BMW R 80 Beach Cruiser Is a Stunner in the Truest Sense of the Word and Beyond

Kingston’s frontman refers to it as the Beach Cruiser, and he’s based it on a BMW R 80 ST from the model-year 1985. Having commissioned a build to Dirk’s shop before and knowing what the man could do, the returning client was happy to give him a huge degree of creative freedom with this project. Once the R 80 had been dismantled, our protagonist dug straight in.

He sourced a gorgeous R75/5 fuel tank and had it adapted to work on the later model, while replacing the stock subframe with a custom looped item built from scratch. Atop the new rear framework lies a very stylish bench seat, wearing brown leather upholstery and stitching done in a diamond pattern. There is also a bespoke rear fender attached to the subframe tubing underneath.

To round things out at the back, Dirk fitted a circular LED taillight and the simplest license plate holder you can imagine. Rounding out the rear-end mods is a neat suspension upgrade, in the form of a modern YSS shock absorber for improved handling. On the other hand, the original forks were shortened by 50 mm (two inches) to get the Beemer’s stance just right.

They are now held in place by CNC-machined triple clamps, and a handmade aluminum fender is mounted between them lower down. As for the headlight, it looks as if it came straight from the early 1900s and is installed on billet aluminum mounting hardware. Oh, and the front end also benefits from an additional brake disc and caliper for a healthy dose of extra stopping power.

Up in the cockpit, we find a Motogadget ChronoClassic speedo fronting a new low-rise handlebar, which carries some ultra stylish bar-end turn signals. LSL foot pegs bring the ergonomics full circle, and the wheels were enveloped in Bridgestone Battlax BT-56 rubber fore and aft. Of course, Kingston Custom hasn’t overlooked the powertrain sector.

The boxer-twin engine was rebuilt inside out and then fitted with a stainless-steel exhaust from Hattech, which terminates in dual reverse megaphone mufflers. And finally, a very tasty shade of red is used heavily for the motorcycle’s color scheme, along with handsome pinstriping and beige accents on the fuel tank. Altogether, the mods performed by Dirk Oehlerking turned this R 80 into an absolute stunner we could stare at for hours.