On this planet of {custom} bikes, sure machines—the air-cooled Triumph Bonneville, the traditional Honda CB, the BMW Boxer—are mainstays. They’re dependable, they’re lovely, they usually’re straightforward to cut up. Then there may be the BMW Ok-Sequence.
Dubbed ‘The Flying Brick’ by those that cherished its reliability however possibly not its aesthetic, the first-generation Ok-Sequence (K100 and K1100, 1983-1991) was a stark, rectangular block of Teutonic engineering. It was the antithesis of the curvy, conventional Boxer twin that BMW Motorrad had constructed its status on. And but, that is exactly why it has develop into the darling of the trendy {custom} scene.
It is a machine that challenges builders to look previous its chunky strains and discover the modern, high-performance coronary heart beneath. The outcomes? Pure, angular brilliance.
Right now, we’re diving into our favourite {custom} Ok-Sequence builds from the ‘Flying Brick’ period. And for these eager to personal a bit of this tradition historical past, we’ve a pristine 1994 BMW K1100RS masterpiece, Kronos, presently up for public sale on Bike EXIF Auctions.
Cardsharper’s BMW K1100LT Scrambler
Again within the 90s, the BMW K1100LT was a king of touring bikes, boasting the marque’s first engine over one liter, gas injection, and a low-maintenance shaft drive. In comparison with the competitors, the K1100 was a technological tour de drive—however all that got here wrapped in a large, heavy go well with of bodywork. Jacek Mulak of Cardsharper Customs in Poland determined to drop that extra weight and remodel it into one thing surprisingly sprightly.
Jacek’s consumer wished a motorcycle that might deal with nation tracks and carry small baggage, steering away from the over-saturated café crowd. The ensuing scrambler works surprisingly properly. The aesthetic is dominated by brightly coloured crash bars and a revised rear body that circulation completely with the inventory tank—a function usually poorly executed on Ok-series customs. The rear baggage frames, which add a definite allure, are detachable, permitting for a simple change of fashion ought to the proprietor need a café racer look in a while.
The transformation goes far past aesthetics. The inventory, low-slung muffler was changed with new piping and an aftermarket muffler that terminates at license-plate degree, eliminating a floor clearance legal responsibility. The wheelset is correctly off-road pleasant, sourced from a BMW R1150GS and refurbished right into a traditional F19/R17 setup. Even the cockpit, which on a BMW requires wrestling with complicated electrics, was modernized with a discreet Koso TNT-04 ‘multifunction meter’ and a Motogadget keyless ignition, tidied up with a Maru Labs BEP3.0 conversion field.
The ultimate contact? A shocking paint job with pink tubing and yellow highlights that subtly evoke the spirit of Dakar—or maybe the Moto Guzzi V85TT, as Jacek laughs. It’s a well executed {custom} that redefines what this three-decade-old machine might be. [MORE]
Vilnius Moto Home’s K1100
The {custom} scene in Lithuania may be small, nevertheless it’s definitely deep underground. Working example is that this “indignant, however distinctive” BMW K1100 café racer dubbed ‘Venture #01’ from Vilnius Moto Home (VMH). The problem started with a easy consumer request, which escalated right into a full-scale dismantling—a course of VMH boss Darius Krasauskas describes as “very quick and with out scruples”—to deal with the erratic manufacturing facility strains.
VMH refined the chassis with a pointy, all-new subframe and a Yamaha R6 rear shock. The ultimate, aggressive stance was set with a pair of distinctive 19-inch Harley-Davidson V-Rod strong entrance wheels, which required important fettling and widening to adapt to the BMW’s single-sided swingarm. The {custom} bodywork is equally inventive: after combating the OEM tank, they dug up a Kawasaki KZ550 unit, which was lower and narrowed to be the proper match.
A novel contact is the {custom} fabrication across the engine, together with a serpentine, 4 into one stainless-steel consumption manifold operating off a single filter, complemented by a corresponding exhaust snaking underneath the motor. The lighting concern was solved with two lengthy LEDs housed in a hand-made nacelle, with discreet Kellermann LEDs fulfilling the street-legal flip sign requirement. VMH’s exhausting work, which included two separate undertaking stalls and a last three-week dash to make the Custombike Present in Germany, paid off when the bike took prime honors within the Roadster class. The monochrome spin on BMW’s conventional tricolor motorsports livery, executed with a cool, hand-painted really feel, is a delicate however efficient last word on this brutal construct. [MORE]
VTR Customs’ K100 Endurance Racer
If the late 70s and early 80s have been the golden age of motorbike racing, the Swiss workshop VTR Customs is channeling that power instantly into their builds. Store boss Dani Weidmann, a veteran of the endurance racing period, seen the {custom} surge for ‘Flying Bricks’ and determined to pay homage to the classics with this beautiful endurance-style avenue authorized racer, aptly named ‘24 Hours.’
The concept was sparked at Spa-Francorchamps after watching a four-hour night time race begin with a Le Mans process. Dani’s imaginative and prescient was clear: double headlights with a detachable “one-eyed” alloy race cowl, a central rev counter, a Monza fuel cap, and a definitive Nineteen Eighties paint scheme. VTR stored the K100’s distinctive engine uncovered to keep away from it being mistaken for “one other Japanese retro bike,” however tailor-made the bodywork by protecting solely the higher a part of a salvaged GSX-R750 fairing and including vented facet panels that match the tank’s strains.
