If any proof were needed that the world rewards good people and hard graft, it is right here in the form of this lovely cafe racer Boxer. Arnoldas is a self employed tiler from Lithuania, when his elderly neighbour was moving house Arnoldas, being a damn fine human being, offered to tile his new place. After refusing to take any money for the work, his generosity was rewarded as his old friend pulled the sheets from a crusty old BMW that had hidden in the corner of his garage for the past 9 years and demanded Arnoldas take it as payment. Karma at its glorious best.
The reward for Arnoldas labour was a 1979 BMW R100RS with 90000 miles on its dusty clocks. After looking over the machine Arnoldas took stock of the work required before taking to the internet in search of stimulation. As a Bikeshed regular you will no doubt have some idea of the wealth of inspiration to be found when searching for custom BMW Boxers. Needless to say the beauty of the machines he found made Arnoldas an instant member of the Boxer fan club and compelled him to his shed.
Previous plans of a quick fix project were ditched in favour of a full restoration in the cafe racer style. “The easy part was to dismantle the bike,” says Arnoldas, then came the rebuild process. Arnoldas gives little information about what he actually did, but judging by the pictures he followed the tried and tested route of trimming weight, tidying the rear, ditching the side panels, giving everything a lustrous coat of black and throwing a smattering of new parts at what remained.
The seat is modelled in the style of a Champion framed flat tracker, slimming as it rises to a pillion perch and upholstered in a dark brown that matches the clip on gracing grips. Wrapped exhaust headers lead to matt black cans that tuck neatly beneath new rear sets.
An Acewell speedometer sits tightly in its custom made top yoke nacelle. The correct shape was determined by Arnoldas drawing circles around a variety of vodka glasses and tea cups until he found the correct fit. Who needs a compass anyway?
The tank was finished in classic black with a chequerboard stripe. The number 23 adds a personal touch as it reflects Arnoldas’ birthday and is also the name he gives to his steed.
With continual changes of design ideas the build took 14 months to complete, sandwiched between Arnoldas work commitments and his Wedding, which leads us to the greatest success story of the build… Arnoldas wife was so taken with the results of his work that she is happy for him to get another project on the go for next winter. Great stuff Arnoldas, keep up the good work and the good deeds!
the Bike Shed
