Buying a new car or motorcycle is relatively easy these days, and you can eliminate almost all of the risk from the comfort of your own home. From choosing the make and model to finding the right dealer, thousands of reviews can help you avoid buying a lemon or dealing with a dodgy salesman. However, it isn’t nearly as straightforward when finding the right workshop to build your custom machine – as we discover today – even one of the world’s most dangerous men can fall victim to such disappointments. Thankfully, he eventually found Pete Hodson and the Bournemouth-based master of Bavaria’s finest has, once again, turned out a sensational scrambler. This 1980 BMW R65 ticks all the boxes and rolls out of the Side Rock Cycles workshop bearing the name ‘Le Hombre Gris’.
“Being an ex-Royal Marine operative, Justin chose the name “Le Hombre Gris” (The Grey Man), a Royal Marine term used to describe the quiet, unassuming guy in the unit who transforms into a formidable force when the need arises,” Pete tells us. Despite his tough background, Justin had visited several workshops that simply let him down and failed to deliver on their promises. But with Pete Hodson, Justin found a guy with some serious credentials. Pete has been in the trade since the ’70s, raced at local and national levels, and although he has built incredible custom bikes from various makes and models, he’s an absolute expert when it comes to BMW airhead motorcycles.
Once Justin found the right man and brought the R65 into the shop, it was simply a matter of Pete understanding what Justin was after. “The brief was to turn his tidy but bland R65 into a street scrambler with a dark, aggressive look,” Pete explains. Justin also owns a BMW R1250 GSA, which would later play a role in developing the aesthetics of the build. But first, Pete had to turn the BMW into a machine that didn’t just have the dark, moody style but was also a true rider’s bike, with performance, braking, and handling all done to the highest standard.
The power output of the small-capacity R65 was never going to satisfy Justin’s desire for that bike with ‘bite’, so the engine required a serious overhaul. It had already been refreshed and given a sleek black heat-resistant coating, but there’s simply no replacement for displacement. So, Pete ordered an 860cc power kit from the experienced team at Siebenrock. It’s true plug-and-play stuff and a straightforward install for a man who knows his BMWs inside out. The new barrels, pistons, pins, rings, and gaskets all bolt-on to the original R65 architecture. Then to maximise the upgrade, Pete swapped the stock carbs for a set of 36mm Dell’Orto pumpers with black stacks.
“The exhaust system had to work well and look great, so a call to MAD Exhausts in Holland soon had one of their trick titanium low-level systems on the bench and fitted.” By the time Pete’s experienced hands had finished working on the airhead, power and torque had increased by 30%. With extra power comes extra speed, and you don’t want to be scrubbing that off with 40-year-old brakes. To address this, Pete sourced an adapter kit from R90X Designs in the US. The kit allows the standard forks to accommodate Brembo radially mounted four-pot calipers, which clamp onto 320mm floating discs.
“Accossato supplied one of their beautiful adjustable ratio radial pump master cylinders with an integral reservoir, which perfectly complements the rest of the braking system.” To upgrade the suspension, Pete added a set of Ohlins Blackline rear shocks, which mount neatly to the newly ‘stepped up’ subframe. The front end required more work, so the forks were completely rebuilt with new springs, the correct oil, and, for extra stiffness and stunning looks, they were topped off with a custom billet alloy top yoke.
Looking around the bike, you can appreciate another of Pete’s talents, the custom-built wiring loom is completely invisible. His process began by throwing out all the old components, including the full ignition system and even the alternator, which was replaced with an upgraded Enduralast item. The ignition now uses a digital programmable unit from Sachse with high-powered coils and at the rear of the system is a lightweight lithium-ion battery from Antigravity.
The brains of it all is the always-popular Motogadget m.unit blue, which handles keyless ignition and runs to the switches. The bike is fitted with a full suite of LED lighting, Denali spotlights for that authentic scrambler look, and an Acewell multifunction gauge that provides all the information the rider needs.
“The final piece of the jigsaw was the paintwork on the tank. Since Justin also owns a BMW R1250 GSA, we decided to match the colours, a satin green/gold-grey combination, and we think it looks fantastic. Our go-to paint guys, Wicked Coatings, as always, did a brilliant job, and the airbrushed logos in the roundel recess are the icing on the cake.” The seat is perfectly suited to the build, and custom-made alloy mudguards, anodised black, keep the debris kicked up by the tyres contained within their generous arches. It’s safe to say Justin is a happy man, having found the curators of truly cool customs at Side Rock Cycles, all that’s left for him to do is enjoy his BMW with bite, around the stunning Dorset countryside.
[ Side Rock Cycles ]