, and look for any oil drops forming around the engine, gearbox etc. Check it all over one last time. 

Hopefully no red flag here, so you it’s time for a test ride. In my experience I would only ever let someone test ride a motorcycle if they paid full price cash first, knowing that if they crashed it, or decided to never come back, I wouldn’t be out of pocket. So expect the same from the seller you are working with. 

One last thing - before you go for your test ride - check the brakes check the brakes check the brakes before you get on a motorcycle you’ve never ridden before. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is. With the R80/7 the single disc on the front and the drum brake on the back means that stopping is likely faster putting your legs out and dragging your heels on the ground. It just doesn’t stop. Expect the same from your vintage ride, treat it with respect and go easy. You’re really just trying to get up and down the gears (to make sure they’re all there) and that the bike is running reasonably well. This is not your Rossi moment.

That’s all the advice I can give when buying your own project bike. I hope this was helpful, but if there is something I didn’t answer here,or you think I missed an important area to check when buy a vintage BMW, drop a comment below. In the next blog I’ll be running through my own craigslist buy, some of the problems I spotted when I was buying it, and some I didn’t, so if you’re interested I’ll see you in the next one.

Thanks. Bye.

Why the BMW Boxer Air-Cooled Engine is Perfect for a Custom Cafe Racer

The day I bought the BMW R80/7 - First photo

How’s it going folks? My name’s Marcus and welcome to the montmoto blog. I’ve created this blog to document me stripping down a 1979 air-cooled BMW R80/7 motorcycle to each individual component and then rebuilding it into my dream bike. My hope is that folks will be able to follow along on this journey, help me make some of the design decisions along the way and ultimately maybe encourage some people that have always dreamed of taking on a project like this - to just give it a go. So let’s do it. :)

Who Am I?

I have been riding motorcycles since I was 16 years old. I’ve had most types of bikes - starting with my first 50cc Suzuki CP50 scooter. Although it was just a small bike, I was instantly hooked on the freedom and in the moment feeling you get from riding on two wheels. Those of you who ride or have ridden bikes know that feeling - being able to reach out and touch the world around you as you move along. And yes, I know I’m talking about an old 80’s 50cc scooter when I say this. But It’s a unique feeling I’ve never experienced from any other thing.  Since my first scooter I’ve had a couple of other Vespas (ET4 and 300GTS Super), a loud cruiser (250cc Yamaha Dragstar) naked street bikes (Honda CB400 and Honda CBF600) and more than a few big bore Adventure bikes (BMW R1150GSA and right now I own the R1250GSA). 

Throughout this time, I have always wanted to build my own custom motorcycle. A couple of years ago I restored a Vespa scooter which gave me the confidence to give an even bigger project a go.  And that’s where this blog comes in.

BMW R80/7

I’ve bought a 1979 BMW R80/7 Airhead and I’m going to spend the next (however long it takes) restoring it, and customizing it to make it my own dream motorcycle.

I’m hoping for those of you interested in taking a similar journey that this blog might inspire you to give it a go and custom more or restore your own dream motorcycle. I’ll be creating blog posts and videos as I go to help people follow along. So let’s get down to business. 

Selecting a Motorcycle

It all started in January 2019 when I decided I wanted to restore an old motorcycle in my garage in the back garden. I quickly narrowed my search to the BMW R series of air-cooled models (known as ‘Airheads’ as opposed to ‘Wetheads’ for the later liquid cooled models). I knew I wanted an old bike because:

1. I knew it would likely be easier to do without all the computers and electronic components in a modern motorcycle and

2. somewhat from a romantic standpoint, I wanted a bike that was as old as, or older, than me. I turned 40 this year - so just chalk it up to a mid-life crisis. 

The reason I picked an air cooled boxer has 3 parts to it: 

(1) Boxer Engine

The boxer engine was first created by Karl Benz in 1897 and was frequently using in aircraft more so than cars. The most famous use of a Boxer engine is likely the VW Beetle which used the air cooled rear mounted  engine in it’s design from 1938 to 1982 when it switched over to water cooled. A notable mention is also Porsche, with the 911 exclusively using boxers from 1964 until present day.

Sometimes called “Flat Engines” or “Horizontally Opposed”, the Boxer Engine is basically a V-engine with pistons 180degree apart so they stick out the sides directly opposite each other. There are several different types of Flat Engines but what makes it a Boxer is that the pistons shoot in and out at the same time, so they both “punch out” from the crank at the same time and both meet in the center at the same time and is analogous to boxers touching gloves at the start of a bout. This gives the engine a very distinctive feel and the boxer wobble/ vibration which many of us love.

Boxer engines were particularly suited to early motorcycles due to the cylinders and cooling fins sticking out to the sides, offering lots of airflow to the cooling fins prior to the introduction of liquid cooling. Additionally, the engine offers a nice low center of mass - which as you know allows for a more stable, controlled ride.

(2) Availability Parts & Advice

The second reason is I live in Berkeley in Northern California and these Airhead BMW’s are easy enough to come by. A quick search of Craigslist on any day will bring up a couple of different options. Beyond that there are old BMW specialists still making new parts for these old motorcycles such as Boxer2Valve, Euromoto Electric and for custom parts Cognito Moto. More on these in later blog posts. And finally there is a good community of enthusiasts online to help answer my questions and steer me when I get lost. Resources like www.adventurebikerider.com and www.Airheads.org are incredibly invaluable if you want to see for yourself.

(3) Looks Amazing

Finally and being honest, most importantly, it looks incredible. That boxer engine sitting in front of your shins as you vibrate sideways down the road is exactly the kind of perfect bike I want. It sounds great, feels great and was a no brainer for me. 

In my next blog I’m going to go through finding the right bike for the right price, what to look out for when buying one of these old R80/7’s as well as some of the things I wish I knew at the time. So if you’re interested in that, sign up to the mailing list and I’ll see you in the next one. :)