Old BMW airhead always an easy target to customize. The engines are simple and easy to use, the bodywork is modular and has a solid two-decade manufacturing process with interchangeable parts. One might even say they are the easiest bikes to build — though we dare anyone to call these custom. BMW R69 from Möbius Garage easily.
According to builder Sébastien Beaupère, the project has been in the works for more than a decade. Design started back in 2012, and this bike has been slowly taking shape ever since, in his garage in the south of France. Ten years sounds like a long time for a single project, but once you get into the details, there’s no question where the time has gone.
Dubbed the ‘Izarra 700’, this BMW is a testament to what is offered on the less traveled road. Its recent first win at this year’s Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz is both hard to come by and well worth it, and the work into the exact details requires a closer look.
Take the example of Izarra’s motives. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is just another early boxer engine polished to show off — but what you’re really seeing here is a bogus singularity.
This block must be familiar to BMW connoisseurs of a certain distinction, as Sébastien took it from a 1955 R69. The rest of the engine, however, is not from a motorcycle at all – but is from a 1964 BMW 700, carefully put together by Sébastien in all proportions.
Sébastien explains: “I realized that the travel of connecting rods of car and motorcycle engines is identical. “Only the bore in the car is larger, creating a super square engine. On paper, everything looks simple…”
In reality, however, Sébastien quickly realized that there was nothing simple about this work. The first hurdle is that the car cylinders do not match the R69 crankcase. He could have stopped there, but instead opted to fill the openings of the case with aluminum, and then machine them again to accommodate the 700’s cylinders.
After that, things only got more difficult.
Hoses and cranks must be made to the appropriate length. The car’s central air intake layout has been completely reworked to accommodate dual horizontal Dell’Orto carburetors. And the custom outlets are machined from stainless steel.
Sébastien even opted to keep the car’s original four-speed transmission, which meant the engine mounts had to be modified to keep the powertrain properly aligned.
When the powertrain was finally completed, Sébastien applied the same consistent characteristics to the chassis. He wanted to maintain the classic BMW Rennsport aesthetic, so Earles forks were the only serious option for the front end.
A classic unit taken from the roots, then modified to be shorter and wider in the name of performance. The front shock absorbers have been upgraded to dual Öhlins units for increased compliance and adjustability, and an 18-inch spoked wheel is fitted up front, wrapped in Michelin 140-inch flat-groove rubber.
The Izarra receives the same performance treatment in the rear. By modifying the BMW/6 swingarm, Sébastien was able to fit a 160-wide tire into it. It hangs off the custom-built subframe with a second pair of Öhlins shocks.
The result is a stout performer with the right handling. Between the engine’s high-compression pistons, expansion valves, tuned intake and exhaust ports and upgraded carbs, it now makes a healthy 65hp at 7,500rpm. But as sweet as this engine is, performance is only half the story; This bike is also pure visual pornography.
Sébastien spent his time on the smallest detail — like the gas tank. He could have gone the easy route and maintained the classic dark BMW paintwork and ivory pin strip that adorns the front and rear ducts. But instead, he applied a brilliant Rennsport-style copper finish to the bulky Rennsport-style aluminum fuel cell.
This theme continues through the rest of the R69’s details, from the engine’s brass swingarms and handlebar plugs, to the buffers in the shocks, and all the way to the glass. The striking mesh windscreen sits on top of the custom-built front crank.
The Izarra’s bulltail borrows its shape from Ducati riders of the late ’70s — like Mike Hailwood’s famous 900NCR that won TT. The upper fabric is taken from old Cessna aircraft interiors, creating another truly unique detail.
Everywhere else you’ll find clean lines and pure minimalism at its best. Sébastien wanted to keep cable and wiring contact to a minimum, which forced him to remove the battery completely and rely instead on a kick starter or a paddock starter—like a bicycle. proper racing. He even went so far as to route the hydraulic brake lines through the fork itself.
Obviously, Izarra wasn’t easy to build. Ten years is a long time, but for Sébastien, it was well-deserved.
Sure, you could argue that da Vinci took only three years to paint the Mona Lisa, or point out that the Statue of Liberty was completed in less than a decade. But none of them can get you pumping like this two-wheeled fire engine—and for that, we say. chapeau!
Mobius Garage Instagram | Photo of Damien Lorrai
