He’s built custom motorcycles for Oscar winners and Formula One World Champions, and half a dozen of the biggest manufacturers in the world have called on his talents. And just a few years ago, he also celebrated his 1000th custom build. There are too many superlatives to use when describing the work of Marcus Walz, and now his company, WalzWerk, is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: its 35th anniversary. Very few will ever reach this mark, and while most of us celebrate major occasions with a cake and a few drinks, Marcus saw it as the perfect excuse to build more bikes. Meet the 35th Anniversary WalzWerk SCHIZZO® Bobber, of which 35 will be built, and to prove just how popular and in demand Walz customs are, there are only two left.

Originally, many came to know Walz as the man behind the Hockenheim-based Hardcore Cycles, where he produced one show-stopping Harley-Davidson custom after another. But in his spare time, he raced in the BMW Boxer Cup, tracked bikes from Triumph and Ducati, and restored some classic Porsches. All of which served as further R&D that Marcus poured into the builds of an endless run of bikes under the WalzWerk brand. While they might specialise in Bavarian bikes, motorcycles from most manufacturers have gone under the knife and come out looking a million dollars. And they don’t just look stunning, Walz has always prioritised the performance of his bikes, making them ride better than just about anything money can buy.

Which is why his clients include the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, David Coulthard, and Gerhard Berger—men who know more than a little something about going fast. So, when he announced plans for a limited production run for the company’s 35th anniversary, it was no wonder that within days, all but two of those bikes were sold out. “For our 35th Anniversary, we wanted to build a special bike, not a spaceship, just something special in between our SCHIZZO® production line. We decided to go for a SCHIZZO® Bobber, which is one of our most popular models alongside the Cafe Racer. To give it the extra kick, we decided to manufacture 35 of these bikes as a limited edition. Today, most of them are already sold, with only #29 to #34 still available,” Marcus tells us.

Walz, who buys used R-series BMWs like the rest of us have hot dinners, decided the basis for this bike would be a 1988 BMW R80RT Monolever. But absolutely nothing is left stock. The factory frame is heavily modified, removing the subframe and all of the tabs and brackets that are surplus to requirements. Being the bobber version, the hoop-like backbone is extended, so that a simple yet solid seat post runs out to the rear. Then it’s a matter of rebuilding the final drive on the single-sided swingarm and ensuring all the welds are spot-on and cleaned up. Only then does the chassis get hit with that signature BMW black.

The rolling stock is a very deliberate choice, despite there being a host of other options in the WalzWerk online configurator. “We kept the 80s-style cast wheels instead of swapping to the popular and more classic spoked wheels. These are wrapped with super sticky Pirelli Scorpion A/T tyres, which work great on asphalt as well.” To get the suspension of his bikes dialled in, Walz has developed a long-running relationship with Touratech, and one of their fully adjustable rear shocks gets the back end perfectly tuned. At the front, the forks are shortened by 4 inches and benefit from modified internals and uprated progressive fork springs.

The lower legs are modified before being fitted to the bike, and this allows a pair of WalzWerk’s own billet 4-piston brake calipers to be mounted. These are fed fluid via stainless lines from a Brembo master cylinder, and the big floating discs ensure there is absolutely no shortage of stopping power. Which is a good thing, because the all-new engine combination packs a hell of a punch. The entire mechanical package is rebuilt on the company’s production line, and “we installed a gearbox with a kickstarter from a 1977 R100”, for a little classic touch. On the inside, it’s punched out to 1000cc, fitted with a specially ground cam, and flowed to suit.

A full electronic ignition controls the spark, and the stunning WalzWerk billet intakes support a pair of Dell’Orto carbs, which are built especially for the job by the Italian firm. Partnering with another industry leader, SC Project, results in the incredible soundtrack from the full stainless steel exhaust system. The controls are all first class, and the electronics package has been modernised with a full MotoGadget system, including LED turn signals (the fronts integrated into the fork covers), LED headlight, and a yellow LED fog light from PIAA. On the same style of support is the mirror, which is mounted low, still provides good vision, and is in fact perfectly legal.

A set of diamond-pattern grips matches up with billet aluminium pegs, and the solo seat is absolutely stunning. But the truly grand touch “is of course the paintwork, which is a special Ferrari ice-blue from the 60s, with a signal-yellow stripe across the tank, contrasted with a set of red valve covers, also a classic Ferrari trademark. I only liked this colour combination; the bike itself has nothing to do with Ferrari. Usually, we use Porsche colours for our bikes, but here we made an exception.” And not only does the bike look stunning, it packs a wheel-churning 80bhp, all in a package weighing just 167kg ready to ride. 35 years at the top, and WalzWerk is still firing on all cylinders.

[ WalzWerk ]