This refurbish was one of significance in many ways; one being the bike was going to represent us in our first appearence at the Handbuilt Show for last years show in 2017 and another being we were able to take this hacked up 1974 BMW R90/6 900cc motorcycle and showcase our creativity for such a thorough build like this. So without further ado read on a about how this bike came from concept to reality.
Our customer Woody Allison has a BMW R/90-S that we had previously done some restoration work to and when he came accross an old R90/6 that had seen better days he called upon us as to what to do with his recent find. As we started the process of coming up with a concept for the restoration we came to know a little of Woody's history especially his involvement in motocross in the 70's as a member of the "Allison Bros" team. This was to become the crux for the theme in designing this bike even going as far as recreating the paint job of the "Allison Bros" bikes back in the 70's. Bridging this gap between a traditional BMW Airhead and a Motocross bike was such a cool challenge always having an eye for the BMX/ Motocross aesthetic. Making the decision to do something a little more drastic verses a more tradition restore build came a little easy with the condition Woody had found the bike in. Woody was 100% into the final design and gave us his confidence throughout the whole project with all the details which we really appreciated. Getting started we had to fabricate a lot and for this we brought on Clint Reynolds who was a big help on making our designs realities. We created a whole new rear subframe, relocated the rear suspension, new header system, new seat pan/ seat (we then had sent off to be upholstered in leather) and the mounts for the headlight and taillight fitted with a Boyle Custom Moto light. The fenders were also a custom fabrication but handled by Joe Cooper at Cooper Smithing Co. As mentioned we wanted to recreate the signature Allison Bros purple and silver paint theme from the 70's. Helping us accomplish the paint we asked James at Powder ATX to powder coat the frame and Josh Trevino worked some magic on the fenders and tank. Seeing this bike come together piece by piece was exciting leaving a spark from the days where it all started. Jim Fox is another key individual who came on board playing a vital role more notably in the end so it made it on time to the Handbuilt Show showroom floor. Feedback on the bike has been pheonominal over the past year most importantly from Woody himself. Creating something not only unique but meaningful to our customer was a really cool opportunity to be presented with. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or via our IG page @austinmotoworks.
