Björn Gericke is, by his personal admission, “not a motorbike builder.” However he has all of the makings of 1.
Because the son of Hein Gericke, founding father of the eponymous motorbike gear model, Björn has been deeply embedded in motorbike tradition for many of his life. And because the proprietor of the technical attire label g-lab, he has a watch for aesthetics. So whereas he may not have the technical chops to construct a motorbike from scratch, he is aware of what works and what doesn’t—and he is aware of who to name to make it occur.
Final time we heard from Björn, he’d simply wrapped up a {custom} BMW R nineT. This time, he’s opted for a traditional boxer—an early-90s BMW R100R Mystic. Each bikes had been executed with the assistance of the BMW specialist workshop Sport Evolution.
Björn and Sport Evolution go method again. They fielded a workforce collectively within the German Supersport Championship, profitable the 2008 title, and collaborated on just a few {custom} builds. SE focuses solely on customization as of late, providing every part from bolt-on components to ground-up builds.
With SE on board to deal with the heavy lifting, Björn took on the position of inventive director, designer, undertaking supervisor, and components orderer. The BMW R100R Mystic is among the Bavarian marque’s extra oddball designs, but it surely has nice bones. So it was the right donor machine for the hopped-up street tracker that Björn had in thoughts.
The BMW was shortly denuded of its bodywork, earlier than being constructed again up with consideration for each seems to be and efficiency. “I by no means simply need an attractive bike—it additionally has to operate at a prime stage,” Björn provides.
The primary job was to tweak the BMW R100R Mystic’s stance. The OEM wheels measured 18 inches on the entrance and 17 inches out again, however the imaginative and prescient referred to as for a 19F/18R combo. So the entrance wheel was tailored to run on the again as a substitute, with the 19” wheel from an previous BMW GS taking its place.
Street-compliant Dunlop DT3-R flat observe tires, scalped from an Indian FTR, had been fitted subsequent. The getting old suspension wanted a lift, so SE upgraded the entrance forks with a totally adjustable cartridge equipment. The equipment is a proprietary merchandise from SE, as is the adjustable rear shock.
SE went to city on the boxer motor too, rebuilding it with a smorgasbord of components that they’ve developed in-house. The now-1,070 cc engine sports activities new valves, reworked heads, a 320° camshaft, a programmable ignition, and Mikuni TM40 carbs. “The bike has near 90 hp and 90 Nm of torque now,” says Björn.
Hattech provided a custom-built chrome steel exhaust system. Each headers sashay their approach to the left-hand aspect of the bike, flowing right into a pair of stacked reverse-cone mufflers.
Getting the BMW’s bodywork proper was excessive on the precedence listing. The workforce began by adapting a Harley XR750 reproduction tank to suit, with small tweaks to the body to assist it sit decrease. A further tube was welded in close to the headstock so as to add stiffness.
A hand-crafted aluminum tailpiece sits additional again, designed to run completely parallel to the bottom of the tank. A single quantity board hangs from it on the left, leaving the rear shock uncovered on the alternative aspect. The entire association is perched atop a bolt-on SE subframe, with built-in tabs that accommodate a pair of LED taillights.
Up entrance, a tight-fitting aluminum nacelle hosts a J.W. Speaker LED headlight. A custom-made fork brace sits decrease down, flanked by fiberglass flat track-style fork guards. Björn opted to ditch one of many R100R’s entrance brake discs for a leaner vibe.
The cockpit options LSL handlebars fitted with a Brembo brake lever, a CRG clutch lever, and a Movement Professional throttle. The switches are KTM components, and the tiny digital speedo is from Motogadget.
Björn took inspiration for the BMW’s livery from a Land Rover that was restored by the Portuguese outfit Coolnvintage. The crisp colorway is ready in opposition to an anthracite body, whereas the engine wears largely silver finishes. Franky at Indicators with Soul added the completion: hand-lettered particulars scattered all through the construct.
Lithe and completely poised, Björn’s BMW R100R road tracker hits all the fitting notes. “It was fairly a problem to get all of the seems to be and proportions proper,” he admits, “because the BMW body and the engine place are all over. However I feel we managed it fairly effectively.”
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