If the thought of Firestone tires on a custom motorcycle makes your blood boil, avert your eyes now. Johnny Nguyen hasn’t just fitted his 1978 BMW R80 bobber with Firestones—he’s gone the whole hog, and fitted military-spec Firestone tractor tires. It’s turned the R80 into a real-life two-wheeled Tonka toy, and although it’s nowhere near practical, it sure makes us smile.
Johnny runs Upcycle Motor Garage, which recently relocated from California to Austin, Texas. Most of Upcycle’s builds have been café racers—but Johnny was inspired to take this project in a radically different direction.
“One of my first ‘idol’ bikes was a white airhead bobber, built by Mark Van Der Kwaak, that was featured on Bike EXIF,” he explains.…