Marcus Walz is the German custom pioneer whose company WalzWerk has become a byword for cult conversions. So much so that there’s a two year waiting list for his painstakingly constructed machines. Now comes WalzWerk’s birthday offering and we get the gift, pictured here. You might think 35th Anniversary Bike is a prosaic name, but sometimes the best way is the simple way.
Walz’s own 'Hardcore for Life' philosophy has attracted Formula One World Champions Kimi Räikkkönen and Sebastian Vettel to commission bikes. Brad Pitt ordered one, too, even if he's only acted as an F1 driver. Walz is no shy retiring violet, with his website describing him as "one of the most iconic and popular bike builders and motorcycle designers of our time”.
Look at the 35th Anniversary and dare to disagree. Basis is one of WalzWerk’s regular offerings, if regular is the right word here: the Schizzo BMW Bobber Concept Bike. Starting point is a 1980s/1990s BMW R80/R100, sourced from across Europe. At the WalzWerk workshops, the transformation from reliable, upright transport to something somewhat more radical begins. It takes, says the company, about 120 hours at the hands of their expert technicians to create each one.
WalzWerk at 35
For the 35th Anniversary Bike, an innocent 1988 BMW R80RT Monolever is stripped down, rear subframe entirely removed with a simple seat post running out behind the hefty BMW tank. That’s to cradle your hand-stitched saddle, bobber style. Rear suspension is by single sided swingarm which also carries the final drive to the rear wheel from the venerable and here highly tuned BMW flat twin, now bored out to 1,000 cc, fitted with a ground camshaft and good for a wheel-spinning 80 bhp.
And those tasty wheels - spinning or not - are 1980s style spoked black from the WalzWerk parts bin. Dell’Orto carburettors are bespoke for WalzWerk, as you’d perhaps expect. Red valve covers in bright red are a Ferrari-style touch, nicely setting off black for the frame, spoked wheels and just about everything else barring the palest of blue for the yellow striped tank.
The fame of Marcus Walz extends to a series of eateries, including the WalzWerk Café, originally sited in a building that supposedly once hosted the German philosopher Friedrich Schiller which gives us the opportunity to point out that Schiller once wrote that “only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily”. They’ve no doubt read their Schiller at WalzWerk.
Will you need a Platonic dialogue with your bank account to afford the 35th Anniversary Bike? Just 35 are being made, priced at a tempting €35,000 - £30,778 to you - and if you do decide to buy, remember that it’ll be put on the two year waiting list. Let’s meet for an espresso or three and a philosophical chat at the WalzWerk Café.
Next up: Check out this custom 1989 BMW R100 RS by WalzWerk.
