If you’re unsure whether classic BMW airheads are still popular custom donors, just ask Ironwood Custom Motorcycles. The Dutch outfit has been going since 2012, but hit top gear a couple of years ago?and have racked up almost a dozen Beemer commissions to meet demand.
Many of these builds are based on their blacked-out ‘Death Star‘ style, but they’ve also created extreme one-offs like ‘The Mutant‘?one of the most popular bikes ever shown on EXIF. So with their latest BMW-based project, Ironwood decided to build something in-between.

Meet ‘The Moon Crawler’?an unconventional BMW R100R that blends the bobber vibe of Ironwood’s Death Star builds, with a little of The Mutant’s modern café racer aggression. ?Our goal was to make it cool to the eye and fun to ride,? says Ironwood founder, Arjan van den Boom. ?Less aggressive and better handling than The Mutant, but more colorful and outspoken than The Death Star series (they are mostly grey or black).?

The combination of clip-ons, a bobbed seat and semi-knobblies might have some readers scratching their heads. But on the up side, this is one sorted Beemer. Head wrench Eric Kalter, and the rest of the Ironwood team, started with a pristine donor?but tore it down to the ground anyway.
They gave the motor a refresh with new gaskets and seals, then painted and powder coated various bits to get it looking new. The subframe went in the bin, and the rest of the frame wa...