Ranking the world’s best custom motorcycle shows is all but impossible, there are just so many incredible events taking place, all with their own unique flavour, while catering to an international crowd. But on the podium we’d definitely have to place The Bike Shed Show, held every year at the spectacular Tobacco Dock location in London. Hosts Vikki and Dutch truly live the culture, they sure know how to put on a great party, and in recent years they’ve been ensuring that their major annual event doesn’t just host Europe’s best bikes, but truly the best customs from all over the world. Enter Japan’s Motor Force, they weren’t just invited to the event to display any old machine. Instead, they brought with them this absolute showstopper, their 10th Anniversary build, a BMW R100/7 called ‘Tsurugi’ – named after an ancient Japanese sword made from iron.
The cost of living the world over has been biting hard, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that The Bike Shed Show might see a downturn. Surely builders, their clients and spectators are feeling the crunch and the quality has to drop off? Not on our life! Many talked about the sacrifices they’ve made to build the bikes of their dreams and for Mikio Yamada of Japan’s Motor Force, that meant simply taking the time he needed to ensure his creation was rolling automotive perfection. The bike builder threw open the doors to his Hashima-City based workshop back in 2012 and has been building one brilliant bike after another. A true BMW aficionado, he focuses on Cafe Racers and Brat style bikes, but for his 10th Anniversary celebrations, he wanted to create something like no other.
So, starting back in 2022, he picked out an R100/7 as his donor and started to dream up ways he could do something that nobody had done before. This is no easy task, the R series from BMW is one of the most customised bikes on the planet, but Yamada-san is no ordinary man. Having come up with all of the design ideas for his creation, the bike was stripped down to every last nut and bolt, and work commenced. Building a true show-stopping bike means crafting the perfect foundation, every aspect has to be flawless, and endless hours were spent smoothing out the frame, cutting out old welds and relaying perfect beads, and then sanding it back to bare metal.
Next, he could begin to create one of the true standout pieces of the entire build, the stunning Earles Fork front end. Usually associated with motorcycles that carry a sidecar, the British design was licensed by BMW in the ’50s and used in their racing program. But nothing the big Bavarian ever made looked this good, the attention to detail is remarkable, each component brilliantly thought out and assembled to create one simply cohesive masterpiece. The shock mounts are all perfectly located, having been designed for supreme operation, while every bush and bearing is hand-machined from various metals. The front hub is simply stunning, polished within an inch of its life, the perfect match against the subtle matte grey powder coat used on the legs and then flowed over the frame.
The rear end sports a matching hub, and the drum brake design works with the unique fork to capture a vintage vibe. And then there are the shocks, four in total and each prepared as if it was a stand-alone piece, with painted springs, polished ends, and brass and stainless used for the collars, fittings and fasteners. A fresh set of alloy rims add some more metal magic to the build, and laced with stainless spokes, the classically treaded tyre was the only choice for such a vintage-inspired build. Now with a roller to die for, Yamada-san could begin to sketch his ideas for the bodywork and he drew inspiration from both BMWs of old and the Japanese martial art Kendo, to create an incredible aesthetic.
The front grille was one of the first pieces to be fabricated and the design is inspired by both a Kendo mask and the famous BMW kidney grille, all drawn up as sketches at Motor Force. But to bring it to life, Yamada-san had his friends at Bear Factory take the entire bike into their shop, so that they could bring the incredible cowl to life. It’s metalwork at its best, from the way the grille itself stays true to what inspired it, to the brilliant way the bars run effortlessly through the design and just the smooth-as-silk shape of it all. Not to be outdone, the fuel tank might be based on the BMW original, but that’s where the similarities stop. The sculpted sides, the knee dent recesses and all of the subtle changes are simply a feast for the eyes.
In comparison, the tail section is relatively simple, with the idea being to stay true to the traditional Cafe Racer hump, but even so, the whole thing is arrow straight and flawless in its finish. Time for paint, and picking a colour was proving hard, so a public poll helped settle on the custom metallic brown with rose gold tint, which was laid down by @ndesign2015, with Powder Suguru taking care of all of the other coating finishes. To work with the colour, classic leather was optioned for the seat, with a tuck and roll centre and solid sides, complemented by the Motor Force logo which has been branded into the hide.
The engine doesn’t miss out either, with the airbox removed and all but the heads and valve covers coated in various high-end finishes. A set of Dell’Orto carbs feed the fuel in and they wear hand machined velocity stacks, while the exhaust was handled by Wheelie Kids, who hand-built the mufflers just for the BMW. The wiring is all completely hidden inside the frame and the tail section and only the vintage Motogadget gauge is there to distract from the entirely analogue experience.
The level of detail is simply out of this world, from the beautifully machined upper clamp to the meticulously crafted rear sets and the exquisite bars with inverted levers. You simply can’t say too many superlatives about this BMW from Motor Force, and with a promise to return for next year’s Bike Shed Show, we can only imagine what Yamada-san has in store next.
[ Motor Force | Photography by Craig Stuart ]