All the way in Beijing, China, Mandrill Garage has created this custom BMW R80 masterpiece to include the best of both worlds.
Photo credits: Pipeburn
China is definitely one of the biggest markets in the motorcycle industry. All the big companies are currently saturated in Beijing and they are definitely not shy of magnificent custom bikes. A client approached Mandrill Garage to build them a 1981 BMW R80. Finding a donor bike and the parts was definitely a challenge for the team, as per Pipeburn. However, this does not stop the team from crafting a BMW Vintage Racer from scratch.
Background of the custom R80
Photo credits: Pipeburn
In Mandrill and many of the other firms, the builders pay more attention to modern machinery as their base. Luo Hao and his team took on the old bike and made it to a spectacular piece of work. Despite not having many of the parts, the client simply told Mandrill to build the bike according to what they saw fit. The team got hold of a 1981 model and stripped down its parts. The team kept the engine, frame and wheels. Also, the team rebuilt the 800cc boxer twin and polished the gearbox. The bike features a Motogadget m-Unit and LED lighting at the front and rear.
Photo credits: Pipeburn
The exterior of the custom R80
Photo credits: Pipeburn
“The idea was to make it very old style,” Luo says as quoted from Pipeburn. “So the first thought that all agreed on was to fit the bike with a girder front end.” The in house graphic designer drew up the pieces and entered into CAD. There is no doubt that the team built the body of the bike with immense hard work using billet alloy.
The team redesigned the swingarm to convert it to a mono-shock operation. The team had the idea of giving the bike a vintage feel. The metal work on the bike is quite sterling, especially at the tail section. As for the paint scheme, the team went with a classic BMW racing hue. “The paint and colour we use is a vintage BMW racing colour.”
Photo credits: Pipeburn
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