Untitled MC R90/6
By Anthony van Someren - 05 May 13
Adam, Rex & Anita have been beavering away under the arches for a while now, turning unwanted R-Series BMWs into badass street-munching urban brat/scrambler hybrids, and this picture-perfect R90 is the latest to roll off the bench, commissioned by Antonius all the way from Germany.
We've been lucky enough to see every UMC machine built to date, and while we're big fans of Adam's rugged street-machines with unpainted tanks this slightly more refined machine is one of our favourites, combining practical class with urban cool.
The guys have an eye for detail and like everything neat, with wiring hidden away and simple. Add uncluttered controls, bare metal fenders, lights that work, and their customised headlights, with instruments and warning lights neatly incorporated.
The donor bike is an 1975 BMW R90/6 but has been fitted with an R75 tank. After stripping the bike down to the frame, the engine was completely overhauled with head, barrels and gearbox all removed and checked over, and all mechanical parts repaired or replaced with upgraded items, like the stainless steel pushrods and new valve guides. Metalwork was vapour blasted or wire brushed while the frame and various fixings were powder coated.
Rather than chopping into the original subframe, this was kept to one side while a new one was sourced to be chopped and shortened by 15cm with a kicked rear loop, and then delugged. The guys did this, keeping various original parts, so the bike can be returned to it's original spec, but we predict a many years of metalwork being kept in the attic in cardboard boxes, never to be used again.
A custom seat was made to spec by Glenn Moger, to accommodate the new subrame and mate neatly to the R75 tank, which was painted in a modern, and rather modest, BMW silver.
The trademark UMC custom headlight was modified with extra warning lights to accommodate tough German type approval laws, while the bars are British made and wear British switchgear, with the wiring and loom re-made and hidden away by Anita and all the control cables hand-cut to length. New indicators had to be positioned to pass the TUV tests, as did the number plate bracket. Powder coated wheels are re-laced with stainless steel pokes and nipples, and wear Dunlop K75s. The ignition switch and starter button have been moved to the sub frame.
It's a really lovely bike, and even prettier in the flesh than these photos show, with deep paint and showroom quality finish. It looks like a new bike. Great work and top marks to Untitled Motorcycles - and yes, we are biased, but it's all true.