When you build your first custom bike, and someone buys it before it's even finished, it's a great pat on the back. When that happens time after time, and you're still in school, you're definitely doing something right.
That's how Swiss custom bike builder Antoine Meister first caught the customizing bug. Antoine encouraged by his motorcycle-mad father, kick-started his career by turning his bedroom in the family home into a workshop.
With Meister Engineering gaining a solid reputation, Antoine decided it was time to kick up a gear and joined forces with Adrien. Together they moved to larger premises, a piston's throw from Lake Geneva, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Go-to Guys
Three years later, the duo is now known throughout Switzerland and Europe as the go-to-guys for BMW Boxer, café racer, and street scrambler conversions.
Say it fast, and it may not sound like such a big deal. Bear in mind, though, that Switzerland has some of Europe's strictest vehicle modification laws. Grind off a bracket or drill a hole in the frame, and you've rendered a motorcycle illegal.
Motorcycles coming out of the Meister Engineering workshop are Dynamic Test Center (DTC Approved). What's more, they are the only company in the country certified to make rear subframe modifications. All of which means customized bikes roll through Meister's doors street legal and with the homologation documents in place. Trust me, in Switzerland, that's a big deal.
The guys have well over 200 custom builds and renovations under their belts. The common denominator being, they were all built to have the bejesus ridden out of them.
You won't find one scrap of ornamental fluff on any motorcycle they engineer. Each nut, bolt, and component has to earn its place, and their current creation is no exception.
Based on a 1990 BMW R80 GS, their most recent project is a hot as hell street scrambler. The latest GS series may have mutated into a 600-lb sofa on wheels, but back in the day, the original R80 GS broke the mold. It officially bridged the gap between road and trail.
Re-imagined, Rebuilt, and Reborn
"We love working on old BMWs," says Antoine, "they're built in such a way that you can constantly re-imagine and rebuild them. Whenever we start a project for a client, it's always driven by their ideas and our suggestions. But this bike was for us."
"We intended to exhibit the bike at the Swiss Moto Show, so we wanted people to know what we are all about and have some fun with the build."
"The GS also had to be fun to ride," says Antoine, "that's a key element with all our bikes. They’re built to be ridden."
"The inspiration for the bike came from my very first trials bike, so with the BMW, we wanted to cut everything down to the bare minimum. I remember writing three words next to the initial sketch, light, powerful, beautiful."
As anyone who has ever tried their hand at customizing will tell you, it's far harder to go down the minimalistic route than it is to cover a motorcycle in bling.
Dramatic Weight Loss
A stock R80 GS tips the scales at around 400-lb. It's impossible to say how much weight they've shed and it would be no surprise if Meister Engineering had cut that by 50-lbs.
As the only motorcycle engineers in Switzerland allowed to alter the frame on vintage BMW's, the subframe was the first thing to receive attention. This alteration is one of the shop's trademarks, and the skilfully contoured tubes are bolted-on rather than welded.
The rest of the frame was cleaned up, and chromed as a nod to the nickel-plated Rickman Metisse Scramblers of the early ’70s.
As functional as the original 19.6-liter gas tank was, it had all the aesthetic appeal of a shoebox. For this reason, it got ditched in favor of a low profile Honda tank. Together with a custom-made seat, the bike took on that elegant yet purposeful flat-tracker look.
Lightweight retro aluminum mudguards got added front and back. While new powder coated rims were laced to the hubs. A custom billet caliper mount was also fabricated for the upgraded 320-mm Brembo front brake.
On the subject of the front end, the aluminum lower fork legs were mirror polished. While custom ‘BMW’ machined inserts replaced the stock reflectors.
Brushed aluminum trials-style handlebars sit in powder-coated yokes with the electrics and switchgear cut down to an absolute minimum. A minimalist analog-style digital speedo sits in front of the top yoke to keep the whole area clean.
Bringing up the rear, all components were either powder-coated or polished, and a Wilbers shock takes care of the rear suspension.
Show and Go
Antoine mentioned earlier that the bike had to be fun to ride, and that box is well and truly ticked. The engine was rebuilt using a 336 camshaft and sport cam followers, a Siebenrock cylinder kit, a lighter flywheel, and refurbished carbs with a fast-flow air filter.
The combination of lighter pistons and crank gives the engine an immediate throttle response. Better still, the lumpier cam means the power doesn't stop. Straight from the factory, the stock R80 GS made around 49-hp. The boys haven't bothered getting the new engine on the dyno. The number is irrelevant as it's all about the rush when you nail the throttle.
For the grand finale, a black satin finish for the engine, and the edges of the cooling fins cleaned up to pop the detail. Last but not least, with the engine back in the frame, a one-off stainless steel 2-1 exhaust was fabricated and fitted with a free-flowing upswept silencer.
As the saying goes, the devil's in the detail. And this R80 GS from Meister Engineering looks like a BMW works team prepped it for an international Enduro event.
Attention to detail, thoughtful reduction, and skillful modifications make this bike a Meister-class in understated cool. So if you're looking for someone to build you a bling-bike to look good parked next to your garaged SUV, ride on by. But, if you want a motorcycle that screams form, function, and fun, you know who to call!