Love will do you do crazy things. The owners of these combinations BMW R100 The scrambler had his eye on a BMW R nineT before he saw a vintage boxer and fell in love. And he only owned one custom bike before he met a woman and fell in love.
The full story behind these bikes is steeped in luck. It all started when the owner was sweeping chimneys; he mentioned the idea of a Martini-painted R nineT to his chimney sweep, who happened to be friends with Holger Breuer. Before long, he found himself in Holger’s workshop, HB-Customin Husum, Germany.
Holger had a BMW R100 on the bench at the time, and once his new customer saw it, the R nineT was no longer a priority. With Holger’s advice on what to look out for, he found a 1982 BMW R100RS and towed it back to HB-Custom.
The idea was to turn it into something luxurious. mixer with the underlying bobber sensibilities. That meant maintaining a reasonable ride height, but transforming the rear end with a single seat and low-mounted fenders. With a clear direction in mind, Holger set to work.
Nothing too wild here—just a neat set of mods that show the level of refinement and consideration we’ve come to expect from Holger. The OEM subframe is gone, replaced by a bespoke seat mount and relocated upper shock mount. A bobber-style seat sits up top, wrapped in two-tone leather.
The rear is supported by a pair of YSS shocks, while a steel fender hugs the rear tire. A slim LED taillight is hidden under the seat, with a license plate holder mounted on the right side of the swingarm.
Moving to the cockpit, Holger has swapped out the stock top handlebar for a neat CNC-machined affair. It’s been fitted with new handlebar clamps, Magura ones. The grips and controls are also from Magura, the mirrors are Highsider parts, and the bar-end switches and turn signals are from Motogadget.
An LED headlight sits at the front, with a Motogadget speedo mounted just above it in a custom housing. The R100’s stock fuel tank takes centre stage, boasting a nice paint job and a new knurled aluminium fuel cap.
Other upgrades include progressive springs and preload adjusters for the front forks, and all-terrain tires from Heidenau. The reconditioned engine uses classic peanut-style valve covers, a housing filter and twin exhausts from German boxer engine specialists Hattech.
The second BMW R100 was ordered as a surprise almost as soon as the first one was delivered. “When the customer received his new bike on Thursday evening, he was so excited that he called back Friday morning and ordered it again—but this time as a two-seater,” Holger told us. “I just smiled and went back to work.”
Holger’s customer had found love and wanted a matching pair of shorts to share with his new girlfriend. The bikes were nearly identical, save for a few key details.
The most obvious differences are the second car’s beefier custom subframe and two-seater leather seats. A shorter, high-mounted rear fender sits at the rear, with a license plate holder that also houses a pair of Kellermann combination LEDs. A rack, soft bags, and passenger pegs complete the rear.
Since this bike is more capable, Holger also equipped it with engine crash bars and an auxiliary headlight. The R100’s OEM square valve covers also set it apart from its stablemate.
We’d be happy to have either of these sexy BMW R100 scramblers in our Bike EXIF garage—so the fact that one person owns both makes us a little jealous. Which would you choose?
HB-Custom | Instagram | Image by Emayat Wahab
