“The Riot Starter” – BMW R65 by IWC

We all dream of a scenario to turn one of our hobby(‘s) into a business or job. What is better than paying your mortgage by doing what you love? For a lot of us it will remain a dream, but not for Arjan van den Boom, the owner of Ironwood Customs from The Netherlands. What started as a hobby, soon turned into a side business and quickly became a full-time, successful business. Arjan and his shop (and his team) are rock solid names in the custom motorcycle scene, and chances are that you’ve already seen some of their work around the web. Including some respectable mentions on Pipeburn.

I always keep in touch with Arjan and his permanent photo-artist Jackson Kunis to talk about their work en the custom bike scene and I must say that I’m a bit biased when it comes to their work: it’s made in Holland. I really like every single bike they’ve built, but today I saw that they’re leveling up (again…!), with this radical BMW R65 Scrambler.

This bike is built together with a close friend of Arjan (Wagner) and like you can expect from Ironwood, they’ve touched literally every part of this bike. To start with the frame: the frame is modified and reinforced to create a unique diagonal line. After that, the frame got sandblasted and powder coated in satin black.

They’ve borrowed the gas tank and rear fender from a Honda CB400 and painted it diamond black metallic with a yellow striping. This and the classic BMW valve covers and yellow wheel striping give the bike a cool classic touch.

The front of the bike has a wide variety of parts: the handlebar is from a R1200 GS on the original risers, brake fluid is contained in a gold Rizoma reservoir to supply the Brembo RCS17 brake pump, a headlight with integrated blinkers and custom light shield and a Speedo supplied by Caferacers United.

Craftsmen as they are, Arjan and his buddy fabricated a lot of parts themselves. The battery holder, ignition key holder, license plate holder and rear sets are custom parts from stainless steel.  In order to fit the wider front wheel, a custom triple tree was milled to give it the extra inches it needed.

The bike also has some cool gadgets: it has an engine emergency stop of a jetski (in case you fall off…) and an USB-charger for your phone. In case you need some extra light, an HD side-mount headlight is placed on the side of the engine.

And of course, the upholstery is from the hands of Marcel Miller, from Miller Kustom Upholstery, who also made the leather battery cover.

And it’s not only flair and shine: this beauty can be used for the rough works both on and of the track with the Conti TKC80 tires and a Wilbers emulsion rear shock. The engine is overhauled and some DNA filters combined with a complete custom exhaust system with a GP muffler give the machine some more air.

Like I said: IWC is again taking their work to a new level with this cool BMW R65 Scrambler. And my glass sphere (you should get one) says that this bike will be melting down the web when others discover this beauty. Let’s call it “The Riot Starter”. Cheers!

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Project built in collaboration with Wagner | Photo’s shot by the *legendary* Jackson Kunis.