“There’s something brewing in the State of Denmark”
Our Viking friends from up North are part of a lively custom community. We got to know the protagonist of this story when he recently launched ‘Aarhus Classic Riders’. With over two hundred members from day one they are the second largest community in the worldwide group, only surpassed in number by the original New York Classic Riders.
The 33-year-old Dane got his license when he was in his early twenties and got a bike as soon as he passed the test. There is no record of him riding bikes at an illegal age, but perhaps this has to do with the fact he earns a living as a cop. While getting his experience on Suzuki’s, he saw a couple of friends riding their ‘bobberized’ Honda VT600’s.
That’s when Casper decided for himself he wanted to start building himself too. Being a young family man he had to be patient as buying a house and supporting his family came first. As soon as finances permitted the Suzuki was replaced for a Honda CX 500 project. The idea being that at a reasonable price he could turn this into a nice café racer.
However, this project is still not finished and will probably be the most expensive one of his builds so far once it is finished. The builder is aiming to be allowed to enter the 2019 Bike Shed. We can’t wait!
With icons such as fellow citizen Relic Motorcycles, Craig Rodsmith, Ziggy Moto and Revival Cycles as his inspirations, our friend set out to work on a BMW R100 with sidecar about a year ago. No small task, as the bike was in very poor cosmetic condition, which was even painfully clear on the pictures of the advertisement.
Putting his doubts aside he drove a few hours South of his dwellings to take a look at the combination. Although the condition was worse than displayed in the pictures, Casper was intrigued, made the deal and took the bike home, hoping he could do the restoration on a minor budget.
Fortunately, the engine only required a minor overhaul. The word ‘fortunately’ is used here as a lot of money was spent on the cosmetic surgery. Asked about specifics Casper responds: “I am way past cheap. This bike has some serious money invested in it hahaha.” Studying the pictures he sent us, we can only say it is money well spent.
Our spanner luckily ran into a wiring wizard at the local “Kaffe og Gammelt Jern” (which is probably the Danish Equivalent of the Amsterdam based “Rusty Gold Motorshop” – also see this article). This lad was happy to help Casper out with some major electrical issues on the BMW and put him on the path of (Dutch-based) EML who have been manufacturing phenomenal side car combinations for over forty years. Quite some inspiration on this build originated from this manufacturer.
With the changes, Casper made the BMW R100 not only has cool looks but according to the shed builder, it rides like a single bike too. Which is no small feat for an upcoming builder.
BikeBrewers have decided to Danish custom community its worth a closer inspection and have put a ride up North on the calendar for 2019. In the meantime, we hope our readers like enjoy the pictures as much as we did writing this article.
Build details:
- Base Bike: BMW R100 – sidecar
- Builder: Casper Witting Thomsen (1985 – Aarhus, Denmark): Witting Motorcycles | Aarhus Classic Riders
Modifications:
- Tank replaced by BMW R60 model
- Rear end BMW R60
- Seat replaced by modified BMW R60 model
- Sidecar completely upholstered and fitted with children’s seat
- Exhausts replaced by shortened Harley Davidson pipes + wrapping
- Modified headlight on the sidecar
- Scheduled: headlight to be replaced with vintage BMW model with integrated speedometer
Photo credits:
Jonas Rask: www.jonasraskphotography.com – Instagram: jonas.rask
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About the Author: Ron Betist
