Scrambled BMW R 80 R Mystic Looks Immeasurably Better Than Its Stock Iteration

Founded by Christian Boosen a few years ago, 86 Gear has thus far tackled more than 70 custom projects of all shapes and sizes. Their stylistic approach is a matter of clean vintage looks with the elegance factor dialed up to eleven, and these traits are firmly entrenched into the scrambled Mystic we’re about to inspect.

Before getting in touch with Christian and his team, the client wasn’t entirely sure what model to use as a starting point. He sought an old-school airhead with Paralever rear suspension and laced wheels, so the only real options were either a Mystic or a GS. In the end, 86 Gear and their customer settled on a BMW R 80 R Mystic from the model-year 1994, which was due for some extensive surgery upon arrival in Warsaw.

Out of the box, the donor featured a 797cc boxer-twin engine good for up to 50 hp and 45 pound-feet (61 Nm) of torque. These figures are certainly decent, but the Polish bike-modding gurus knew there was more potential to be unlocked from the twin-cylinder powerplant. As such, they kicked things off with an all-inclusive makeover of the R 80 R’s mill.

The air-cooled boxer gained a Siebenrock big bore kit during the rebuild, taking its displacement all the way up to 1,070cc. Its camshaft and valves made room for fresh replacements, while the ports have been polished to improve airflow. Premium K&N pod filters work toward the same goal, and the motorcycle’s exhaust is now topped with dual stainless-steel mufflers from Spark.

All these upgrades resulted in 85 stout Bavarian ponies at the crank, an increase of 70 percent over the original power output. That’s some very impressive stuff, for sure, but Christian’s specialists were just getting warmed up. As their next port of call, they modernized the Mystic’s electronics with a new regulator, revised wiring, and a Motogadget control unit offering Bluetooth connectivity. A youthful gel battery rounds out the electrical upgrades.

With 35 horses added to the bike’s total output, some extra stopping power could really benefit its cause. The 86 Gear squad blessed the front Brembo calipers with a revitalizing overhaul, subsequently mating them to fresh discs and a Kustom Tech master cylinder. In terms of suspension mods at the front, the standard R 80 R forks were internally refreshed and fitted with progressive springs.

Out back, the OEM shock absorber got ditched in favor of a modern YSS substitute, thus putting the creature’s handling on par with its upgraded performance. Choosing to retain the factory wheels as per their client’s request, the Poles had them painted black and shod in dual-purpose Trailmax 58 rubber sourced from Dunlop’s catalog.

There were a couple of things about the Mystic we could never get into, those being its GS-borrowed attire and boxy subframe. It is therefore a delight to see them taken out of the equation here, as the replacements are obviously a lot easier on the eye. Center-stage, you will now spot the retrofitted fuel tank of an older R-series Beemer, sporting a flip-up filler cap and fresh BMW roundels.

In order to achieve prettier proportions at the rear end, 86 Gear turned to aftermarket solutions. The subframe and accompanying seat weren’t exactly plug-and-play, though, requiring some clever tweaking before they could be fitted on their new host. A bright Highsider taillight was recessed into the rearmost section of the subframe tubing, and there are LED turn signals attached a bit further ahead on the flanks.

Aiming to keep that area as clean as possible, Christian and his team installed a compact, swingarm-mounted license plate bracket near the lower shock mount. No less attention was given to the machine’s front end, where you will now see billet aluminum Sport-Evolution triple clamps, an LED headlamp, and a tiny fender whose bracket does double duty as a fork brace.

Raised ABM clip-ons occupy the motorcycle’s cockpit, adorned with underslung bar-end mirrors, plain aftermarket switches, and brown grips color-matched to the seat upholstery. A single Motogadget dial is placed in between, and the front turn signals are attached to the bottom triple clamp. Additionally, the control levers are both Kustom Tech parts.

The final thing for us to talk about is the paintwork, which was executed with the help of Lukasz Okrasko. A monochromatic mixture of gloss-black and matte-grey worked its way onto the fuel tank, and the frame was powder-coated black in its entirety. It’s a relatively simple affair, but one that suits this R 80 R scrambler perfectly.