hutchbilt custom BMW R80 skyway boardracer motorcycle

dubbed the ‘skyway’, this custom BMW ‘R80’ motorcycle is influenced by BMX bikes from the 1970’s and 1980’s. created by californian custom bike specialist, jeremy hutch under the alias ‘hutchbilt’, he has created no-less than five motorbikes in the past, each of which celebrates its own unique style.

all images © hutchbilt / devin paisley

hutchbilt felt that the majority of BMW airhead builds in the custom motorcycle world were cliché, so it designed ‘skyway’ to be immediately striking. early boardtracker bikes, california culture, and the iconic ‘skyway’ freestyle BMX bike of the early 80’s with its white plastic wheels all played a huge roll in his inspiration for this build. jeremy has upgraded the bike with a yamaha ‘R6’ front-end, adding custom ‘3CR12’ brake rotors, along with custom rear shocks that are both progressive, and adjustable. repurposing an anti-aircraft grade headlight from one of his engineers, jeremy integrated it to fit the motogadget keyless ignition and headlight seamlessly.

a custom walnut base was hand laminated by a furniture designer and CNC’d to fit the subframe, and house recessed LED lights. the soft seat and tank cover were both handmade in napa suede with hexagonal stitching by eric groenewald, using elastic and earth magnet side seams to hug the profile of the tank. the custom graphics come from a mexican blanket stance sock that jeremy had which he handed to his painter, and asked for an interpretation of the BMW racing colors. the tank’s ‘hutchbilt’ badge was CNC’d out of walnut and the custom billet gas cap is a bespoke piece by black silver.