A while back we were telling you about “Departed”, a custom bike created from scratch by Custom Works Zon to showcase a new, big, boxer engine from BMW Motorrad. Today, another custom bike builder, this time from the US, presented their take on the chassis around this new engine, under the Revival Birdcage title. Done by Revival Cycles, this new bike has been introduced to the wold last Thursday at the exclusive Revival Party on the eve of the annually held Handbuilt Show in Austin, Texas.

The frame of the “Revival Birdcage” is made of titanium and was developed by Revival Cycles itself. “This was our first time to build a frame with titanium, that alone was already a significant challenge”, said Alan Stulberg, head of Revival Cycles. “Regardless, the frame came together very well in the end and we are very pleased with the result as it accomplished the goal of being nearly transparent. We wanted to focus attention on the engine and that is precisely what we achieved with this completely unique frame we designed. You can easily view the engine and the drivetrain from all angles.”

In addition, almost every single other part on the bike such as handlebars, footrests, shift lever, seat and unique carbon suspension components were all individually crafted. Alan Stulberg’s team was inspired by Ernst Hennes’ record-setting machines from the late 1920s and early 1930s. It took around six months to develop the motorcycle. The bike was completed in time for the Handbuilt Show in a period of nearly five months.

There had already been a lot of speculation about the large-capacity prototype engine on location. Both the exterior geometry as well as the visible elements such as the push rods running in chrome-plated protection ducts are reminiscent of the BMW Motorrad boxer engines that were built in the 1960s. Just that the cubic capacity is now much larger now and modern air-oil cooling is used.

“The << Revival Birdcage >> turned out great and really showcases our Big Boxer perfectly”, said Timo Resch, Vice President Sales and Marketing BMW Motorrad. “Following the “Departed” from CUSTOM WORKS ZON, this is the second fascinating custom bike built around the prototype of the BMW Motorrad Big Boxer. We will also be showing a BMW Motorrad developed concept bike featuring this engine in the first half-year of 2019. BMW Motorrad will present a series production motorcycle with the Big Boxer for the Cruiser segment in the course of 2020.”