We have introduced some Wild customs over the years, and truth be told, we were expecting the unexpected. Just in the last year, we’ve seen car engines mounted to motorcycle chassis, electric motors masquerading as air-cooled V-twins, and even scooters converted into off-road machines. fit.
So when this sleek little 1983 BMWR80ST Coming to us, we were almost shocked to learn that the number of custom parts included in the build could be counted on one finger.
Dubbed ‘The Greenster’, it’s the work of Estonia Renard’s motorcycle, who purposefully created that classic OEM vibe. “The idea was to build a better bike than it came out of the factory, with only original BMW parts.” William Sarevet, who handles everything media for Renard, says.
We are no strangers to Renard’s creations; About a dozen of their clean customs have appeared on our pages in the past. Renard builds everything from Hondas to pigs when required, but classic Beemers like these are undeniably their bread and butter.
In the blink of an eye, The Greenster can easily overtake the opponent from the top fix, as all the telltale signs of a factory BMW R80ST are intact. There’s a special fuel tank, a long angled rear fender and even an original BMW gear lever. And who could miss a premium two-in-one exhaust that blends seamlessly with the car’s lines?
Truth be told, Renard’s new custom build isn’t really that far off from the factory restore and nothing on the car has been cut, scraped, or welded. We can’t say we’re disappointed that less than 6,000 of these beautiful cars were ever built during the brief production run between 1982 and 1984.
The angle of the subframe is slightly adjusted, just to accommodate the new turn signals and custom Alcantara seats. But other than that, the frame is completely unobstructed. The same goes for the engine, which is still in stock — save for a minor overhaul while The Greenster is scrapped at the shop.
In keeping with the goal of building a better bike from factory parts, the team at Renard used a larger 38 mm diameter front end from an R100RT from the 90s. William tells us that the fork improves the ST’s handling, but also comes with the benefit of a Brembo dual-disc front brake setup — a factory-fit upgrade that still looks like a part.
Unfortunately, those ’90s RT models all came with cast aluminum ‘snowflake’ wheels, and giving up on the ST’s classic spokes style was simply impossible. A custom solution was needed, and Renard found their fix by tying an R80R hub to the ST’s wheel—allowing for a dual-disc setup without looking in the wrong place.
The remaining modifications follow a similar ‘go light’ approach. The original gauges were replaced by a smaller and more elegant dash from the standard R model of the same generation, a less conspicuous set of signals that replaced the large blocky OEM indicators and a The taller Lucas travel handlebars have been bolted to improve ergonomics.
Believe it or not, the beautiful metallic green paint that Greenster takes its name from is also purely OEM inspiration. Renard customers wanted the car painted in “the most original BMW color” they could find. After some extensive research, this custom color, dubbed ‘Nürburgring Green’, was modeled after the rare metallic flake green BMWs of the early 1970s.
The paint, decals, and stripes were all coined by One Eyed Morse’s Jarmo Nuutre, a name you might recognize from previous Renard mods. Jarmo is known for his impressive complexity custom culture-Design influenced. If you’ve seen absolutely crazy paint on ‘Anaconda Honda’ we introduced a while ago, you’ll know this is just a little more lenient than his usual fare.
The build is finished with Dunlop’s new Trail Mission tires. It’s another fitting upgrade for the ST, the car BMW has always aimed at as the street-focused sibling of the GS that still knows its way on the dirt road.
Renard’s clean take on this rare airhead might not be the craziest styling we’ve seen this year, but we bet BMW would have sold more STs if they had come out looking as clean. half like this.
Renard’s motorcycle | Facebook | Instagram | Image of Kalle Veesaar
