In this article, we are mainly going to write about the BMW R00: A CONVERSION KIT TO TURN YOUR AIRHEAD ELECTRIC. But first I want to tell you a little bit more about the man behind this and where he started his career in motorcycle customizing.
“His name is Luuc Muis. He’s from the Netherlands and owns Groningen-based LM Creations. At 29 years old, he’s an industrial product designer by trade, but he got into custom bike design and building at a young age.
Before founding LM Creations in 2020, Muis Designer of BMW R00 worked for Motorcycle Storehouse and ROEG, where he was responsible for product engineering and design. He started working there straight out of college in 2014.
“I’ve always been interested in design and engineering, and I wanted to combine that with my other passion, motorcycles.
Muis says. At age 12, he built his first custom bicycle and started to learn how to wrench, fabricate, and weld. “Back then I was very much influenced by the Discovery Channel, seeing Rick Petko fabricate tanks out of sheet metal and then CNC milling and fabricating motorcycles.”
Eventually, the Muis Designer of the BMW R00 wanted to learn design and engineering techniques in order to build his own custom motorcycles. He started off with a Honda VT600, which he disassembled almost immediately, drawing up design plans for it. You can also read about Pablo Baranoff Dorn Multidisciplinary E-Bike Designer here,
When Muis Built Four Motorcycles:
After graduating from college, Muis built four motorcycles. The last build led him to his job at Motorcycle Storehouse and ROEG. Aside from his work, he still builds his own custom bikes as a hobby, usually taking about 6 months to build a bike. When a bike is finished, he puts it up for sale to fund new projects.
Recently, Muis BMW R00 was asked to build a marketing bike for Indian Motorcycles, which he considered a dream come true. He worked overtime at MCS during the day and spent his spare time building the marketing bike. “I had designed the Indian all in Photoshop and CAD software when I got to the building where it was finished and launched.”
This, in turn, led to more projects. After a while, he made the difficult decision to start his own company, LM Creations. Luckily, he had a healthy relationship with MCS and ROEG, so he still does product development for them now and then, which gives him an extra income to develop LM.
Riding or Wrenching?
“I would say wrenching. In honesty, I mostly ride my girlfriend’s bike since mine is always taken apart or sold after I finish them. The next bike I’m getting into not really making too many major adjustments and having something suitable for enduro and commuting as well. “
Relationship With The Biker Community:
Regarding his relationship with the biker community, Muis says that there is something for everyone, especially nowadays, when there are hundreds of options to identify yourself with a bike that suits you, stock or custom. A lot of motorcycle events and festivals, and the number of young people getting back into motorcycles is rising, so that’s always great! ”
Now he has also turned his head to the electric EV market and has worked on a project that is completely different from his history of gas-based motorcycles.
Turning a gas-based motorcycle into an electric motorcycle is not easy. Most of all, it makes it an outstanding design.
That is what makes Luuc Muis unique because he’s just developed a conversion kit for the classic Beemer! A bolt-on electric drivetrain that replaces the existing engine. But keeping the gearbox and the rest of the driveline intact, does not compromise the original look.
The prototype of the BMW R00 is built from a BMW R80 donor bike:
There are some sharp engineering skills involved in designing the new casting for the motor housing and battery pack that fits the original frame.
Actually, you can bolt the system to all: R 45 R60 R65 R75 R80 R90 and R100 types (1969 till 1995) minor modifications may be necessary. Such as removing the electric mount brackets on the top tube to make room for the battery pack.
The installation of the kit is relatively easy, and an installation video is supplied with the kit.
”We are working with the EU R100 EV safety standard, which is mandatory for EV homologation. We haven’t yet had it kit certified, but we will in the future. “
BMW R00 SPECS:
- power unit with a maximum rpm of 7500 and a peak power of up to 20 kW.
- new aluminum cast housing in black or silver.
- 80-kilometer urban range
- a 4,3 kWh battery pack weighing 24 kg (only 2 kg more than the original gas tank).
- Charge cycles in excess of 2000 (approximately 160.000km)
- 1,8 or 3,3 kW 230V charger that choice is up to you
- fiberglass shell ready for gel coat paint
- from 1969 to 1995, bolted on to R-type airhead engines (R45-R100).
The 1,8 kW charger charges the battery to 80% in about 2 hours and 100% in about 2 hours. But since the 1,8Kw charger is a lot smaller than this one. It is possible to mount it on the bike instead of using it as a separate charger.
This is not the last time you’ll hear about Luuc. He’s here to stay!
SHOUT OUTS:
- @LM.creations.eu
- @Dominique.posthuma (photographer/girlfriend)
- @Reload.land
- @get_roeg
- @motorcyclestorehouse
