People who aren’t familiar with the world of BMW motorcycles ask me all the time, “what year are the bikes with that front?” It’s such a common question that I know exactly what they’re talking about with zero further details. It’s the iconic Earls Fork. It’s striking without overtaking the visuals of the rest of the motorcycle. It’s beefy without being clunky. It is synonymous with that era of BMW motorcycles like the square grill on an American muscle car or the fins of a 1950's Cadillac.
The problem of the Earls fork front end are the brakes. Trying to stop a heavy motorcycle as quickly as needed in modern traffic with a drum brake from the 1950’s is not easy. It’s more dangerous than functional.
Not only does Nathan's Double Disk Brake solve the problem of how to stop the motorcycle it also solves the problem of how to add usable brakes without destroying the visuals of a classic. It’s a piece that adds to the natural beauty of the Earls Fork. A perfect example of the term “resto-mod.”
A big reason Nathan’s design is visually so appealing is that it uses as few aftermarket parts as possible. It borrows the best parts of later BMW Motorcycles, two piston Brembo calipers from early K-bikes , and a handlebar mounted master cylinder from later BMW Airhead models. Not only does this help the visuals of the modification but adds to the ease of repair and longevity. In ten years if something goes wrong with the master cylinder, there won’t be a hunt to find some aftermarket part no longer in production, it could just be replaced by another BMW master cylinder.
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Nathan is particularly excited about this Because BMW said it couldn’t be done. A double disk Brake Front end on a spoked wheel. In the past besides a few very late airhead models putting double disk brakes on a spoked wheel was not possible. A choice had to be made between a mag wheel for double disk brakes or a spoked wheel with a single caliper. On a recent R80ST Cafe build Nathan and Chuck installed two Brembo two piston calipers on stock R80ST calipers with a spoked wheel. This will be an ongoing discovery as we explore more models and sliders that we can use this same technique on.
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The R80ST was always a mash up of a motorcycle ready for modification. Overshadowed by its off-road sister the R80g/s it never developed the same mythology. It’s similar to the R90/6 being overshadowed by the R90S, still a beautiful and classic motorcycle without the large accompanying price tag. The R80ST is often described as being a R80g/s with the front end of an R65 with a 19 inch front wheel, because it pretty much is. Besides a few minor details like the lack of kickstarter and the brake pedal the R80g/s and R80ST are the same motorcycle from the steering neck back. So over time and especially now that the price tag of an R80g/s has risen dramatically people started converting R80ST’s into G/S.
The biggest hurdle to overcome converting an R80ST into the off-road version has been sourcing the rare parts found on the g/s model. Nathan has recently found a way to make this transition easier. Using a modified R100GS front wheel bearing, a twelve inch floating rotor, and an adapter plate for the stock caliper the front end is able to accommodate the larger 21 Inch wheel. It’s amazing news for anyone looking to upgrade the off-road capabilities of their R80ST without breaking the bank.
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