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BMW Boxing match

BMW PURISTS SHOULD do us all a big freakin’ favor and quickly flip the page, avert thine disapproving eyes from this pair of blasphemous Boxers.

Or maybe not.

Ever since designer Max Friz—who was no air-head—mounted an opposed twin-cylinder engine in a motorcycle frame in 1923, many have considered these powerplants to be the highest form of indus-

trial art. Rodney Aguiar, proprietor of Propulsion Lab, a Southern California fab shop, constructed two motorcycles to glorify that enduring uniqueness.

“Basically, I built them because no one else uses BMWs to create custom bikes,” he explains.

Genesis for the bikes goes back several years to the acquisition of a thrashed 1983 R80ST, the short-lived, street-only version of the GS, made

famous in a Cycle World subtitle when we wrote, “The bike, she smiles at me like a pretty girl.” With ink like that, it’s hard to believe the model only lasted a couple of years.

Anyway, part of the deal was another R80 parts bike...well, more like a motor, transmission and half a frame. Enough for Aguiar, who sees possibilities where others see only trouble.

The ST roller became “Golden Oldie” and bears an ironic resemblance to BMW’s techno-bobber Concept unveiled at last year’s Milan Show. Fuel is carried in a stretched ST gas tank that rests on the frame’s repositioned backbone, allowing it to be mounted lower, closing the gap to the motor. Welding done, the frame was treated to a semigloss black from Aguiar’s plasti-painter of choice, OC Powdercoating.

Shortened stock fork tubes, cosmetically altered triple-clamps and an ’87 Moto Guzzi SP 1000 headlight form the front end. Out back? Well, not much of anything. Er, fenders? Hey, it (almost) never rains in Southern California. After Aguiar rebuilt the engine, its cases were covered in black heat-resistant wrinkle powdercoat. The tranny received the same cost-effective treatment;

valve covers were done in gloss black. Two old DG Honda CR500 canisters muffle the exhaust note. Come time for final paintwork, the Dana Point duo of Mike Maldonado and Jimmy C sprayed and striped Golden Oldie, while the custom seat pan was covered in leather by Bitchen Rich.

Same crew was on hand to help turn the sorry-looking parts bike into “Envy,” a more modern take on the Beemer Bobber theme.

Aguiar re-did the frame with steel tube, then handmade the futuristic sheetmetal fuel tank. A 2005 Suzuki GSX-R750 gave its fork, front wheel and brakes to the project. A Gixxer 1000 shock supports a latergeneration BMW R1100 Paralever single-sided swingarm grafted on by way of custom mounts and a driveshaft adaptor. The bike was completely rewired, from its Headwinds headlight back to the funky Ford taillight. Motocross mufflers

again, this time two Suzuki RM250 cans from FMF.

After completion, Aguiar rode both bikes around for a few months before deciding he had to sell one. Golden Oldie was put on eBay, bids reaching $12,000 with five days left to the close of the auction. Nice guy Rodney decided to change fluids for the potential new owner, but when he turned from the bike to get his tools, the Beemer took a dive off the workstand. Somehow, hit ting the ground put nothing more then a small chip in the gas tank, but Aguiar had to stop the auction and get the tank repainted.

He took the near-disaster as a sign. “That bike didn’t want to leave, so it took a sacrificial plunge to ensure I wouldn’t sell it,” he says. “I figure if the bike is that dedicated to me, I really ought to keep it.” -Mark Cernicky