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A Different Kind of Build
The 30-year-old Maarten Bressers has amazed us before with some beautiful custom BMW motorcycles. Although his preference usually went to boxer twins, the man behind Moto Rebuild decided to take a walk on the wild side, and to venture into the world of BMW inline engine motorcycles

Realistically, we have seen countless of gorgeous builds that were based around the R-series Bavarian pride. A K-series BMW however, is something completely different. When you think about it, where the R-series were meant as no-nonsense motorcycles, using the simplest of technologies, the K-series was nothing short of high tech when it first came out. No round, organic shapes on the K-series, but hard straight lines and a boxy design.

Fallen like a Brick
So why a K-series then? Maarten and his father, who is his partner in crime at Moto Rebuild, wanted to do something different this time. Were a boxer engine BMW allows for easy work, the K-series bikes require a lot more thorough thinking. Modifying a K75 or K100 and making it look balanced is not an easy job. But when Maarten saw a modified K100 on Instagram, the seed was planted and he wanted to have a go at one for himself.

Once the craftsman had made up his mind, a BMW K100 from 1987 was quickly sourced. He didn’t know exactly what the end result was going to look like, but he knew that the strength of this particular model lays in its angular design, so a robust front was a must. The biggest challenge was going to be to get the rear subframe to look nice and to allow the lines of the fuel tank to match with his design.

Community United
Maarten made a number of molds to create a custom set of fairings for his K100 project. We know firsthand that he regularly asked his followers on Instagram for their opinion. In a way, this has helped him to shape his project into what it is now. One could argue that this has been a collaboration between Moto Rebuild and his followers, which makes it quite unique!

Premium Parts
At the front we see a custom set of triple clamps, with LSL mirrors and a KOSO speedometer. The wide handlebar is also courtesy of LSL, as are the indicators and rear taillight. The side panels of the fuel tank are custom made by Maarten himself. The same goes for the custom subframe that now has a seat-pan from Cafe4Racer and a custom-made seat from Miller Kustom Upholstery. The LED headlight and handlebar grips are from the catalogue of Max Inc. A unique mounting system is used at the rear, which allows the shock absorber to sit almost horizontal, clearing the view to that beautiful rear wheel. The rear shock is from YSS, and ensures proper traction, as do the Michelin Anakee dual-sport tires.

When you look closely, you will see that this BMW has a ton of small details, like the 3D printed injection cover, ignition cover, and even rear wheel hub, courtesy of Motoism Custom and Raw Metal Racers. If you look closely you will spot built-in indicators on the front fork cover, built to spec by Motoism. All of this combined with the matt red/orange color, we think this is one of the best looking custom K100 we have seen passing the revue here on BikeBrewers. What sets this build apart from all other K100’s is that this scrambler looks very sporty, almost aggressive. Although a boxer twin has more “character” to its rumble, the K100 shines in smoothness.

FOR SALE!
And if you’re thinking “Hey this bike looks amazing, I want to own it!” then you’re in for a treat! Moto Rebuild is selling this BMW as well as another custom BMW R80. Send Maarten a DM on Instagram for more details.

Photo Credits: Maarten Bressers

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The Flying Brick
We’ve been noticing a strong trend in the past year or so, a revival if you will, of café racers that are built around BMW K-series motorcycles, a.k.a. the flying brick There is a reason for that. They can be sourced cheaply to begin with, since they were sold by the bundles from 1982 till 1996 (K75 and K100). They also have a reputation of being bulletproof. And to be honest, they weren’t really good-looking bikes to begin with, so a little make-over can improve the aesthetic appeal. We have to say that it isn’t the easiest bike to turn into a smashing café racer, still there are quite a few builders out there that manage to amaze us.

Classic meets Modern
This 1985 BMW K100RT turned Café Racer is a fine specimen of what is possible with the right vision and skills. This bike was rebuilt from the ground up, which meant that no bolt was left unturned. The frame was chopped and coated with a fresh layer of paint. On the newly built subframe sits a custom leather seat with a classic café racer hump. Marcel created a see-through frame by getting rid of any excess wiring and moving the battery lower into the frame. Kellerman Bullet indicators also serve a tail- and brake-lights, they fit the bike nicely. A custom license plate bracket was also made to keep the BMW road-legal.

