A year ago, we revealed Diamond Atelier’s new ?Mark II? series of BMW café racers. Based on the classic R-series, the Mark II was designed to use parts produced in batches, rather than as one-offs. A ‘production custom,’ if you will.
Twelve months on, and the Mark II is thriving. The Munich-based company reports 20 units sold since they kicked off the first build, with bikes being delivered as far as Seoul.

In fact, the lads reckon they’ve got a Mark II on every continent already. And that’s not counting offshoot builds that use some?but not all?of the Mark II parts. So we figured it was about time to check in how things were going.
The gorgeous machines you see here are the latest Mark IIs to roll off the line. And while they’re visually close to the bikes we revealed last year, Diamond have made a number of improvements?and learnt a few lessons along the way.
Each bike starts out as a 1980s model BMW boxer motor and Monolever frame, favored for its single-sided swing arm. Diamond rebuilds and refurbishes the engine and carbs if necessary, before kitting the bike out with their signature Mark II tank, tail and subframe.
The tail section’s one of the cleanest we’ve seen, with a CAD-designed subframe hiding inside the bodywork to create a floating effect. What’s more, it meets with Germany’s notoriously strict TÃœV standard.

A ‘Stage 1’ Mark II comes with refurbished OEM suspension and wheels, b...