Update: Sold for $12,500
The ultimate Bavarian Café 1983 BMW R100 LSB
Designed and built by Brandon Mungai now offered for sale by Moto Borgotaro
On the auction block at Bring a Trailer
Details from the build
Complete overhaul of engine top & bottom end, including valve job, nikasil cylinder honing, new exhaust valve, new clutch friction plate & diaphragm, Siebenrock “Sport” oil distance ring for larger oil capacity, transmission re-sealed, rebuilt 40mm Bing carburetors, reconditioned speedometer, rebuilt Brembo calipers & master cylinders front and rear with new brake pads, new post-1981 dual cross-over exhaust imported from Germany with Hoske silencers, New Hagon shocks, BMW /7 reproduction Giuliari sports seat imported from Germany, New Bridgestone BT45’s wrapped around powder coated snowflake wheels, stainless steel hardware used throughout, accented with re-plated cadmium OEM BMW drain & filler plugs, satin-black powder coated frame, subframe, fork tubes, controls, and other OEM parts, Flatracer Cafe Racer fairing & OEM BMW fuel tank & fenders painted in BMW M3 Laguna Seca Blue, Tommaselli adjustable clip-on bars with retro-fitted Magura grips & vintage Albert bar-end mirror.
Just over 600 miles since the build.
NO RESERVE
Bidding ends in 7 days – it hit the auction block today.
• Frame # WB104350906176723
They say art mimics life
While reading up on this BMW that was designed and built by Brandon Mungai, I was brought back to my training as a designer. We hear things like ‘form follows function’ and ‘eliminate the unnecessary’ though you are not told what is necessary and what is not.
As is true in any skill, you learn by doing. You figure out how to trust your gut and you make decisions for the customer. One of the reasons why so many designers abhor focus groups or committee approval is that it takes the magic out of the design. When someone masters their craft, they can create their work and the fans will follow.
In my humble opinion, industrial design and specifically motorcycle design can cross over into the realm of art when the designer cares and has mastered their craft. Mastery is at the intersection of passion and experience.
Though it is true that you are designing a product for a customer. You are working to create something that someone will be able to purchase and use. Yet the problem solving goes deeper and cool things happen when you genuinely care.
Brandon Mungai clearly cares.
Though the cafe racer style might not be for everyone, for those of us that love it, this work of art is a beautiful representation of life.
Pushing each previous build into subservience
Stanceworks wrote about Brandon in Brandon Mungai and the love of BMW Airheads, “Within the glass walls of his sunroom, Brandon builds BMW Cafe-inspired motorcycles…with each of his bikes comes a new standard, pushing each previous build into subservience. Each bike stands to improve the next, and Brandon strives to improve his craft. But if not for the ride, then to what end?”
Better than new
“…what separates Brandon’s bikes from any others. His meticulous care for the finish, fit, and final product of his work results in bikes that are above and beyond the quality of even BMW themselves. While Brandon may exude too much humility to make such a claim, I’ve yet to meet others that aren’t willing to propose that Brandon’s work is indeed “better than new.”
Faith in his craft
“Of course, Brandon is aiming to run a business – Bavarian Cafe – and it’s foolish to assume that a business can succeed without catering to customer desires. However, perhaps that’s part of the magic: Brandon’s flagrant disregard for a proper business model, instead, operating on the faith that his creations will see success on their own merits.”
Capturing some genuine aura
Return of the Cafe Racers covered this specific bike, “At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that this bike is a meticulously maintained Cafe Racer built some 30 years ago but it was completed in early 2013. Named the ‘LSB’ after it’s M3 Laguna Seca Blue paint scheme, the street legal BMW was designed to “capture some of the aura of a genuine road racer” and it sure does!”
Adding a bit of extra poke
“To achieve this Brandon started by overhauling the bikes tired engine from top to bottom. This included Nikasil cylinder honing, a clutch rebuild, new seals and valves and upgrades to the oil flow using Siebenrock components. A set of rebuilt 40mm Bing carbs and a dual cross over exhaust with Hoske silencers then add a bit of extra poke to the R100’s performance.”
