ABOUT THE TWIN TURBO....WHAT IS IT?...WHY?...
First off let's start with the story behind it -then get into the specs etc. ok? ok!
It was December of 2015 & we had just received an invite for the One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon. Chris had just finished a custom build for a couple in Guatemala & thought that would be a good bike to take to the show. The timing for shipping the bike did not jive with taking it to the the One Moto Show, so we had 7 weeks to build something (this was the week before Christmas mind you). We had to get creative with time & money or the kids would not see anything from Santa Claus. No one wants unhappy kids that will later in life say "in 2015 Santa forgot about us because of a motorcycle"...nope. No one.
At the time there was a new scene in Europe with guys building vintage style drag bikes & Chris thought that would be cool to build & maybe ship the bike over there after the One Moto Show. Given the time restraints at this point we had to build something & we had to make the decision #1. do we build something cool that runs? or #2. do we build something exotic that we can get running later? The latter was the choice! Chris went through our shop & started laying out a bunch of parts on the welding table (joys of being in the business for 30+ years -we have stuff!), he got out a piece of paper & a pencil & started drawing out what would be the Boxer Metal Twin Turbo. With 7 weeks to go we prioritized who needed to do what & off we went.
Starting with a BMW R100 Chris welded the frame to the welding table & started measuring & cutting. The frame had to be lengthened, the motor moved back & up in the frame to make room & fit the twin turbos. Then the motor had to be able to be dropped out of the frame (removable frame/engine mount) & it had to be a rigid frame.
In between building the frame, modifying & building wheels & figuring out the brakes Chris had to learn “How Does A Turbo Work”. Talking with lots of people, YouTube "University" & Google he figured it out. Once the frame was done & the engine mounts were made the turbos needed to be installed. Next it was time for plumbing the intake, exhaust, vacuum lines, oil lines & getting everything to fit & matching it up to the BMW fuel injection. In between the between hours, (candle at this point was really being burned from both ends as well as each side) we 3D printed the headlight parts & gas tank trim & machined lots of little parts. The frame was off to our powder coater, tires being installed & the gas tank went off to paint. We managed to pull all of that off in a week thank to Mrs. Boxer Metal doing all the errands while Chris stayed at the shop putting everything together. Once the frame was in hand & back at our shop the assembly started. Chris paid very close attention to fit, finish & detail until we were done two days before the show. The hardest part in the end was the original stand he made for the bike, it was made at the eleventh hour before loading up to leave. It needed to do its job, be ascetically pleasing, & not take away from the overall look of the bike while on display.
The bike was finished just in time for the One Moto Show in Portland Oregon. The response was overwhelming. People did not know what to think of it & with that it won the BMW Motorrad Award sponsored by BMW Motorrad & had a private photo shoot with the famous Michael Lichter at the Salem Speedway a few days after the One Moto Show was over. A few days later we were contacted by Anthony & Melissa of Enginethusiast wanting to meet us & do a photoshoot as well of the Twin Turbo. We were still in the Portland area so Chris called up & made arrangements with the Evergreen Avation & Space Museum to shoot the bike next to some amazing airplanes. What happened next would change us forever. The bike went viral worldwide. Like wild fire viral. It ended up in almost 20 magazines/online zines & was wrote about in more than 15 different languages. It was invited & won awards at the Beverly Hills Concours in Beverly Hill, California, The Motorcycle Gathering At The Quail Lodge in Carmel, California, 100 Years of BMW in Monterey, California & more. It was photographed with Keanau Reeves & Jay Leno. At the Quail Brian Fuller of Fuller Moto came up to us & said "It is nice to see the bike in person, I have seen it everywhere online".
Since the One Moto Show & all the other shows it went to it has been on display in our front office show room. It has been kept clean & out of the sun's UV rays. All of the awards have been treated the same.
NOW ON TO THE SPECS & A LIST OF THE PARTS USED ON THE BUILD...
THE BIKE ITSELF
The bike started life as a BMW R100. The frame was stretched & turned into a rigid frame. Lowered 4 inches & stretched 6 inches.
WHEELS
BMW 21’ front rim - Boxer Metal modified hub & Buchanan stainless steel hubs. Rear wheel is an aftermarket Lester mag from the 70’s modified for a disc brake.
BRAKES
Front brakes are Boxer Metal 320mm brake kit with a stock BMW Brembo caliper. The rear brake is a modified BMW brake disc & a BMW Brembo caliper. The brakes are linked together with a Magura radial master cylinder plumbed together with Spiegler brake lines. The one master cylinder is used for both the front & rear brakes. There is a line lock to lock the front brakes if you feel the need for a burnout.
