Project dark shadow BMW R100 caferacer

After all, everything started as if it were lightning from the clear sky, i.e. the Motorcycle Fair 2020 Helsinki.

In the BMW department, we saw something that really stabbed me in the eye and the interest was aroused. On the spot. I saw a BMW R9T model that pleased me and invited me to get to know each other in more detail. Looking at this BMW motorcycle, thinking, THIS is the Café Racer Style. Before that statement, I'd never heard of it, let alone knew anything about it, but the spark had ignited. The need to further study the topic when you got home, the evening went into the subject and waded through the internet, through which a new world and interest in BMR R Series and BMW Motorcycles in general opened up motorcycle History.

BMW R100 custom information research

Well, this went on, then. Countless nights, when the enthusiasm took over and I found more and more More Finer kustomoituja R-sarjalaisia, of which works of art had been conjured up. At this point, the pandemic had already come before us and the uncertainty about how long this was going to last and that we might spend more time at home would be nice If you could use that time for a project of your own. That's where the idea started, as they say, with the internet open and wading over what blanks would be available. There wasn't much supply, or I thought the prices for bikes were too expensive. I then put my own notice in a few online columns that I would be interested in finding for myself 78-84 R100 bike according to the model year from which I would like to build Café Racer.

Buying a BMW R100 custom project bike

It wasn't long before a bike owner called from Jyväskylä and told him that he would have a bike of this model on sale and it could be given up for a suitable fee. The owner sent me pictures and told me the story of the bike what he knew. The bike was originally manufactured for the USA market in 1978 in the 1978 model year R100/7, which had then been brought to Finland at some point. They said the technology and the bike worked, but I'm sure there'd be something to put in. This did not stand in the way when the idea was to put the bike in, down to the last nut, and then build something new out of it. The problem was that the borders of Uusimaa had been closed and I couldn't even go to Jyväskylä to see the bike. Because the offernI took a risk and decided that the deal would be done, but we have to wait for the lockdown to end and then see how I could get the bike to myself. Incidentally, an acquaintance of the owner was coming to vuosaari harbour with a trailer for something American as soon as the lockdown ends, he suggested that he could bring the bike on the same trip to me. This was great, and I'd have a home delivery and a future projection. The shops were agreed after a small price discussion and the timetable was the day after the closure ended, when I would finally get the bike to a new home. Oh, that's good good day when the bike finally arrived and I got to know it more closely and start the engine and check out how it works and works.

BMW R100 Maintenance

The seller had told me that carburators require maintenance and that the drinking may leak because the initial visit is a little challenging. simultaneously Thought that it is better to start with a little maintenance in general, such as oil exchanges etc to get the bike then for a summer drive before starting a makeover in the autumn and should be ready before the next summer. I got the maintenance done and. carburators cleaned and nothing more when for the first time. Before this bike, I had no experience customizing bikes, building, let alone BMW R-series, Change when, as a teenager, mopeds were rached and shaved. So learn the age of everything and practice. While researching this café in the spring Racer genre, building bikes, I also watched a lot of related videos and different ways and techniques refurbishment. This also became a shopping list for my own garage of possible tools and machines that I might need, or they would allow me to do as much work as possible on my own and then keep the budget under control. However, with regard to the budget and the timetable, my little brother already told me in the spring that remember to tell me the budget with three and the timetable with two, and you may be closer to the truth. After all, this joke-thrown statement turned out to be closer to the truth when my original assessment. Since the schedule was anyway that the bike didn't have to be completed until the summer of 2021, I had also studied these tools and machines needed for the garage that I might get. To do this, we then acquired e.g. a sufficiently efficient compressed air compressor, a blowing cabinet for glass blowing and cleaning, a paint spray set and some compressed air tools, ultrasonic washer, etc. I had also tried to include these in my own budget at the planning stage, and perhaps even then the idea was made of the idea that perhaps this would not be the only wheel that we would make. Unfortunately, those were not cheap, but the desire to learn and make themselves exceeded the cost of them.

The right tools for the project bike

I researched suitable tools and equipment online and then found suitable Places of which orders were placed. During the early spring, when designing and outlining the project, I also decided on certain main principles. So first of all, the bike's going to be Café. Racer design according to the original design language. So nothing like that, or e.g dirt tires single bobber seat, many of which Café Racers also called. This is what I noticed in the studies. when I did, that, first of all, this genre is currently on the rise, with a lot of people calling their bikes Café Racer. Thus although in reality it has been done bobber, Scrambler or Tracker according to style. It's not for me, everyone gets to call the bike they're building exactly what they want, but I wanted to do it myself, respecting your traditions. Café Racer style was formed especially in England In the '60s the wheels were taken off the weight and built as streamlined and fast as possible. This is because they competed from café to café on an inter-café ride, and the second was herself that the bike had to be able to do "Ton Up". So you had to get over 100 miles on a bike to call it Café. Racer. Those decades have passed, but the genre has received new blood and at the moment you could probably say that we are living in a new era of flourishing bike builds. Bike construction has become fashionable and more new enthusiasts are joining us, which I think is just a very great thing. Similarly, a café called Ace Café is still standing in London, which originally served as one pitstop for these inter-café races.

