Older BMWs usually fall into one of three categories; total restoration, mile-eating beater or café racer. 33 member Temecula Terry went in his own direction with a simple goal in mind: to remove and reduce. His Teutonic powerplant is a gorgeous unit that is a complete about-face compared with British twins or Harleys of any era. By the art of subtraction, Terry has built exactly what he wanted: a simple, aesthetically pleasing old motorcycle.

Building this bike was an experience I'll never forget. I made so many good friends, and the Beer Booters got started just from spending time with so many knowledgeable people. Not only BMW nerds, but also moto psychos who came over on a regular basis to lend a hand, talk shit or just to see the progress and have a pint or two. 

I really wanted to make a BMW custom, but keep the lines and soul of a stock BMW. I had to check myself a few times to keep on track, but I like the way things turned out. I left many stock parts, just modded the shit out of them. BMW has some pretty nifty stuff that just needs a little help to make great.

Not knowing anything about BMW's personally, I was at a loss from the start. I knew I wanted things simple, and that the electricals had to go. I asked for help on CC and Wompy, Rudehog and many others stepped up. Although he's partial to Jap machinery, Wompy went to town with me on this BMW, helping me design the entire electrical system and chopping my forks down to size. Thanks, Juan P!

I haven't ridden this bike too much yet, but so far the most satisfying moment was when some dude told me it hardly looked like a motorcycle because it was so clean. That made me happy.

Owner: Temecula Terry Whitehurst

Location: Temecula, CA

Engine, year and make, model, modifications: Stock 1973 R60/5 engine, new Mikuni carbs (owner's note: Why do they call them Bing carbs? Because that's the sound they make when they hit the trash can), air box removed and replaced with K&N's 

Frame: The entire bike was torn down just to find a rusted piece of shit. I had to start from step 1, which was cool. It's stock minus all unnecessary tabs

Fork: Stock, shortened 2"

Chassis mods: Sub-frame shortened

Tire/wheel size and style: Stock rims powdercoated, new spokes 

Favorite thing about this bike: BMW's are weird. You sort of have to like the whole thing. I'm pretty basic, so clean bikes make me happy

Other mods, accessories, cool parts, etc: I cut down the hand controls and re-shaped them, cut the forks down, rebuilt the wheels, made a custom steering stabilizer, started fresh and re-wired the entire bike to a custom schematic based off racing BMWs. We cut the headlight ears down and put a Bates bucket on and replaced the lens with a '50s Mercedes-Benz lamp. I powdercoated almost everything, and cut down a 30-year-old 2-into-1 Luftmeister racing exhaust system and installed an H-D Sporty baffle inside the muffler. We did an antique polish on the engine covers and cast alloy parts that I like to call vintage aviation style, then made a custom alloy-based seat and added Firestone tires that suck on freeways but look cool

Next modification: Sub-frame rear loop to follow the lines of the seat

Thanks: I must say a big thanks to the boys at BCM, Pat and Kim. I couldn't have done this build without them. Pat and I put our heads together for the battery box and tail light, and Kim finished off both pieces with his usual talents. Wompy at Still Kickin'. Thanks also to McGoo for teaching me how to build my wheels, and to BMW Stoner for all the parts and sharing his knowledge. Thanks Spokesmen Jesse for helping me get this thing fired up, Mike Mellow for supplying Mission Brewery kegs, Bill Bryant for keeping me on track, and to Cop Todd for just being there. Most of all, a special thanks to my lovely wife for putting up with me sitting in the garage working on my bikes for hours on end.