The time when people said: I don't think I'll ever be old enough to drive a BMW? BMW has had racing successes since the year since. And many brave things have been done on circuits with BMW R90Ss.
Fellow villager, friend and master restorer Theo Terwel has always had a mild preference for BMWs. And he had a fight with the famous BMW racing celebrity Helmut Dähne, who did very brave things with his tuned R90S. Theo was struck by the idea of an R90S with ADHD and went to take a look at his stocks. He had thought of making a replica of the R90S racer.
And when Theo creates something, perfection is just the beginning. For example, he discovered that there should be 320 holes in each front disc brake, so he drilled 640. Through searching and detective work, he found the DNA of the BMW racer and he got to work. Long story short: When Dähne heard about the motorcycle through the grapevine, he went crazy in the old German way because he had the idea that Theo would want to sell his creation as The Real One of Dähne.
Theo is amiability itself and one of the most honest people I know. He contacted Dähne, told his side of the story and invited Dähne to view the BMW. Dähne accepted the invitation and the men appeared to understand each other completely. In the meantime, Theo has built three more replicas on commission, one of which is 'hand tame'. This means that the technology has been kept completely standard, including air filter and dampers. That copy has not become less beautiful, but it does sound less beautiful.
Where BMW drivers often have a somewhat cramped view on 'Originality and appreciation for other, in their view lesser, brands', Theo has a broader mindset.
He happily provides custom clothing in color for everything from AJS to Zündapp. But when he is in a mischievous mood, he also wants to surprise himself. A BMW R90S is of course great. But so is a Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. If you have both of those things in the shed, you can just daydream about what would happen if you started breeding them. The BMW stuff was there. There was some other stuff too. And if you have a paint shop, you suddenly have a nice project for the winter day.
Theo was very happy with the result. Several BMW Fahrers were almost sickened by the sacrilege and when the creation was published in a motorcycle magazine, there were readers who freaked out about the driver's motorcycle clothing.
The brightly colored hybrid turned out to be unsellable, received a set of original colored parts - from stock - and went to a man who thought the 'matching numbers' were more important than anything else.
Theo should have his Laverda ready soon. He had wanted an oak rocking horse like this for a long time. The Laverda will of course be 100% new & original. Because sometimes that's just the best thing.
I have thought Theo's creations were absolutely fantastic since the day Dolf's writings alerted me to their existence. The paint quality is of monumental beauty. I'm pretty sure I don't care about matching numbers either, unless the thing is seen as an investment. But with that, the primary purpose for which a motorcycle exists in the world, to ride that thing, has actually gone far out of the picture. While driving, anything can happen to such a thing in the big bad outside world. What would a 'matching numberophile' do if the engine block, for example, were to be destroyed by a stubborn broken connecting rod 'beyond any repair'? Will the entire bicycle suddenly be cursed as a monster without value? Or would all this not be possible because it would prefer not to be driven due to its adored status?
My 'Blauwtje' is not at all original, nor is it beautiful. It can still be said that it is neat. However, technically quite special. As an original R45 it was kind of worthless, but due to the (let's call it cautiously) 'adjustments', it drives and brakes a light year better than the original. However, all this has made it even more worthless from a market perspective than an original lethargic R45 that spontaneously squeezes drops of sweat out of its forehead at the mere sight of a full bag of groceries. In my opinion, motorcycles are connected to deeper human emotions. Theo Terwel's creations touch those emotions in me. That's why I think they're beautiful, to put it mildly.
Nice bikes.
Very nice bikes.
The link with the Guzzi escapes me.
But sometimes I wish I had just a fraction of the knowledge and skills that other people have.
And apparently they are not a very smooth machine, judging by the racing boots. 🙂 🙂
The BMW in Guzzi jacket was a departure from the BMW world where originality is highly valued. The slippers are old school air-cooled motorcycle shoes