Technology
Moving to the front and we spot a Motogadget speedo (Motoscope Pro). However, when we look more closely, we see that Motogadget has provided a lot more than just the speedo such as the front indicators, handlebar grips, switches, and even the controller for all the electrics (m.unit blue). It goes without saying that all the wiring is new too. At the front we have a large round LED headlight with a matt black finish. The bar-end mirrors are a nice touch and add some flair to this BMW.

Subtle
The engine stayed mostly stock with the exception of a rebuild and some fresh paint. The exhaust got chopped and fitted with a small lightweight free-flow unit. The headers received thermal wrapping for the café racer looks. What’s interesting is to see that the footrests have been moved slightly forward to expose the beautiful rear wheel which is suspended in a single swingarm. The modified geometry makes the riding more comfortable too.

More to come…
We absolutely love the color of this bike. The deep dark blue color is so classy and fitting to this bike, we find it hard to imagine how this café racer would look like in any other color. Combined with some really tasty details, such as the custom BMW logo that can be found all over the bike, it truly is a sexy café racer. This build by BCD has the right mix between modern and classic, and it sets an example on how simplicity is often the best way to go. We can’t wait to see what the future will bring, but we are 100% convinced that it will be amazing again.

Photo credits: Nikolas Stergiadis

Builder details:
Blackout Custom Design
Website
Instagram
Facebook

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I don’t have to explain that the BMW K-series quickly became adopted as one of the most popular base bikes for cafe racer projects. We see a lot of builders, both pro’s and shed builders take their K’s up to speed. In fact, one of the most popular bikes last year was this K100 by Retrorides. It melted down our servers here…! Today I got another cool Flying Brick cafe racer in my mailbox. This one is built by Motochef from Sweden and is based on a K100RS. This machine is literally stuffed with high-end parts and for most aftermarket parts they’ve shopped at Caferacerwebshop.

The powerful 1000cc has been modded with a custom DNA Filter air filter and custom made intake chamber. The machine runs on full Motogadget M-Unit blue electrical wiring system controllable via Bluetooth on your mobile phone. The Motogadget Motoscope Pro decorates the instrument panel with its many available options like 0-100km/h acceleration and so on. The paint job was made by a professional in its industry TJ studio with a gas tank cap from Italian manufacturer Studiofibre Handmade.

The bike is road legal and TUV ready with its original exhaust being customized to blow from the side of the custom hand-made footpegs and gear levers.
Front suspension was fitted from a GSXR1000 with its rotor discs and brake calipers and the rear shock on the mono-swing arm is the high-end fully adjustable model from Ohlins!
Brembo front brake pump and rear Brembo caliper.

New Avon tires, Highsider front and rear lights, custom-made number plate holder, and many other hand-made details will leave you impressed with the attention to details of the build. The bike has been fully disassembled and powder coated, renewed and restored.

Follow Motochef on Instagram

Photo’s by Evaldas Virket

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Where the classic airheads are a very popular base bike for building a BMW cafe racer, the search for a used bike became more difficult every day. Prices have risen to astronomical heights so builders with a tight budget had to look for other base bikes. A logic step was to look for the BMW K-series. Maybe not as charismatic as the R-series, it’s still a BMW, which means reliability, comfort, rideability and easy to work on. The bike you see here is built by Tom Racing Designs. And if you’ve never heard of it, that can be right: it’s Tom’s first build. We’ve pitched six question:

Why did you build this bike?
I always loved cafe racers and building things, I love DIY in general and always want to do things by myself when possible rather than buying things. Loving motorcycle and that kind of bikes, I wanted to build one of my own, something unique.

Why did you pick this base bike and where does it come from?
I chose the BMW K75 because I loved its engine and massive fuel tank. The engines of the BMW K series were pretty uncommon in their configuration: a flat 3 (for the K75, or 4 for the K100) with the crankcase and cam cover on the sides, I just love the look of those massive covers with the BMW logo and found this engine unique and beautiful, plus its 3 cylinders sounds awesome. The fuel tank also looks really good, it’s huge and fit perfectly the lines of a cafe racer in my opinion.

