If the original design team at BMW knew their sandals-with-socks tourers would get turned into bikes like this, they’d have choked on their strudel.

Despite their uninspiring origins, over the last 10 years we’ve seen old Boxers shift to the forefront of the custom scene. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, the Nozem custom house in Amsterdam comes out with this 1984 BMW R 80 that punches well above its weight.

Nozem’s bike builds are fantastic – heavy on fabrication work, incredible attention to detail and with some of the best colour palette selection we’ve seen. But over the last few months the shop’s been a bit quiet. The sad reason is that Nozem co-founder Lorenzo’s father passed away at the end of 2017. As a result, the R107R is the first foray back into bike building and the world of social media for Lorenzo.

What a bore

But the open-ended brief must have been an inviting return. “The customer wanted a monocoque bike,” Lorenzo says, “and gave us plenty of freedom to do what
we wanted, within the budget”, so the team went out hunting for a donor bike. A brief search found this 1984
R 80 at a local BMW specialist, already fitted with a worked Siebenrock 1070cc big-bore engine.

Work started at the front, with a pair of Honda CBR900RR forks fitted to a custom top triple clamp, recessed for a Motogadget speedo and tacho unit. Curiously, those high-performance forks were mated to a front drum brake. It’s strange seeing a drum on a bike like this – but it ain’t no mortal bit of braking hardware. It’s an original Ceriani 4LS 230mm model that the team tracked down in Belgium. On a scale of silver to gold, this is pure platinum.

Customiser’s porn: an original Ceriani 4LS 230mm drum brake

Hardest part

Like all their builds, the frame was extensively modified, cut, shut and powder-coated to match. The exhaust system was also made by the team and runs a scratch-built 2-1 system that ends in a Laser GP-style silencer. All typically clinical work by Nozem – but one part of the process had them tearing their hair out.

“The hardest part of the build was the swingarm,” Lorenzo says. “It’s all because of the space required to fit the new rear wheel. We had to cut part of the swingarm out and fit a new drive shaft to clear the rim. To reinforce it properly and get everything lined up was quite a hassle.”

Motogadget dash display in a recessed top yoke

Happy returns

Oddly, the highlight of the bike, the unibody tank and seat, wasn’t too difficult for the guys. Also made in-house, every bit of it is perfect – the cut-outs for the frame, the scallops for the legs and the way it blends the best parts of a traditional cafe racer with details from a hard-angled KTM superbike catalogue.

The R107R is a great way for Nozem to return to the market. “I’m looking forward to 2018,” Lorenzo says, “I’ve got a few new projects, a new workshop coming and a few other things
to look forward to.”

WORDS Marlon slack FOR PIPEBURN.COM

  PHOTOGRAPHY gijsspierings.com