“La Primera” — the first build from Anathem Garage!
Giancarlo Noe, founder of Anathem Garage, has quite an impressive history on two wheels. He’s been a mechanic for racing teams in World Superbike and the two-stroke era of MotoGP, winning the 1996 Superbike World Championship with Troy Corser and Ducati. In 2002, he developed Yamaha’s last 500cc GP racer. He’s developed prototypes for the likes of Bimota and Moto Morini, and in 2016, he founded Bolt Motor Co. with Spanish racing driver Adrian Campos, whose BMW R45 scrambler we previously featured.
In 2018, he left Bolt to open his own shop, Anathem Garage. Now we’re proud to feature the very first build from Giancarlo’s new shop, a 1982 BMW R100 aptly dubbed “La Primera” (“The First”). In this era, the big BMW airhead came with an nigh-unkillable 980cc boxer engine, offering 66-70 horsepower. Giancarlo has converted the bike to mono shock suspension, with a trick Ohlins damper and Showa front forks. A Honda tank graces the airhead’s backbone, along with a lovely blood-red seat and custom subframe.
Below, we get the full story on this R100 street scrambler.
BMW Airhead Scrambler: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
My name is Giancarlo Noe’. My motorcycle history began in 1987, as a mechanic in a team of the world championship: Team Gazzaniga Corse (Drivers: Maurizio Vitali, Corrado Catalano, Virginio Ferrari, Domenico Brigaglia and others). In 1994 I began working in Ducati SBK with Troy Corser and in 1996 we won the world SBK Championship. In 1997 I worked for Yamaha in the 500 world championship with the YZF500 (riders Corser, Cadalora). In 1998 I returned to Ducati where I remained until 2000 and worked with Troy Corser, Fogarty, Doriano Romboni. In 2001 I returned to the world speed championship with Aprilia 125 RSW (Simone Sanna rider), and in 2002 Yamaha called me to develop the last 500 GP with Criville as a rider (after the first test Criville retired and the season continued with Cardoso and Pere riba).
In 2004 I started working with Bimota creating prototypes of: DB5, DB6, Tesi 3D. I moved to Montecarlo where Virginio Ferrari and I opened an Mv Agusta centre. I returned to Italy because Moto Morini calls me to create a prototype of a new bike, the Granpasso 1200 is born, followed by the scrambler and the Granferro.
I open my own shop in Milan and began to restore vintage motorcycles to participate in competitions (villa d’este, Colonia Munich etc etc). In 2016 I move to Spain and together with Adrian Campos we founded BOLT (which you already know), and in the first two years I made the first 15 motorcycles. In 2018, I decided to open my own shop and left Bolt. Anathem Garage was born…
• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
Is a BMW R100 (1982).
• Why was this bike built?
It was built to publicize Anathem Garage.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
It’s the first bike from the garage, so I wanted to create something different: mono shock absorber (ohlins) on the right, petrol tank from a Honda 750, Showa front forks, brake disc designed for this bike.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
The first: the genesis of Anathem Garage
• How would you classify this bike?
How to classify it? Fast Scrambler.
Follow the Builder and Photographer
Anathem Garage:
Facebook: Anathemgarage
Instagram: @anathemgarage
Photos: @silkanti
Is this the builder’s first Airhead? swap the rocker covers to the correct sides – they’re s’posed to align with the exhaust fins – and you’ll have a completed machine.
This “Scrambler” will never see dirt or mud. But it sure is pretty. I like it. Now go get it dirty like a scrambler should be! Earn the name, not the pose.
Guys where is the explicit content warning? Man, this is just insanely good.