AdaMAANtina: BMW R80 Custom Roadster

An Atypical Airhead from Sardinia…  

The Italian island of Sardinia (Sardegna) is home to one of our favorite builder collectives, Motocicli Audaci (MAAN), a “testing laboratory for special motorbikes and daring motorcyclists.” The team is primarily composed of friends Nicola Manca (@miciogattillo), Matteo Murgia (@moorcustoms), and Stefano Minerba (@treperdieciallottava_ms), who’ve turned out an impressive host of customs in recent years.

Sand Racer: Honda Rebel 500 “MAANboard”

Their Honda Rebel 500 “MAANboard” won Honda Europe’s “Best Custom” at the 2022 Wheels and Waves Festival, and their Honda “MAANkey” is a modern Honda minibike they successfully campaigned in the Italian Scrambler championship, where Nicola took home 2nd place in the lightweight class!

Baja Monkey: Honda “MAANkey” Scrambler

Now they’re back with the ’83 BMW R80 you see here. The custom world is pretty well saturated with BMW airheads these days, and while many are well executed and loved by their owners, we tend to shy away from featuring them unless they deviate from the status quo. This new MAAN build certainly delivers in that regard; in fact, it was a primary thrust of the project:

“We started with the idea of not making the classic customised BMW that you keep seeing…”

To that end, the MAAN men started with a tank from a BMW R71, the 1938-41 model that was the last BMW motorcycle fitted with a side-valve engine (and widely copied in the Soviet Union as the M-72). The tank itself, which was “otherwise destined for the rubbish bin,” required a massive amount of refurbishment, and new mounts were welded to fit the R80 frame.

Much of the bike would grow around this 85-year-old tank, including the very name of the build: “AdaMAANtina,” from the world adamantine, meaning hard and incorruptible.

“It’s a name we liked a lot because of the fact that the bike has a lot of living metal parts, including the finish of the tank (which we deliberately left with the signs of time underneath, suitably treated and protected by the clear coat) that give an idea of how well it has withstood the passage of time.”

Other details of the build take inspiration from various different genres and styles: the full fenders of a classic roadster, the old-school enduro handlebars, the plexiglass headlight cover most often seen on desert rally bikes, and the aluminum dish (“lenticular”) over the rear wheel, which looks like something out of Mad Max.

“We don’t want to define a specific style because there are solutions that look beyond the classic canons…”

Meanwhile, the bike’s electronics are straight from the 21st century, as the MAAN team installed an RDR1 system from Giovanni Mogù of Mogùtronics, which streamlines the electrical system and made wiring up modern LED lighting a breeze.

Power Moto‘s Fabrizio Corda — a certified Öhlins technician and all-around mechanical wizard, completely overhauled the 800cc boxer engine with a few performance upgrades, but max horsepower isn’t the focus of such a project.

“It is to feel free that it was built, so its essence cannot be harnessed in cold numbers.”

The final build comes together as something of a post-apocalyptic roadster, a machine whose antique and futurist parts blend in a slightly steampunk fashion, and the well-known ruggedness and versatility of the BMW boxer engine and chassis makes this bike one that can be ridden and fixed just about anywhere — and draw a curious crowd at the same time.

It’s always a pleasure to feature a new build from our Sardinian friends…and we here another is soon to arrive!

BMW R80RT Custom: Builder Interview

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

BMW R80RT, m.y. 1983.

• Why was this bike built?

Customer Project.

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

We started with the idea of not making the classic customised BMW that you keep seeing. So we began by replacing the tank with one from the BMW R71 and that’s where it all started.

We don’t want to define a specific style because there are solutions that look beyond the classic canons, such as the rear lenticular or the plexiglass covering the headlight, which is now a classic of desert bikes rather than road bikes. We have taken some elements from the classics like the handlebars, for example, or the tank — other things from modern bikes like the instrumentation or use of LED lights. Still others from the scrambler world such as the height of the bike or the bend in the handlebars or the notched tires.

In short, it was a bike that was born as we went along, without a specific design as we usually do. We did a think tank and gradually came up with ideas without caring to stay within a specific style but which satisfied our aesthetic taste.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

The rear frame was rebuilt on the bike, and the front frame was modified to accommodate the new tank. The BMW R71 tank is the most characteristic thing about the bike, both because of the age of its donor bike and because of the line it gives to the new design. It arrived in a desperate condition but with a lot of work we managed to restore it and weld the connections for the new frame.

From here we redid the entire electrical system because unlike the old tank, which allowed the system to be housed in the side of the frame, the new tank is very narrow and does not allow for the positioning of the various relays.

The new system also includes the RDR1 system built by Mogù, which makes it possible to eliminate the diode plate, the bulb, and the voltage regulator for recharging, guaranteeing a simplification of the system and a more stable current. The installation of this component has enabled us to greatly simplify the electrical system, which is now entirely LED.

The rear shock absorbers were replaced with better performing Oram shocks and the lenticular for the rear wheel was built.

The front fork was revised as well as the headlight mountings and the plexiglass covering it, hiding the indicators inside.

The bike was attended as usual by Nicola, Stefano, and Matteo. The first two took care of the functional side of it (systems, welding, etc.) while Matteo did the painting, the saddle and, as usual, helped with everything.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

The bike has been nicknamed “AdaMAANtina,” borrowing this word from “adamantine,” which figuratively speaking means hard, solid, indomitable, incorruptible.

It’s a name we liked a lot because of the fact that the bike has a lot of living metal parts, including the finish of the tank (which we deliberately left with the signs of time underneath, suitably treated and protected by the clear coat) that give an idea of how well it has withstood the passage of time.

The aluminium lenticular also gives that sense of solidity. The generous 800cc engine, overhauled by our trusted technician Fabrizio Corda of Power Moto, has been optimised with new exhausts and cone filters to deliver more power, making the BMW a bike capable of going quite fast.

• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?

No idea. It is to feel free that it was built, so its essence cannot be harnessed in cold numbers. The original power is 50 hp, which is more than enough to have fun.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

Riding this BMW is certainly a very pleasant experience. Its boxer engine is generous and makes it possible to go fast as well as to enjoy the ride by holding a high gear and going light on the gas. Its elasticity is definitely its strong point, but this is well known and this, combined with better suspension, makes it a very versatile bike.

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

The thing that gives us most pride is that we have managed to make a stylistically beautiful motorbike without following a set pattern. Stepping out of the box to see a motorbike that is harmonious and unseen is definitely a nice achievement.

Because of the difficulty, probably the thing we are most proud of was reviving a tank that was otherwise destined for the rubbish bin. And given the result, that would have been a real shame.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Certainly Fabrizio Corda of Power Moto, who continues to dispense old-school advice to improve the level of our achievements, and Giovanni Mogù, who is always ready to share his knowledge of electronics with us. And of course Jan, the client of this realisation, who although following the work from Austria, never hesitated to trust us and our ideas, giving us complete freedom of expression and realisation.

Follow the Builders

Web: www.motocicliaudaci.com
Instagram: @motocicliaudaci
Team:
Nicola Manca @miciogattillo
Matteo Murgia @moorcustoms
Stefano Minerba @treperdieciallottava_ms

Photography credit: Davide Podda (@impact_frame_studio)

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