The bike I got came from Germany and was imported in France by its second owner, a third one then bought the bike a few years ago and I bought it from him in the suburbs around Paris. The bike was running fine although it needed some care with many corroded parts and some oil leaks.

What was your idea or vision?
I wanted to put all the attention on the engine, especially on those crankcase and camshaft covers, so the rest of the bike had to be pretty light, so I went with a slim cafe racer/flat tracker seat painted in the same color as the tank. I also chose the clip on bars to keep everything not too high.

The K75 RT is a very, very heavy bike so the goal was also to make it lighter, so it’s easier to ride and to put on its central stand haha

Any interesting challenges?
Well the biggest challenge for me is that I do not have any sort of garage or workshop… nor access to electricity (so no power tools). All I have is a parking spot in my basement so I had to figure out ways to build this bike with very basic tools (a hacksaw to cut the frame for example). I also had to choose ways to install thing that did not need any welding, or angle grinders, etc.
Thing is, I recorded the entire transformation process with my GoPro to make a timelapse, you can watch the whole build process here to have an idea:

Did you got help from others or did you outsource any work?
Nope, not really, I did everything myself, I just asked a guy from Canada to build an Arduino module (like a BEP) in order for my speedometer to work properly so he made it send it to me and I installed everything.

What modifications are made and what parts are used?
The main modifications I made (and not general maintenance or paint job), were the flat tracker style seat, the new exhaust system, clip-on bars installed above the triple clamps as I lowered the front forks, a new small digital speedometer, homemade aluminium side panels, homemade aluminium front mudguard, new headlight, etc. Obviously, I also got rid of all the fairings and luggage and I’ve repainted the wheels and engine in black.

And most important: how does it ride?
It rides like a charm! It sounds awesome, has plenty of power and is now much lighter than the original bike! What I love about this bike is that every biker loves it, no matter if they ride a sportbike, a chopper, a naked bike, etc… they all stop to have a look at this bike! I also have many people on sidewalks asking me to stop to look at it :)

Moreover, this bike was my very first build and it made me want to keep going so I already made 2 other bikes and I’m still working on some :)

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Words by Trevor: This is my third build. I completely take the bike apart and start fresh. Sitting at only 22k miles, it was in excellent shape internally. Every piece has my touch on it. The bike is solely built by me in my home garage. Only thing outsourced is the painting of the gas tank. I’m OCD, as that is easily seen with my attention to detail. I’m in love with K bikes, specifically older K100’s. I could never get bored working on them. I wanted to update the look on this bike considerably, but stick mainly to the brand. That’s why I chose the S1000rr front end. I had not seen that one done before. I have a certain look/style to my builds that I have decided to stick with. I dig the bobber look and having the ride LOW. Now on the third build, I’m starting to know where the trouble spots are and work through them quicker. The ride is fantastic… the lower center of gravity, the weight loss, and upgraded fuel delivery makes it lean and mean.

The works and custom parts include: color chosen from the BMW Individual program color catalog for M-class vehicles, originally a Rolls Royce exclusive – Wildberry Pearl over Satin Black. Full front-end conversion from a 2013 BMW S1000rr. Aftermarket gold anodized saw blade rotors. Custom triple tree. CNC machined aluminum headlight brackets and 55mm clip-ons. 7” LED headlight in a matte black bucket and wire mesh cover. Hand cut and formed seat, wrapped in diamond-stitched satin black leatherette. Upgraded and flow balanced Bosch 4-Hole fuel injectors. Custom, stainless steel exhaust. Restored electronics. Custom Venhill steel braided brake lines wrapped in smoked carbon and chrome hardware. Rebuilt, front/rear calipers and master cylinders. Shaved mounts and wires tucked. Lowered 2.5 inches. Custom YZF R1 rear shock with adjustable preload, compression damping, and rebound damping. Carbon fiber wrapped gel battery. All fuel lines replaced. Vacuum lines replaced with silicon lines. New bearings, spark plugs, oil, air, and fuel filters, brake reservoirs, clutch, throttle advance and throttle cables. Relocated, hidden keyed ignition with original BMW key. Fresh synthetic fluids. Wheels wrapped with brand new Shinko 705’s. Polished bits everywhere! Tons of OEM goodies.

