Photo: Michael Larssen
It’s no secret that BMW’s old-school airheads are ripe for customization, but we haven’t seen that many street trackers built around this platform. The classic R-series machines from Motorrad are normally used for scrambler or cafe racer conversions, and you may be tempted to assume they aren’t the most suitable options for building a tracker. A lesser-known shop from Germany somehow made it work, though.
The said firm is Cafemoto of Gelsenkirchen, run by two BMW customization specialists named Georg Godde and Holger Maninger. They took a relatively pristine R 100 GS and had it transformed into a shiny custom gem with flat-track vibes, while making sure the bike remained road-legal. First things first, all the original bodywork was promptly stripped away without a second thought.
Georg and his teammate tweaked the Beemer’s subframe, subsequently topping it off with a tracker-style tail unit that carries integrated side number plates. Above this new tail is a bespoke seat upholstered in black leather, while its underside is outfitted with a retro-looking taillight and a plain license plate bracket.
Right ahead of the custom saddle, we spot the unmistakable toaster tank of an R75/5. The previously chromed sections on its flanks are now painted matte-black, and the rest of it was stripped of any paint and then polished to a mirror finish. At the front, the R 100’s outfit is finished off with a relatively small but highly practical fender, as well as a third number board flanked by aftermarket turn signals.
The way ahead is kept sufficiently lit by an LED projector light recessed into the aluminum plate. As for the number 67, it is a sneaky reference to Georg’s year of birth. Moving over to the motorcycle’s cockpit area, we encounter a replacement handlebar from LSL and a single bar-end mirror mounted on the left, but all the controls appear to be stock.
Unsprung territory is occupied by a fresh set of wheels, measuring 19 inches at the front and 18 inches at the opposite end. Initially, the guys were looking for some tires which would fit the tracker theme. They couldn’t find a 19-incher with decent on-road performance, though, so it was eventually decided that dual-sport rubber was the way to go. In the end, Cafemoto entrusted Pirelli’s Scorpion Rally knobbies to get the job done.
Suspension upgrades consisted of youthful fork springs up north and an adjustable Wilbers shock absorber down south. As the creature’s boxer-twin engine was still in pretty good shape, the Germans chose not to fiddle with its internal workings. They simply fitted the exhaust system with a modern KTM muffler for a more pleasant soundtrack, securing it in place by way of tailor-made mounting hardware.
Georg and his teammate tweaked the Beemer’s subframe, subsequently topping it off with a tracker-style tail unit that carries integrated side number plates. Above this new tail is a bespoke seat upholstered in black leather, while its underside is outfitted with a retro-looking taillight and a plain license plate bracket.
Right ahead of the custom saddle, we spot the unmistakable toaster tank of an R75/5. The previously chromed sections on its flanks are now painted matte-black, and the rest of it was stripped of any paint and then polished to a mirror finish. At the front, the R 100’s outfit is finished off with a relatively small but highly practical fender, as well as a third number board flanked by aftermarket turn signals.
The way ahead is kept sufficiently lit by an LED projector light recessed into the aluminum plate. As for the number 67, it is a sneaky reference to Georg’s year of birth. Moving over to the motorcycle’s cockpit area, we encounter a replacement handlebar from LSL and a single bar-end mirror mounted on the left, but all the controls appear to be stock.
Unsprung territory is occupied by a fresh set of wheels, measuring 19 inches at the front and 18 inches at the opposite end. Initially, the guys were looking for some tires which would fit the tracker theme. They couldn’t find a 19-incher with decent on-road performance, though, so it was eventually decided that dual-sport rubber was the way to go. In the end, Cafemoto entrusted Pirelli’s Scorpion Rally knobbies to get the job done.
Suspension upgrades consisted of youthful fork springs up north and an adjustable Wilbers shock absorber down south. As the creature’s boxer-twin engine was still in pretty good shape, the Germans chose not to fiddle with its internal workings. They simply fitted the exhaust system with a modern KTM muffler for a more pleasant soundtrack, securing it in place by way of tailor-made mounting hardware.
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