BMW R80 - Polizei
BMW r80 - Polizei
1982 BMW R80 – Polizei
Built during the long, grim British winter of 2023/24, this Bavarian bruiser began its life patrolling foggy UK streets as a British police bike. Now, let's be honest—modern British police bikes have all the gravitas of a soggy packet of crisps. The idea here was to give it back its authority, but with a twist: a retro 1980s German Polizei vibe, complete with matte green livery and teutonic block lettering to replace the jam sandwiches. East Germany? West Germany? Who cares—Best Germany!
This is no café racer; it’s more Guten Morgen, Herr Citizen, than Ich bin Schnell und Sexy. Built not for speed but for rugged reliability, it’s the sort of machine you’d trust to get you through an unscheduled border checkpoint or outrun a nosey Stasi officer in a Trabant (though let’s be honest, even a Puch Maxi could do that).
We took a resto-mod approach, keeping most of the original parts but shrinking any components we could whilst beefing up where it counted. We also applied a durable Cerakote matte finish on anything that wasn’t that iconic Bavarian two tone. The result? A bike that looks like it’s ready to enforce road laws in a cold-war Berlin, where petrol is currency, and Kraftwerk is still on the radio.
Of course, every build needs a new owner, and this one came when BGM’s longtime friend Russell (already the proud owner of a Dnepr bobber that’s basically a Soviet tank on two wheels) wandered in for a coffee in early January 2024. The Polizei R80 was still on the lift, mid-transformation. Russell took one look and slapped down a deposit faster than an East German border gaurd taking a bribe.
Specs Rundown
Authority Figures Beware:
All original police fairings—verhaftet und abgeschafft. Stripped away for a sleeker, meaner look.
Low black bar and lowered clocks—perfect for dodging surveillance or just looking cooler.
Bureaucratic Reductions:
Shortened indicator stems and silencers. Loud enough to wake up anyone who’s not filing a report.
Single police seat kept for vintage charm, with a rear rack added for contraband (or groceries).
Cold War Tough:
Matte-blasted aluminum rims shod with knobby, road-legal Continental tires that laugh in the face of uneven terrain.
Engine block, gearbox, and differential blasted clean and cerakoted matte black wrinkle finish.
Rebuilt to Survive:
Top-end engine rebuild and gearbox overhaul—bulletproof reliability for both highways and history lessons.
Carbs fully refurbed and tuned to perfection, unlike a planned economy.
Lights and Surveillance:
Original Bosch headlight tinted yellow for added intimidation factor.
Restored police spotlight because sometimes you need to shine a little light on justice.
Functional crash bars—because East German cobblestones don’t play nice.
Bodywork & Aesthetic Inspections:
Side panniers restored for practicality, whether you’re smuggling documents or just packing sandwiches.
The original bodywork polished and restored, with matte green Polizei graphics hand-painted on top of the original white paint. It’s got just the right amount of macht kaputt, was euch kaputt macht.
This isn’t a flashy racer or a delicate collector’s piece. It’s a dependable, rugged enforcer—ready to clock endless miles without complaint, whether you're patrolling your local roads or storming through a world where the Berlin Wall never came down.
As for Russell? Well, let’s just say his Dnepr finally has some capitalist competition.