Skip to content
Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
Login
Cart
Search
Home Online & In-Store Shop Restaurant Barbershop Community
Social Media Ride Report Journal Custom Classifieds What's On Calendar
Membership
Join Us Partner Benefits What's On Calendar Bike Shed Adventures
Event Space Hire Opening Hours
Your Basket

£
Quantity
-
+
Remove { item.title }

Your cart is currently empty.

Subtotal
Subtotal { cart.total_price | money Currency.currentCurrency }
Continue Shopping
Check Out
Shop Sale - up to 50% Off! Free Delivery on UK orders over £100 Shop Our Newest Gear & Apparel
Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
  • Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
  • Shop
    • Clothing
    • Accessories
    • Gear
    • New Arrivals
    • T-Shirts
    • Headwear
    • Denim
    • Sale - Up To 50% Off
    • Sweatshirts & Hoodies
    • Tubes & Scarfs
    • Jackets & Shirts
    • Retail Gift Cards
    • Jackets & Shirts
    • Patches & Pins
    • Outerwear
    • Gifted BSMC Membership
    • Womens Fit
    • View All
    • View All
    • In-Store Retail
  • Venue

    Restaurant

    Menus

    Barbershop

    Event Space Hire

  • Community

    Social Media

    Ride Report Journal

    Custom Classifieds

    Calendar

  • Membership

    Join Us

    Partner Benefits

    What's On Calendar

    Adventures

We've sent you an email with a link to update your password.

Login

Create account
Forgot your password?

Reset your password

We will send you an email to reset your password.

Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts

Ian Solley's R80

By Anthony van Someren - 31 Jul 13

  • Category_Shed Builds
Ian Solley's R80
Ian Solly BMW 1 Most of the BMWs on the Bike Shed, and elsewhere, are cafe racers, scramblers or brat-style so it's nice to see a completely unique R80 which not only takes boxer twins in a fresh direction, but pretty much rips up the custom category rule book along the way. Ian Solly BMW 2 The bike is owned by Ian Solley who is quite a character on the custom scene, and the man behind 7ages, who were around long before custom bikes got trendy and everyone started wearing skinny Edwin jeans and growing beards. Ian Solly BMW 3 It's obvious from the photos that Ian's bike has a lot more work put into it than the average BMW custom, from the oversized custom snowflake wheels to the custom hardtail bobber/tracker frame. We have the spec and the lowdown from Ian, but we think he tells the story best in how own words. Ian Solly BMW 4 First of all although 7ages looks like its a proper motorcycle business, but its not – I set it up about 5 years ago to indulge my interest in custom bikes. I had my first Harley; an AMF 125cc, when I was 17 and have been into bikes ever since. I gave up my real job in London in 2007 as the recession was coming and I didn’t fancy going through my third one – so I took some time off to mess around with bikes and do a lot of traveling. Ian Solly BMW 5 7ages as a brand/project is named to show my wife that I have a passing interest in Shakespeare, which she loves so much, and the first bike I made was a Hartley Panhead called the Macbeth bike – its still my favourite. Since then there has been Hamlet, Othello, Caesar, Richard II, then ROMEO and recently, Tempest. Ian Solly BMW 6 7ages has now developed into more of a club and I am trying to broaden the appeal working with my mate Paul Leeson on films and photography and our sub riding club “Sons of Democracy”. Ian Solly BMW 7 I picked up this R80 on ebay back in 2011 for about £1350 – fully restored by a guy called Chris up North, and set about turning it into the hardtail tracker bike you see now. First step was the 23” wheels – I love big wheels and have used them on nearly all my bikes, with Avon rubber and stock geometry they work really well and give the bike a unique proportion. I had them made my Steve Taylor at Taylormade in the BMW snowflake pattern. Ian Solly BMW 8 After that I designed the frame and stuck in the Boxer lump with the new wheels and a spare set of Harley Forks I had in the garage. We stuck on the stock tank but it didn’t look right so we cut about 3” band out of the middle to give it the right lines and added a new seat and rear fender. Once that was done it was pretty much the look I want. The paint scheme I copied off a 1937 BMW I found in the Art of BMW Book – paint was done by Keith Baker a proper old-school Harley Painter... and there you have it! Ian Solly BMW 9 There you have it indeed. Ian makes building a custom framed motorcycle sound just a little to easy. ...I just love the way the oversized wheels shrink the boxer engine and tank, giving the bike a whole new set of proportions; long, lean and low - and it's nice to see something a little different on The Bike Shed too. We hope you all approve. Ian Solly BMW 10 See more from Ian at 7ages and on his Facebook group. Thanks to Ian & Merry Michau for the Photos.
Share
Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Pin on Pinterest
Invalid password
Enter
Menus
Book a Table
Barber
Classifieds
FRANCHISE
Invest
Calendar
About Us
Opening Hours
Contact Us
Venue Hire
Delivery & Returns
384 Old St, Hackney, London EC1V 9LT United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7729 8114
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Payment methods accepted
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Google Pay
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • PayPal
  • Shop Pay
  • Union Pay
  • Visa
Copyright © 2025, Bike Shed Motorcycle Club
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website, including personalised ads. By clicking 'Accept' you agree to our Privacy/Cookie Policy