BAVARIA TO BEIJING. BMW R80 by Mandrill Garage
Written by Martin Hodgson
Beijing might be one of the world’s largest and oldest cities, with an ever-expanding motorcycle manufacturing industry, but that doesn’t mean its smooth sailing for the customisers who call it home. All the big companies have a presence there now, but that is a recent development, so when a client approached Mandrill Garage to build them a slick 1981 BMW R80, finding a donor bike let alone parts was a major challenge. Never fear, as the team of friends simply pooled their collective skills to craft a truly one of a kind BMW Vintage Racer from scratch.
With a growing custom scene emerging across China, like Mandrill, most builders have focussed on modern machinery as their base, not afforded the luxury of barn finds and a flourishing used bike market that many countries rely on. But with the world having gone BMW R series crazy it was only a matter of time before proprietor Luo Hao and his team were approached to perform their magic on one of the trusty old airheads.
Thankfully the stress of having a lack of parts available in the country was eased when the client gave Mandrill no instructions whatsoever and left them simply to build the bike as they saw fit. With an ’81 model never having been officially imported, one was eventually tracked down and entered the workshop to be stripped down. Only the engine, frame and wheels were kept, with the engine put on the bench for a rebuild and the frame placed in the jig to ensure it ...
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