“Fuel Tracker HP”: BMW Airhead Street Tracker

BMW R100 Street Tracker

When Scram Africa breaks an airhead, it comes back stronger…

The BMW R100RS, built from 1976-1984, was powered by a 980cc, 70-hp version of the company’s legendary airhead flat twin engine. The RS was a sports/grand touring version of the iconic R100, with an integral fairing that was fairly radical at the time…at least for BMW.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

Enter Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles of Spain, who not only manufacture gorgeous, retro-inspired moto gear and accessories, but also organize the Scram Africa event, a 1500km adventure across Morocco for new and old scramblers. After building their own personal bikes for the event, they found people were interested in what they were building — soon, they branched out into building bespoke custom bikes for various customers.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

The 1979 BMW R100RS you see here was a veteran of Scram Africa. When the bike broke down, the owner — Dave from England — left the bike with the Fuel crew to “fix and transform.” They worked up several concepts, and Dave chose one with an aggressive dirt track influence. After five months of hard work, the crew produced the “Fuel R100 Tracker HP” (High Performance) — one of our favorite BMW street trackers we’ve ever seen.

Below, we get the full story on the build!

BMW R100 Street Tracker: Builder Interview

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

Fuel Motorcycles started back in 2012. Lots of motorcycles have been done in our shop, transforming dreams into sketches and then making them real! We started to make our own motorcycles to go to the Scram Africa, and then we started to build other ones as people became interested in what we made.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

Fuel Tracker HP: Based on a BMW R100 RS from 1979, the Fuel R100 Tracker HP (High Performance).

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• Why was this bike built?

Commissioned by Dave from England. Dave joined us for last year’s Scram Africa, but his bike broke down. So when the trip ended, he gave it to us to fix and transform.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

We worked on several designs, and Dave finally chose one with a dirt track influence. The concept had a compact tank, a solo seat, and a high exhaust pipe. And it was to be as simple and light as possible.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• What custom work was done to the bike?

– Front from a BMW K75.
– Bigger brake discs and four caliper brakes.
– K&N Filters.
– Mikuni Carburetors.
– Ohlins Suspension.
– Ignition System by pressing a button.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• How would you classify this bike?

Dirt Tracker or Street Tracker (because the moto-inspiration is from the dirt, but the bike runs on the asphalt usually).

BMW R100 Street Tracker

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

This bike represents a step forward in our learning. It was a challenge that we achieved thanks to 5 months of hard work and the talent of many people, such as our engineer Alfons.

BMW R100 Street Tracker

Follow the Builder

Web: fuelmotorcycles.eu
Facebook: @FuelBespoke
Instagram: @FuelMotorcycles
Twitter: @fuelmotorcycles

Photographer: @Jordicortespie

 

6 Comments

  1. Anthony Carcella

    Solid build as always.

    What indicators are those?

  2. David Kelly

    I’m not a Beemer lover but this bike looks very cool ? great

  3. Everything on this bike works for me, except the front tire/wheel width. Still, one of the nicest airhead trackers I’ve ever seen.

  4. ” The RS was a sports/grand touring version of the iconic R100, with an integral fairing that (sic) fairly radical at the time…at least for BMW.”

    Not much. Just something added.

    It was the first wind tunnel-designed, fully integrated fairing ever on a large-production motorcycle.

  5. Sometimes in a custom build the lines just work for me. This is one of those builds. One very sweet ride and an excellent quality build.

  6. That is perfect 4me. But I want it for gravel roads. How much to build that?

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