Transatlantic relations go back centuries and have combined for some of the most important events in modern history. In fact, some of the greatest motorcycle racing the world has ever seen was in the grand old days of the Transatlantic Trophy. Now partnering across the ocean, WYLD Garage Co. in the US and Dutch outfit Ironwood Customs have teamed up to take the relationship to new heights in the custom bike scene. The incredible designs of Arjan van den Boom travel across the internet and are brought to life by WYLD in Arizona, USA. Their latest collaboration is this knockout 1988 BMW R100 that is appropriately named ‘The Mutant’.
Founded six years ago, the American team at WYLD is comprised of three guys with many years of experience in custom fabrication, custom race cars, VW’s and vintage motorcycles. “We are all gear heads that have been turning wrenches since we were in our teens and just have a passion for the industry. We partnered with Arjan back in 2018 to be able to offer his designs here in the US. With a little more convenience to the US customer base and to also offer them at his standard pricing as if he were delivering a bike local to Amsterdam,” Justin explains.
This not only solves the issue of having to ship a motorcycle across the Atlantic and deal with all of the transport and custom expenses but circumvents the common problem of registering a bike in the USA that may not have had a known title or documents back in The Netherlands. With Arjan’s incredible design in their hands, the lads looked for a donor and came across a completely shagged out ’88 R100RT, perfect, as they rebuild every last component anyway! With the bike stripped down it was clearly missing a few parts, but now disassembled to a bare block it could be built back up to the highest of standards.
“The crank came out and was inspected for bearing clearance, pistons re-ringed, heads fully rebuilt with all Kibblewhite valves, springs, guides and seats, gasket surfaces decked.” With the engine and gearbox completely rebuilt it was treated to a stunning finish in Cerakote and even the final drive was overhauled. Then it was time for a completely new wiring system, with a Motogadget m-unit blue for the brains and a host of amazing parts from EME. These include an EME 450w Magnetic Alternator, Digital Ignition, Regulator Rectifier, and a lightweight 9-tooth DuraLast starter from EME as well.
Now purring like a brand new bike and with the reliability to match, the incredible exhaust system is as much part of the look as it is a mechanical component. “The exhaust was completely handmade out of stainless. 1.5” to 1.75” to 2” for the CBR1000 Muffler. It’s all Tig welded. The heat shield for your knee was made out of Titanium, so it took on all those cool purple and blues”. Then the other standout feature, the Zundapp 50 Moped fuel tank, that was sourced from Germany, was chemically stripped, re-lined and then sprayed the Porsche Spyder Rhodium Silver.
To complement the look the tank strap, seat, and battery case are all handmade and finished to perfection by Unique Upholstery, who does all of WYLD’s work. “The tank strap features an embroidered Rose. Our client just had a baby girl named Rose, so we surprised her with that.” The headlight unit is a classically styled Bates item that features projector LEDs, while the rear taillight is a one-off CNC housing with two 2” LED strips. The rear blinkers are beautifully housed inside the rear frame, with a set of bar-end items taking care of winking duty at the front end.
To ensure excellent handling the front forks were pulled apart and rebuilt with lowered Racetech springs. But rather than use the flimsy stock clamps the upper triple was CNC’d by the superstars at Cognito Moto to fit the Motogaget Motoscope Pro. “We also had custom Fork Top Bolt caps CNC’d to screw down over the top and blend in.” Cognito also took care of machining a beautiful fork brace for improved rigidity and the rear shock has been replaced by a YSS unit. Brembo rotors ensure excellent stopping power with the brake master coming from Grimeca and the clutch lever from Domino and Tomaselli.
To finish out the build the wheels are blacked out and wrapped up in classically styled Shinko E-270 rubber and a custom bracket holds the number plate at the rear. The radical designs of Arjan van den Boom are impossible to miss and make for a custom motorcycle that truly stands out from the crowd. Combined with the incredible skills of WYLD Garage Co. and their commitment to building vehicles where literally every last bolt is either replaced, upgraded, or overhauled and you get a final product that would look right at home in a museum of modern art and yet carves up the roads with ease for the ultimate two-wheeled experience.
WYLD Garage Co. | Ironwood Customs | Photography by Justin Wade Orton