Hammer Kraftrad R80 Bobber

Hammer Kraftrad R80 Bobber

Our pages are full of R-Series BMWs that have been given the racer or scrambler treatment, and there are a few more exotic iterations too, but very few bobbers, like this one from Michael, AKA, Hammer Kraftrad in Germany.The bike is a 1979 R80/7, and is one one of several builds by Michael – you can see more of his work on his Blog. If I’m reading Michael’s notes correctly he tells me this one was sold to him by a pair of arms dealers, so who knows what it was used for. He did mention that it wasn’t actually registered until 1981 despite being a ’79 bike. Hmmm…Anyway, Michael’s build ethos is right up our proverbial street. With each build he strips away everything that’s not essential and focuses on revealing the bike’s lines and stance. There’s plenty to do on a bobber build like this despite appearances. Removing the subframe means finding a place to attach the rear shocks, fender and seat, plus the battery and electrics have to magically disappear. “Less is More” translates literally into “Less on show – More work in the build”.The tank is obviously not the original BMW item, nor are the shrouded shocks, rear fender, lighting, instruments, and a whole host of parts. Michael also had to fabricate all the various lugs and brackets to accommodate all the new relocated parts.The seat is made from aluminium and Michael’s wife did the upholstery. The exhaust system is a Harley 2 into 1 system, modified to fit. The battery has been tucked into a new box hidden under the swing arm and painted black. The forks have been shortened to get the bike sitting properly in it’s bobber setup, and the side-mounted reg plate holder was fabricated by Michael and neatly welded into position at the end of the left-side swinger.After the build the bike was stripped and sand-blasted, ready for new finishes, paint and powdercoat. The wheels were also re-finished and rebuilt with new spokes and bearings. The engine was treated to a strip-down, blast and rebuild, although it was in good enough condition to not need any mechanical intervention.It’s a very tidy bike, with no more and no less than a man needs to just sit on and ride. Well and truly bobbed.

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