This Custom Vintage BMW Bike Is A Stylish Retro Ride
Portugal’s Ton-Up garage has transformed a beloved Beemer bike.
BMW’s 1978-’85 R45 is an oft-overlooked version of the company’s family of Bavarian twins, between its small-displacement 473cc engine and its disco-era styling. Fortunately the creative geniuses at the Ton-Up Garage were able to identify the bike’s latent potential, creating this scrambler-style custom they named “Pure.”
The bike is actually a reclamation project. Some other starry-eyed customizer also imagined a unique ride from the underestimated Bimmer, but botched the job. To turn the butchered R45 from puerile to Pure, Ton-Up swapped on one of its own custom seats and its support framework, a chrome speedometer, aluminum turn signals, an English Lucas taillight, off-road fenders and of course, the visually arresting knobby all-terrain tires.
“Ton-Up” incidentally, is Brit-slang meaning “over 100 mph.” The Portuguese shop opened in 2010 and specializes in promoting the 1950s-’80s vintage lifestyle.
The R45’s engine made only 35 horsepower, so it might have difficulty achieving the ton-up itself, but its light weight and user-friendly power make it a good candidate for a bike with off-road pretensions. More likely it will spend its time motoring to the cafe, where it can be admired streetside. We’ll join the gathering crowd to gawk.
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