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After the BMW K100 cafe racer we’ve posted yesterday, most custom “Flying Bricks” are completely overshadowed. I must be honest that the love for that bike biased me. But still, this doesn’t withhold me from posting custom BMW K-series. It’s always a matter of taste AND a matter of time before an even better machine pops up.

Ok, this isn’t the best intro for a bike, so let’s get down to the BMW K1100 cafe racer we see right here built by 8Tech Racing from Germany. Owners of 8Tech are Colin (23) and Merlin (25) from Frankfurt am Main. Colin studies Mechanical Engineering and Merlin just graduated as one. While Colin is at campus, Merlin focusses 100% on building motorcycles. And when not studying, Colin puts in all his time helping Merlin. Colin: “We were both influenced by our dads who are really into old cars, bikes and classic racing. So for us there was no other opportunity than to do what we do right now. Besides building bikes and studying, we do race our racebikes around circuits all over Europe”.

They picked up this BMW K1100 the week before Christmas in 2016. “It’s a 1994 model and had a blue metallic color, very ugly bike“ says Colin. They wanted to create their own version of a newschool cafe racer. They picked the K1100 because they already had some experiece with the K100 they modified earlier. “We wanted to test how much you can make a ‘sporty’ and rideable bike out of a K-series.”

(Colins words) The result is very satisfying. The bike handles very precisely, especially with the Wilbers modified GSXR1000 forks we installed. In the rear works a Wilbers 633 Competition shock, fully adjustable, and for also higher or lower the rear we installed a fully adjustable para lever strutt additionally. For the front, we used a Triumph rim and so could replace the original BMW 305mm brake discs with 320mm EBC’s. The Brembo monoblock calipers are from Ducati, getting their pressure from a Galespeed VRC19 brake pump. The braking power now is absolutely enormous.

The dashboard is a Motogadget, also as the m-unit, m-button, etc. so actually the complete electronic hardware is by Motogadget. Handlebars and rear sets are Gilles Tooling. The adapters for installing the rear seats are self-made CNC-milled (we sell them in two different styles).
The rear is self-made, out of glass fiber reinforced plastic, the seat is Alcantara. Furthermore, is a self-made stainless steel flow-optimized airbox with K&N filters mounted. The exhaust system is also partly self-made, partly modified original with a SC Project Titanium silencer on it.
In the end, the bike weights only 213kg with all fluids and a full gas tank! (original was around 280kg)

I guess this particular project was the last one as a duo. We are about to get one more person in the shop, but that’s a story for the next project ;)

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Beautiful classic BMW K75 Cafe Racer by Moto Adonis. Personally, I’m very happy to see that the quality of builds from Holland is constantly growing. Maybe a bit biased, but I’ve featured a lot of bikes from our small country lately. We have some real great pro-builders like Ironwood, Wimoto, and Wrench Kings. All delivering high quality and unique machines that get noticed all over the web. Another well-known name here in Holland and the rest of the (custom) world is Moto Adonis, from Daan Borsje.

Daan, who sees his self as a “designer-builder” easily can be called a perfectionist: if he sets his mind to something, he want’s to do it the right way and commits his self for 200%. So his work is not a matter of tearing down an old machine, put some new parts on in, give finish it wit a paint job. No, Daan goes all the way from a complete engine overhaul to fabricating his own parts. So when Philip van Gelder, a local customer, broke his piggy bank for buying a custom bike, he knew that Moto Adonis was the right place.

Next to an old sock stuffed with some cash, Philip also had an old ’87 BMW K75. A base bike that’s maybe not as cool as the air-cooled boxers, but sure has a great engine. The stock model doesn’t have a name for being beautiful, the technique of the so-called Flying Bricks are rock solid. It’s no surprise that the K-series become a very popular for building a cafe racer (make sure to check out this awesome K100 Cafe Racer).