SUSPENSION
The front suspension is stock BMW from a 1980 to1984 model with polished fork legs & heavy duty fork springs. There is no rear suspension.
CONTROLS
Clip on handlebars hold the Magura master cylinder, Magura clutch lever assembly & Motogadget switch for the headlight & line lock. The foot controls are modified Boxer Metal rear sets.
TRANSMISSION
Stock BMW 5 speed
REAR DRIVE
Stock BMW cut down & polished
ELECTRICS
Custom LED headlight with a Baja Designs main light & running light with a 3D printed holder for the lights. No taillight. There is a partial harness under the tank, but the only thing hooked up is the BMW hologram in the headlight via a Antigravity four cell battery.
ENGINE
BMW R100 block, cylinders, & heads.
BMW fuel injection, Bosch style fuel pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator & gauge. All fuel lines are stainless steel braided lines with AN fittings.
Management is via Maga Squirts Micro Squirt along with two O2 sensors.
T3/T4 style turbos completely plumbed with waste-gates & blow off valves with all vacuum & oil lines hooked up along with an oil pressure & boost gauges.
THE REST OF THE BIKE
Custom painted Dnepr motorcycle gas tank by Dennis Price -heavy metal flake gold with hand lettering & pin-striping. "Mom's Rocket" logo made & painted as a joke because this a bike Rebecca, at a whole 5' tall on a good day, can actually reach the ground & fits on perfectly. Yes, that is where that came from if you were ever wondering. Custom Boxer Metal built seat & rear fender, new front & rear tires.
YOU MENTIONED AWARDS? SO, WHAT DID THE TWIN TURBO WIN & WHERE?
The Twin Turbo won the following awards...
1. THE ONE MOTO SHOW: The Motorrad Award : Custom made trophy + One of a kind Dehen BMW Motorrad Jacket size XL. It is extra cozy, warm, & glorious!
2. THE GATHERING AT THE QUAIL: 2nd Place in Custom Motorcycles: Tiffany & Co square glass engraved platter with box.
3. FOLKTALE WINERY: Best Custom BMW -custom BMW logo glass plate with engraved placard.
4. GREYSTONE MANSION CONCOURS: Best Custom Motorcycle: trophy sculpture by Richard Pietruska.
5. CHICO CONCOURS: First place custom motorcycle: glass plate.
6. BIKE BREWERS: Voted #2 in top 10 best custom worldwide.
7. It also was invited to Roland Sands Moto Bay Classic & spent a few months on display at Vintage Monkey'smotorcycle museum...then back to our shop done touring & us needing to get back to shop work!
HOW ABOUT MAGAZINES IT WAS IN? BLOG? WEBSITES? ETC? HERE ARE SOME OF THEM.....
MAGAZINES
Some of the magazines the Twin Turbo was in worldwide!
SOME OF THE ONLINE BLOGS, WEBSITES, BLOGS, ETC
*If you don't want to click on photos about for links here is a more traditional link list. I know it isn't that pretty, but it works!
THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS, THE ONES WE STILL GET TO THIS DAY...
DOES IT RUN? & WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE?
After the One Moto show & a whirlwind tour of California going to shows, winning awards, etc we came back to a very busy Shop. At that point, we needed to focus on customer's builds & we never had a chance to finish it or get it running. However attention to detail in every part of the build was very important, there was no compromising getting the bike to this state. So with that said, there simply are no videos or sounds of it running. In all honesty Chris built it to be creative & do something fun after all his many many years working on BMW, restoring them, customizing them etc. It was as if he was a kid with the "big box" of crayons, you know the one that came with the sharpener in the back of the box. He let himself just go & had a lot of fun doing it!
With all that said, it is being sold as “art” along with a receipt for payment as “art”. The bike will come with all the awards, magazines it was in, etc.. We can help you arrange transit/shipping of the bike to you (we have an amazing transportation guy!). The rest of ‘it’s goodies” will be mailed separately.
PRICE?
If you are seriously interested please send us an email { info@boxermetal.com } with your name, daytime phone number, & the best time to call you. We will get back to you as soon as possible to answer any questions & of course discuss the price.
This is your chance to own an amazing multi award winning piece of art! It would look great in a living room, garage, man cave, entry way, bar, restaurant, business, museum, etc. It has been something we have truly enjoyed walking by & seeing everyday. It is time to make room for new projects & for someone else to enjoy it!
We look forward to chatting with you!
Chris & Rebecca