BMW R 5 Hommage

BMW Motorrad has been teasing us with some great customs over the last few years, but this one may go straight to the top of the pops. It's the R 5 Hommage, based on the R5 sports bike which was first launched 80 years ago.

The supercharged R5 Hommage was on display at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, Italy from May 20-22, and at its core is an original 500cc twin-cylinder engine provided by motorcycle enthusiast Sebastian Gutsch. From there, the bike was hand-crafted from scratch.

"At its debut, the R 5 was not only a masterpiece of engineering, the clarity of its lines and the elegance of its proportions also made it stand out clearly from the masses. To this day, the R 5 remains one of the most aesthetically appealing motorcycles in BMW history in my view," says Edgar Heinrich, Head of Design BMW Motorrad.

"In my opinion, its fascinating and unique beauty lies in its sheer simplicity," adds Ola Stenegard, Head of Vehicle Design and Creative Director Heritage BMW Motorrad. "In today's world it is very simple to keep it complicated, but very complicated to keep it simple. And the BMW R 5 captures the very essence of a motorcycle.

"Our aim was to transport its clarity and elegant aesthetic appeal to the modern era — creating a respectful combination of old-school and high-tech with a dash of high performance."

The four-stroke boxer engine of the R 5 was newly designed at the time and had an output of 24hp at 5500 rpm. Thanks to the frame made of electrically welded oval tubing, the R 5 reached a top speed of 135km/h.

The technical highlight of the engine is the specially developed supercharger, which in the BMW R 5 Hommage now significantly boosts the output of the original power unit.

For the homage bike, numerous components such as the valve cover and the breastplate of the boxer engine have been machined from billet aluminium based on sketches.

A particularly defining feature in terms of the appearance of the original R 5 was the telescopic fork — new at the time — with covers aerodynamically shaped at the level of the headlamp. The R 5 Hommage stays true to this element.

The bike has a stainless steel exhaust system, and other contemporary accents are provided by the new rear wheel suspension, the modern piston brake system and the wheel hubs. The latter combines the brake system and spoke mount in a single formal unit. The bike is black with white pinstripes, there's a so-called smoke finish on the fuel tank and rear fender. There's also a hand-stitched leather seat with embossing.

We think it looks trick. What do you think?