A BMW R69S WITH A BIT ON THE SIDE
Few things in the world of motorcycling are as cool as sidecars. And the allure is magnified when the rig in question is both vintage and ultra-rare.
This very classy setup was put together by South African BMW experts Cytech, and pairs a 1964 BMW R69S with a 50s-model Steib sidecar. “The client had been in touch with us for two years looking for this particular sidecar combination,” says Cytech owner Donovan Muller. “Eventually we made the match.”
And what a match it is. Steib was the sidecar of choice for BMW Motorrad in the 50s; replicas are still available, but finding an original is a tad more difficult. This one was bought from a deceased estate, as part of a bigger lot—but it was completely dismantled, and riddled with rust and amateur repair work.
Cytech’s restoration on the sidecar would rival many complete motorcycle rebuilds. The main shell was stripped, sandblasted and repaired, and the wheel fender was rebuilt with sheet metal before being painted and rubberised inside.
The sidecar’s wheel received new spokes and nipples, the hub was powdercoated, and every nut and bolt was cadmium plated. Cytech has also fitted a new aluminum bead to the fender and body, and refurbished the original tail light and Steib badge. The seat was recovered in black leather with gold pin studs.
The BMW itself was also in need of a serious restoration, and was even missing a few parts—such as the seat and exhausts. So Donovan and his team tore into it with vigour, completely overhauling the engine, gearbox and original 26mm Bing carbs.
The electrical system received a serious refresh, with a new wiring harness and ignition system, and the suspension was rebuilt. Every little detail was attended to—such as fitting tapered steering head bearings and replacing the air filter housing.
A rare long range Hoske tank was fitted, with a Karcoma fuel tap and a set of US-spec R50 handlebars to accommodate its width. Other top-shelf parts include a Denfeld bench seat and Bumm bar-end mirrors.
Then a full stainless steel exhaust system was installed, and a set of wide-lipped aluminum rims built up with stainless spokes and nipples. Metzeler rubber was fitted to the bike and sidecar’s wheels.
By default, the sidecar mounts were all placed on the right from the factory. “But for the road rules in South Africa, the sidecar must be mounted on the left,” explains Donovan. Cytech moved the mountings to to the opposite side of the bike, and finished everything in a timeless BMW livery: black with white pinstriping.
Both the R69S and the Steib are immaculate in their own right. But combined, they’re unbeatable.
It’s the perfect rig for ambling around on a Sunday afternoon, in style.
50 NOT OUT: CAFE RACER DREAMS’ BMW R69S
Cafe Racer Dreams is one of the most prolific outfits on the custom motorcycle circuit. An incredible fifty builds have already rolled out the Spanish workshop’s doors—each one as stylish as the next.
For CRD #50, Pedro García and Efraon Triana pulled out all the stops. It’s a stunning resto-mod based on a 1969 BMW R69S, commissioned by a 30-year-old Madrid local.
Most of the iconic features of the R69S have been retained, but the only component untouched is the 594 cc air cooled boxer motor. “The engine was perfect,” says Pedro, “so we didn’t operate inside!” Pedro and Efraon did completely rewire the bike though—going as far as fitting a keyless ignition from Motogadget.
Up front, they’ve improved braking with a disk setup borrowed from a Harley-Davidson Sportster. The quirky and distinctive R69S suspension is still intact—but is now vastly improved thanks to the addition of Öhlins shocks at both ends.
Cafe Racer Dreams also removed the airbox and installed a huge K&N air filter in its place—a process that, according to Pedro, was harder than it looks. BMW R100 front fenders have been adapted to fit both the front and back of the R69S.
After a complete tear down, CRD selectively applied different finishes to the hard parts. The frame and a few other items were treated to satin black paint, while other bits were acid-dipped to achieve just the right vintage effect.
CRD kept the stock tank and its assortment of dings, but stripped the paint and gave it a top-secret treatment that involves varnish and a little black paint. The seat is completely bespoke—covered in leather which has been sanded to blend with the R69S’s distressed theme.
Final trim includes a set of LSL handlebars, Beston grips and the original speedo-in-headlight setup. The tyres are Firestone’s infamous Deluxe Champions—an appropriate choice for a build of this nature.
CRD #50 is as tasteful and chic as we’ve come to expect from Pedro and Efraon. But can they keep this up? We suspect they can, and demand for their work is strong.
Here’s to the next fifty builds.
Photos by Enrique Pacheco. Check out CRD’s previous 49 builds on the Cafe Racer Dreams website, and follow their news via Facebook.
ENFIELD 350: THE BIKE THAT TIME FORGOT
For most pro builders, personal projects usually draw the short straw—relegated to the back of the shop by a steady stream of client work. Just like the “rusted out junk pile” that Californian Chris Chappell picked up a few years ago.
It’s a Royal Enfield Bullet 350, and it did a stint in Chappell Customs‘ front lobby before Chris finally tore into it. But when he did, it was a project free of deadlines, briefs or budgets. “The original plan was to build a radical bobber,” he says. “But with the little 350cc engine, it made more sense to keep it as an upright, fun-to-ride city bike.”
The actual model year of this Enfield is a mystery: the original number plate indicated 1955, but no paperwork was filed prior to 1973. “The VIN numbers on old Enfields really don’t mean much, and there are no good records we can find to verify the year,” says Chris. So, to get the bike on the road, he went with 1973.
Given its age and the state it was in, the Enfield 350 needed a full, bare-bones strip down. Which started with a total rebuild of the engine using all-new, original Royal Enfield parts. A completely new top-end sorted out poor compression—”A combo of a bad cylinder and even worse valves,” Chris reports.
Every nut and bolt on the Enfield was replaced, along with a host of other parts—except for the fuel tank, fenders and toolboxes, which Chris opted to keep. He blasted off the old paint and powder coated them in a creamy Oyster white, along with the frame. (“I left a few small dings here and there.”) Once the powder coating was done, green accents were added and the parts clear coated.
The bike is now roughly five or six inches longer than a stock Bullet 350. “We relocated the rear swingarm, from its original position to what used to be the passenger footpeg area. Our friends at Works Performance made us a custom stainless swingarm bolt with tapered aluminum spacers, to fit the funky taper of the rear foot peg holes.”
Works also supplied a set of longer, dual-rate aluminum shocks to help the Enfield negotiate urban potholes. The rear fender struts were lengthened to fit the new geometry of the rear end.
With the major work out of the way, Chris started poring over the smaller details: a handmade seat, grips and saddle bags in a rich leather with a cream stitch. “Seemed only fitting for a classy look to accent the cream and green color scheme,” he says. “I made the saddle bags myself … that was a first!”
The seat mount is a hand-made part too; Chris CNC-routed a Royal Enfield logo into the aluminum, before mounting the seat on 3” springs. The CNC router was also put to work on the bespoke front number plate and fork badge. All the aluminum bits were then meticulously polished, “to bring back the original luster that was buried under years of oxidization and corrosion.”
The Enfield was then re-wired with updated components—including a smaller regulator and rectifier unit, and a new coil. Chris installed new gauges, lights and a set of “M” bars—with adjustable steering stops to prevent them from connecting with the tank.
Despite the extensive mods, the little 350 is still not quite the perfect ride. “The drum brakes are poor, the right-side shift is odd, and you feel like you’re wide open on the throttle most of the time.”
“But regardless of its lack of power, you somehow feel like you’ve gone back in time. And it’s just fun as hell to ride around. The long, baffled muffler and the sound of the single cylinder thumping along always makes you smile!”
