Motorcycle fashions come and go, but the bobber has been around since the 1930s: In those days, it was known to speed-hungry Harley and Indian riders as a ?cut down? or ?bob job.? Fast forward 80 years, and the appeal of the bobber is still strong: Triumph is having difficulty meeting demand for its modern-day namesake.
BMW, though, is not a brand you?d associate with the stripped-down hardtail look. But this remarkable machine from Austria can hold its own against the finest from the USA and England. It even stacks up well against BMW?s own official ?R5 Hommage,? which we revealed a year ago.

The builder of this most unusual BMW bobber is Titan, a small shop based in the ancient university city of Graz. The picturesque alpine location makes for a good photoshoot, but the build itself was a little more troublesome. According to lead tech Michael Siebenhofer, Titan don?t have any inhibitions when it comes to structural changes. But this project was rather unusual: ?Boxer goes Harley? is how he sums up the brief.

?All the technical parts had to be the finest?simple and modern,? he adds. ?But rear suspension" Nope.? The frame was to be as old as possible, preferably from World War 2, but the ignition should be electronic, for modern reliability.
In search of the right stance, Titan started calculating wheelbases, axle loads and steering head angles. ?We thought a Wehrmacht edition R75 would work?without the sidecar, naturally. Then we found Herr Zink, an outstandin...