The conversion started with the wheels because the stock wheels didn’t suit Philips mindset of a classic cafe racer. In the front, Daan sourced a wheel of a BMW R1200C, which is fitted in a black Suzuki GSXR1100 USD fork to upgrade brakes and suspension at the same time. The real wheel including rear drive comes from a R1100GS, which also upgrades the brake drum with a disc. In order to get that desired classic look, Daan fitted a beautiful small headlight fairing, modified the gas tank and of course chopped up the rear end to mount a classic leather seat.

The electronic system got upgraded with the complete catalog of Motogadget. Indicators, controls, wireless switch, and grips are sticking and operating together around the M-Unit. In front, they’ve fitted an aftermarket LED headlight unit and Daytona instruments. The bike is finished in a “classic-meets-aggressive” color scheme: matt black with a yellow striping. Great job!

Follow Moto Adonis:

Web | Facebook | Instagram

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In order to build this Honda Shadow Special, they faced some challenges. The stock bike isn’t popular for its sporty stance nor riding position, so the frame setup is heavily modified completely rebuild to create a more active, sporty riding position. They’ve changed the angle of the engine to lean it a bit more forward and built a complete custom swing arm. To cut some weight, the laced wheels are replaced with lightweight casted wheels. The front fork and braking systems are sourced from several other Japanse bikes.

The big air filter comes from a Harley-Davidson, which makes the engine as a whole look like it’s from a HD. In order to keep the bike a bit more narrow, they’ve rebuilt the exhaust system with the two mufflers just under the cafe racer style seat.

I don’t think that the Honda Shadow will be the next BMW K-series, but damn, I like this build!

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After our photo contest for Best Custom of 2016, we’re up for a new Bikes of the Month. Like every month we’ve selected the best customs from around the web. This month we have a Ducati 750 from Down Under, a BMW K100 from the US, a Yamaha XSR700 from France, a Moto Guzzi V10 from the US and a radical Triumph Legend TT from Italy.

Ducati 750SS “Emola Evo” by VeeTwo

A bike from Down Under with pure racing genes. Built on their own designed “Ritorno” engine with a genuine ’81 900 MHR frame, this “Emola Evo” by VeeTwo is a classic racer built for the track. Great lines and high-performance parts make this bike not only look good, it’s also capable of doing serious lap times… [read more]

BMW K100 Cafe Racer by Mike Flores

The BMW K-series is rapidly becoming a top pick as a basis for custom projects. This K100 is built by “first timer” Mike Flores from Los Angeles. His goal was to keep the squared lines and angles in place and honor massive engine.

The images got a lot of likes on Facebook and Instagram and I didn’t took long for Mike’s bike to get featured on BikeEXIF. Not bad for a first project! [read more]

Yamaha XSR700 “Dirty Smoke” by MotoMax Metz

With the introduction of Yamaha’s XSR-series it was clear that it was designed to be customized. One of the first (and still one of the best) for sure is the XSR700 Scrambler by JvB Moto. The bike you see here is built by MotoMax Metz, a Yamaha dealer from France. The XSR700 they call “Dirty Smoke” is inspired by JvB’s design and created with bolt-on parts… [read more]

Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro by Rodsmith Motorcycles

As a Guzzi rider I always love to see Guzzi’s, especially the custom ones. This gorgeous machine is built by Craig Rodsmith, owner of Rodsmith Motorcycles. He calls himself a master/builder/fabricator/painter/designer and he worked on all kinds of motorized machines, from mopeds to WW2 fighter planes. What you see here is a customized Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro; a somewhat bulky tourer. The only bulky thing on this classic cafe racer is the massive engine… [read more]

Triumph Legend TT by XTR Pepo

To be honest: I love every machine that is build by Pepo Rosell, so it’s obvious that I feature his work on a regular basis. But I’m not the only one; every single creation turns out to be gold. If he posts one of his projects, it got shares, likes and posts all over the web in no time. This machine is called “Rocket” and is based on a Triumph Legend TT… [read more]

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