Brat Style BMW R100 by The Bike Maker

The Watchmaker’s Wheels…

Swiss watches are world-renown for their precision and craftsmanship, and Swiss watchmakers are legendary for their exactitude, their attention to detail. Today, we have a 1979 BMW R100RS built by Alexandre Ciaramella of The Bike Maker in Switzerland. Says Alex:

“I live in Switzerland, a country of the watch. I build watch dials for Swiss luxury watches. I use my sense of detail and finish from my profession on my passion.”

If you can think of a better man to build custom BMW motorcycles, we certainly can’t! We see a lot of R100 cafe racers and customs these days, but few display this attention to detail…especially those built by one-man shops. There is the satin-blacked engine, with the horizontal fins lift polished, and the powder-coated frame and wheels.

There is the Biltwell seat that seems to hover in space. The subtle, bar-end turn signals, and the Motogadget electronics package. This bike is a triumph of class and understatement–something a Swiss secret agent would ride to the opera in Zurich, with his tuxedo pressed razor-sharp and a well-oiled Walther under his arm.

We might be more apt to think of this R100 as a cafe racer, as it seems almost too well finished to be a brat, but Alex calls the bike “brat style,” so we will defer to him. Below, we let him tell us a little more about the build.

Custom R100RS Brat: In the Builder’s Words

I built motorcycles restarting of 0. Each part is retouched, disassembled, cleaned, and sometimes rebuilt.

This BMW R100RS was in very good condition, but I did anyway boneless. The chassis has been powder coating in metallic gray, as have the wheels. All electronics and controls are Motogadget, with M-Lock, M-unit, M-Blaze, M-Button, and Motoscope.

Lowered the fork, custom frame in the rear. The Biltwell seat is attached to the chassis with a rear light LEDs.