Well, that's from history, it's worth checking out if you're not familiar with the subject matter. So, in order to return to the design of the bike, in light of the above-mentioned context, I had decided to stick to Café Racer model and I also decided on the colour scheme in my mind. I like design and design, and I think the saying works best with it, less is more. So simple is beautiful. Against this I decided to that the bike would have a 2+1 rule. That's 2 main colors, and 1 accent color. Black is always black and motorcycles from one of the most common the triggerareno, So it was a natural choice. I wanted something special for the second main colour, and I looked at the colours of the BMW car world and their special designs, if there was anything there that I found pleasing. That's what we found pretty quickly, namely BMW individual color called Frozen Arctic Grey metallic matt. this matt paint special colour had originally become available for M Series cars, and I thought it was very nice. Second bonus, the color name had a hint of the North, Arctic, which was visible in the metal in gray as a small pearl of dark blue. A bit like a Finnish blueberry forest. As an accent color, I ended up in gold because I think it goes well with black and metallic grey. It was an idea to use in a suitable and small proportion of others, such as brake inputs and perhaps a few other small details you see in the pictures. As I mentioned above, I think the finest bikes I came across when exploring the subject were those that had applied less is more Principle. The wheels looked beautiful and whole, nothing A mixed monster combined with many styles and god knows what, there were many of them.

Of course, everyone does exactly what they want with their bikes, that's just what they do. There was a long project and a lot of work ahead, because we had to come up with a name for the project and the bike. Personally, I'm a bit of a tech nerd and interested in many topics, mythology was also part of this series. And since the shape of the bike would be dark and dark as Batman, siintyi the idea of dark power, myths and myths. I ran into a Slavic god online called Chernobog. Something that means a black god or a god of shadow. In popular culture, this character has been used e.g as inspiration in Walt Disney's fantasy "Night on soon Mountain" (1940). Dark Shadow. And since the bike became a name, and the construction was to be done in its own garage, so naturally the workshop was named Dark Shadow Garage. At the end of the summer, I also made my own Instagram account under the name @darkshadowgarage, where I started publishing photos and content to interested parties as the project progressed, when many directions became Queries I wonder if I have any pictures of the project that a lot of people had heard about. Summer was supposed to go on the original bike, but since the visit was a bit of what happened, and I noticed other minor problems, I thought if I started fixing these now just so I can drive in the summer, I'm going to have to do that much work on it, that it It would be pointless. I decided that it was better just to start the project and then wait to ride a ready-made bike next summer. No change when the wheel is unloaded and modified towards the new one. At first, I ordered them. Components needed at that time and essential to manufacture or modify and require metalworking, welding and the like. New tires, locals, shock absorbers, a saddle and its frame for a metal pipe and more went on order. Then the first change towards the new design began, and I actually did everything but welding. It wasn't experienced let alone had the right machine, and here I trusted a friend's help every profession to do and who came to the stables to weld the necessary metals together. Once these changes had been completed and there was no more work to be done in need of construction or fitting, it was time to dismantle the wheel into pieces. The according to when I bit the parts, I bagged them mini griplock bags and marked the parts.

Before demolition, I tried to record as much as possible the progress of the work for myself, the pile-up and the history books. Approximately 1,000 pictures have been taken throughout the project. Next, in the autumn, the rear, rims and other parts that needed to get black went into sandblasting and powder coating. This is where i already trusted the small-scale network and, supported by my own searches, the Uusimaa Soda in pornais was a choice where you could get everything done at once at the right price. While they were in powder coating, there was time to dismantle the engine and gearbox into parts. Some, on the other hand, have parts marked in bags until all that was left was an engine block and boxes and bags of parts. This is where the blowing cabinet and compressed air compressor, acquired in early summer, got to work in earnest. To get some of the parts of the 40-year old bike that are dirty, corroded and show signs that history lived clean again.

