'The Kompressor' - Patricio Castelli

By Patricio Castelli. Photos by Juan Paviolo

I was about 12 years old when I found a motorbike encyclopedia in fascicles. As I immersed myself in that world a bike caught my attention: there was a picture without text of the Ernst Henne‘s BMW WR750 Kompressor with which he beat some speed records in the 1930s. It was an image so strong that 40 years later I’m still looking for the magic that was in that picture .

The bike I constructed is not intended to be a tribute, nor a replica: it is simply a free reinterpretation of a bike that captivated me and stimulated my imagination and love for design and construction.

The path started a few years ago, when I bought with a friend an Italian boxer engine from Secma Limbiante, very similar to a BMW 500. From that starting point I adapted a BMW R50 gearbox and a Japanese Aisim AMR compressor, and also made the particular ‘aerodynamic’ valve covers. I wanted to keep some features from the Henne bike, like the shape of the handlebars and the absence of a front brake. I also took some liberties, like the aluminum fork made of two wing profiles, and the bolt lock with wire: these are all nods to BMW’s aeronautic heritage.

In the year 2024 the bike was exhibited at Autoclasica 2024 and won the 1st prize in the category ‘Craftsmanship’.

[Ed note: Autoclasica is the largest classic car/motorcycle event in South America, with 1100 vehicles on display, and a huge autojumble, all housed in the old polo grounds of Ipodromo San Isidro in Buenos Aires.   The quality of machines on display is staggering, as Argentina has had motor oil in its veins throughout the 20th Century, and for the first half of the Century at least, the money to buy any motor vehicle they desired.   In the 1990s, I found four Brough Superiors in Argentina, and the legendary supercharged land speed racer ‘Super Kim’, which led to many friendships around the world.

We featured one of Patricio Castelli’s previous custom motorcycles in The Vintagent – ‘Abandon All Hope‘ – a masterpiece of design and execution.  As you can imagine, Patricio is a regular winner at Autoclasica in the Custom or Craftsmanship categories, as his work is among the best of any artisan motorcycle builder in the world.  I had the good fortune of meeting Patricio in 2024 in Bueno Aires, during a visit to Coventry Motors Limited, which happens to be across the street from the Ipodromo San Isidro, in a neighborhood mixing actual workshop spaces with chic restaurants for the polo set.