Customizing an older bike is always a risk. There’s the custom work to do, but there’s also the arduous task of fixing all the parts that have inevitably worn down or rusted out over time. And there’s no telling how extensive that restoration work will be, until you get your hands dirty.
This 1976 BMW R90S was in a seriously bad way when Ralf Eggl got his hands on it: its previous owner parked it in his shed 12 years ago when it stopped running, and didn?t touch it ever again. To make matters worse, water had even gotten into the engine?and the pistons were rusted firm in the cylinders.

Ralf runs his one-man-show, Woidwerk, out of his workshop in Viechtach, a small town nestled in Bavaria’s forests. He grew up around motorcycles, qualified as a master mechanic, and for the past few years has been kicking out 10 to 15 projects a year?most of them BMWs. So if anyone’s equipped to tackle a basket case boxer, it’s him.

Ralf started by taking the bike apart, and painstakingly restoring it from the inside out. Some original parts were hard to track down?like a replacement set of OEM cylinders. And other parts were updated, like the new electronic ignition and alternator.
The aim was to get the R90S running like neu, but not necessarily looking like new. Ralf wanted to maintain a bit of a period feel, so he didn’t polish the motor up too much.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that most of the BMW’s original frame is s...