I also checked out components which need renewal in order to ensure that the engine, technology and wheel are as reliable as possible, a bit like when the factory was completed. Surprises were also found, apparently a small dreamer has sometimes been driven on a bike because e.g the oil base was welded and patched from the inside to block an apparent crack and leakage. Similarly, pieces had chipped from the gearbox lid. So these had to be reasserted, because i wanted to make a bike on top of the last one, and the repair would not have been enough by my own standards. The next surprise was revealed when the stern was unloaded. Apparently, the blow to the dreamer had been that much. heard that the stern in the cog, i.e. "crown gear" pieces were gone. This was going to be a bigger challenge. When you can't find it, you find it on the pharmacy shelf. It was challenging itself that the wheel had a stern with a gear ratio of 2.91. I Couldn't find the right spare part around the world, the USA, Europe and Asia. I didn't find anything. But then after a long time, i re-examined the detonation images and the R-series articles. Then i found a List which depicted a different versions that had been in these. I didn't want to ride the bike. e.g R100RT 3.00 intermediation parts via model since it was Café Racer and not a touring bike. I came across a version on the list at 2.75, which was merely mentioned that BMW used these on its race bikes, there was no other information. I decided to try my luck and another reconnaissance in Germany. Coincidentally, such a set was then found with a serial number somewhere in the seals of the warehouse and had to be ordered from that seat. This bike deserves the back of the race version. A new part was acquired with a big hand, as many parts were very worn out. in any case, they are in need of replacement. At the same time, I also decided to acquire new cylinders and pistons, here I trusted the German quality and the Siebenrock Set. I also ended up with these partly because the original bike is the US version, it had lower compression ratios then in the European versions, and a little less power.

This had forced the engine to be modified in due time because the bike would otherwise not have passed the stricter emission limits already in force at that time in the state of California. So with this change, we could get another boost to the machine-like Café Racer it's supposed to be. The engine and gearbox experienced a complete renovation anyway, with new bearings, gaskets, chains, etc. In addition, cylinder covers I decided to inject vimosen on to strike and they turned around in Germany and got a new life and valves through machining, etc. Autumn went and winter began to make its way, the frame and other parts came back from the painting and little by little as the project progressed, it became a part of it, i.e. assembly. Engine and other parts I painted myself Black when everything was still in parts because this was the easiest thing to do back then, that I think got the best print on the painting. Paint shows as one step, the requirement for painting was "baking" them after drying, to give the surface its properties and to be more resistant to both dents and oil, gasoline and other liquids. Because there's no oven in the garage, and I don't. Unfortunately, I couldn't put engine parts in our kitchen oven so I had to come up with another solution.

Since it was already winter, I happen to have a big Weber grill in the yard during winter storage. I was wondering if that was the solution. On paper, parts on the grill, grill on top and using the meter at 100C and the door closed looked like a good idea. So then I begun one part at a time "baking" them on the grill while waiting with a cold beer, it's okay to try I guessed. Then there was left a bundle of parts, attach the engine to the frame with the gearbox and switch to electrical work. I had decided to re-make them all completely new too, and the originals were actually replaced by everything. From a full generator system and start-up forward. A much-used German was chosen as the brain of the bike, the Motogadget M-Unit, which facilitates the activities, that brings the bike to this millennium. Such as Wireless bluetooth connections and a suitable smartphone app. This keeps track as a driving computer, remembers maintenance, and allows you to set up adjustments that you like, even if the blinkers and brake light are functioning. One of the features of a techno nerd is that it also affected the wheel's electronics choices, such as the digital speedometer and the electric petrol meter that the original wheels have never had. Why not, if possible and electronics support it. The last jobs left were painting a gas cantand and margins before Mortgage. This, on the other hand, was found through networks in Autoväri Vuori Rajamäki, which Told That it's going to work out and painted in the special color I want. The work was excellent and when I saw them ready I was Confirmed That the color I chose was exactly what the bike needed. Tank closed, gas in and first start-up. Voh damn what sounds and vibe when the wheel came to life for the first time as a new dark god.

Now, at the time of writing this, the bike is basically ready and the journey has been long, educational and interesting. Spring is still waiting for its arrival and the first test runs and final adjustments, as well as finishing. But this has brought something else besides experience. New acquaintances have been created online, I have been able to advise those in need, a neighbor borrowed tools and asked for tips on their own bmw R100RS fixes, and the first Dark Shadow Garage "customer" is waiting to get started. An Instagram follower got in touch, came to ask for advice and look at my bike. I was so convinced by the workI did from that seat that he asked if I could build hima Café/Bobber-style bike from his R90/6 to 74 bike. I hadn't expected this, and after a few days of thinking about it, I said yes. Why not, gain more experience, the hobby will continue and hopefully he will get the bike he likesand the bike a new life. This should then start in this spring when my own finally finished, barbecue I get out,new beer in the cold and stable space. So if you've been thinking about starting a project like this, do it even if you're hesitant. I'm also wrestling with questions about whether  I can, what do you think this is going to be, what if it doesn't work? Answers have  been found to everyone and much more courage has come, as well as open-mindedness and a desire to learn new things. Finally, a funny coincidence along the way. In early autumn, I ran into a BMW car-side article and a press release online. BMW said it would release 500pc of the new BMW X7 SUV, which will be available in summer 2021.

BMW calls this specially made SUV "Dark Shadow Edition." As part of it, the car also got a special color that fits the theme, can you guess the color and name of the paint? I was reminded of a saying, "Genius minds think alike."

Pictures by Oscar Bystedt - OB Photo