Baz T's Bmw Retro Combo

About 12 years ago I started to plan a custom trike project based around an R100GS BMW boxer engine. Two years and a great deal of help later the result confirmed my faith in the old "airhead" winning Best Trike at the Rossendale show on its first outing. The trike rode well, pulled like a train and like all old 2 valve boxers proved reliable, easy to service and maintain.

Since then I've always wanted to use a Beemer again in a custom project but they don't really suit a chop so I’ve been stalled - that is until I started to notice old combos bashing about. Club friends in Germany build and abuse them on a regular basis at the Elephant Rally and my mate Baz G in the club swears by them. Old tramp bikes appeal to me - ridden not polished, chrome strictly verboten and in a range of black colours - so I decided to start the search for bits.

Required:

1 x 1000cc 2 valve boxer
1 x old, open, military chair
1 x leading link front end

Expected to take the usual months to source parts but failed to reckon with help from an old mate and renowned BMW engineer, Roger Bennett. Roger, an Elephant Rally veteran, rides his boxer combination 365 days a year and within a weekend had put me onto a Ukrainian Dnieper military chair somewhere near Doncaster plus a leading link front end in Burnley.

An old school biker called Ian who drinks at our club pub had a 1978 R100-7 for sale and a suitable deal was done - all plans to pull my Harley apart while waiting for parts now shelved for a month or two!!

Stage 1 - get rid of RS fairing - no place for plastic or screens on any bike of mine. Good to see the bike emerging from hiding. So fairing off, wheels out, up on blocks and time for a good clean to see what lies beneath the usual accumulated crap.

Roger strikes again - this time helping me o organise a wheel swap, with a pal of his, for a pair of Lester wheels which will be better suited to the leading link and a brace of Brembos.

The chair came in bits but fairly solid, although without rear mountings. Thanks to Baz G, plus borrowed pickup, club mates always there when you need them! Some universal Dnieper rubber mountings were made to fit the rear chassis by fabricating new brackets and welding on 2 mounting bars - stretching my limited fabrication skills. So chair wheels, chassis plus assorted bits heading in the direction of the powdercoaters.

New handlebars on order - wider, dresser style to make steering easier and emphasize vintage look. These will be stripped, reinforced by welding in a cross-bar, and powdercoated black.

So far so good - time to match up paint with dark green on the bike and get to work on restoring the chair. Harley strip down still on back burner.

Updates to follow.....