Custom BMW R75/5 from the Handbuilt Show
It takes a lot of faith to hand your custom motorcycle project over to someone else—and then give them free rein over it. But if you find the right person to work with, the results can be spectacular. That’s the story behind this custom BMW R75/5, which turned out so great that we awarded it our ‘Best of Show’ pick at this year’s Handbuilt Show.

It belongs to Helmut Siepmann, a product designer based near Toronto, Canada. The donor bike, a 1971 BMW R75/5, was a true barn find, complete with rust, perished upholstery, and missing parts. Helmut planned to revive it and turn it into a café racer.

Custom BMW R75/5 from the Handbuilt Show
Needing help with the hard parts, Helmut called on his friend, Johnny Lorette, a retired tool and die maker.…

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