There are fast builds, slow builds and then there is the one-off, highly detailed, subtle custom bike that you see here. When Tomas Janicek began this transformation he was an art student looking for a mechanical project. That was ten years ago. Starting point was a classic BMW R80 warhorse, Janicek learning as he worked, with the experts from Wang Motorcycles in The Hague at his side. It is as we think you’ll agree something of a minimalist work of art. A decade used well, then.
It began with a Saturday job. Gradually, Tomas fell in love with the classic BMW bikes that came and went for repairs and service. So he took the plunge and bought an R80 Scrambler to customise himself. Even though an art course doesn’t exactly equip you for stripping back a flat twin engine.
And a full rebuild (literally everything was replaced or renewed) of that BMW engine was the first job. Nothing like diving in at the deep end. Idea, Janicek says now, was to create a “zero mile” engine, better if anything than when it left the factory. Saturday after Saturday, Wang Choy was on hand to help, guide and suggest. The long-term labour of love was underway. Engine look - sand blasted but left unpainted - set the tone for the no frills feel of this build.
But all of that minimalist white conceals the extent of what’s been done here. The new rear subframe is one sublime example, forming an X-shape under the mudguard and incorporating a luggage rack. Number plate holder to rear is of course hand made. At the front headlights are from a Triumph Speed Triple, faced with a one-off tinted screen designed to look as if it’s melting.
Very little is standard. Tank is from a BMW R65 - now with unique take on BMW lettering - saddle is custom, front wheel is custom 17”, rear carries the drive off a a later R-Series bike. Fresh Michelin Sirac tyres were ideal to grip the Alpine passes that formed its first shakedown. Handlebars carry essentials only, with minimal switches and a speedometer by Motogadget that is hardly there.
No sign that either Tomas Janicek or his mentors at Wang Motorcycles are selling this BMW R80. Since the day to day business at Wang Motorcycles is repair and service you could always take a road trip - incorporating a ferry, we’d suggest - to see them on the two wheeled transport of your choice. Or perhaps start how Tomas did all those years ago, and buy a stock R80, give it to them and see where the custom work leads. Set aside around £8,000 for the basic bike... and a decade or so.