The paint scheme is what really units it aside. After experimenting with orange mixtures, the VTR staff took inspiration from the Jaguar Racing F1 vehicles of the early 2000s. The inexperienced is an genuine match, and the traditional race sponsors are replicated, with one intelligent twist: the HSBC financial institution emblem was modified to ‘HSKC’ to reference Schmerikon, VTR’s hometown.
A titanium muffler, PVM three-spoke wheels, and a perforated Alcantara seat pad spherical out this lovely endurance tribute. With its mix of German chassis, Italian exhaust, and F1 aesthetics, the ’24 Hours’ is a flawless tribute to a bygone racing period. [MORE]
Bolt Motor Co.’s K100RS
The BMW K100RS was already an announcement when it debuted in 1986. However Spain’s Bolt Motor Co. noticed the high-performance potential that lay beneath the geometric fairings of this ’80s-era machine. The result’s a pointy, high-performing café racer, born from a consumer request that included a stunningly detailed, full-color sketch for the staff to work from.
The main focus was pure efficiency, which is not any shock since Bolt’s sister firm is the System 3 racing staff, Campos Racing. The staff stripped the K100RS and injected race-spec DNA all through. The engine acquired a custom-made consumption canister, a relocated ignition, and twin Akrapovič mufflers related to tweaked headers. The wiring was utterly changed with a System 3 racing-spec loom and Motogadget elements. Store boss Adrián Campos coyly mentions another “fancy issues” have been finished to the engine, however these secrets and techniques stay with the race staff.
The chassis acquired an equally intense improve. The entrance finish now sports activities Öhlins upside-down forks and twin Brembo brakes borrowed from an Aprilia RSV. This required machining all-new yokes and a steering stem. The rear options an Öhlins piggyback shock related to a bespoke subframe, and even an Öhlins steering damper borrowed from the Aspar motorbike racing staff.
The final touch is an asymmetrical BMW M-inspired paint job, that includes the marque’s signature blue and pink accents mirrored within the {custom} leather-based seat stitching. This bike is a testomony to the truth that turning a consumer’s particular imaginative and prescient into a novel, high-end murals is value each man-hour. [MORE]
Empire’s On line casino Royale
After years within the {custom} trade, Lithuania’s Two Wheels Empire was calling it a day to switching to e-bikes, and this brooding 1991 BMW K1100 RS café racer, dubbed ‘On line casino Royale,’ was their beautiful swan track. Because the third and last ‘Flying Brick’ of their portfolio, it represented the “evolution of the species,” that includes the most costly components spec and aiming for near-perfection.
To realize this, the staff changed the K1100RS’s cumbersome three-spoke wheels with refurbished, widened ‘octagon’ hoops from an older K100, now wrapped in Pirelli Angel GT tires. The entrance suspension is lifted from a 2017 Aprilia Tuono 1000 R, that includes Öhlins upside-down forks and twin Brembo brakes, held by Powerbrick Efficiency triple clamps. A custom-built Öhlins shock manages the rear. The bodywork is minimal, that includes a fiberglass tail part, a {custom} subframe, and the OEM gas tank, all painted in Mercedes’ delicate Selenite Magno Gray.
The cockpit is completed with clip-ons, a Brembo grasp cylinder, and Motogadget elements all through. Signature touches embrace a Ok&N air filter, a novel four-into-one exhaust system with an underslung field muffler, and a delicate piece of art work on the tank impressed by the unique Ian Fleming On line casino Royale e book cowl.
Although Matt, the store founder, is shifting to the electrical world, he admits he would nonetheless be all for making “one particular Ok with a vast funds—an much more excellent model, one final time.” We sincerely hope he does. [MORE]
Electro Motorworks’ Electrical K100
When Marshall Hewitt discovered a seized 1991 BMW K100 ex-police bike, he confronted a severe problem. Fairly than rebuilding the seized engine, this automation engineer opted for a novel resolution: yanking the inner combustion engine and changing it with a contemporary electrical powertrain. Marshall’s objective wasn’t simply to get the bike operating, however to take care of the “inventory and iconic look of the K100 engine,” deliberately deceiving onlookers into considering the bike was nonetheless a ‘Flying Brick.’
The deception is masterfully executed. Marshall 3D-scanned the unique engine and designed a set of covers to precisely mimic the inventory powerplant, hiding the brand new 35 kW electrical motor and 8.2 kWh battery beneath. The bike is nice for a prime pace of 160 km/h (100 mph) in sport mode, with a claimed vary of over 160 km (100 miles) in eco mode, using the closely modified, now single-gear, OEM transmission. A Motogadget ‘mind’ manages the wiring, tucked beneath the hollowed-out tank together with the charging system.
Marshall plans to supply this method as a package underneath the banner of Electro Motorworks, specializing in a direct engine substitute that requires no everlasting body modifications. The remainder of the chassis is equally spectacular, with a rebuilt entrance finish, de-tabbed body, and a rear suspension system and subframe from Retrorides hooked as much as a YSS shock. This K100 shouldn’t be solely a rattling sharp-looking café racer, however a technologically stealthy platform that factors to the way forward for {custom} motorcycling. [MORE]
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