From the minute it hit the {custom} scene, the BMW K100 has been an underdog. With a brick-like motor, overly angled bodywork and a kinked subframe, it’s a far much less interesting choice than the extra good-looking R-series boxer. However that hasn’t stopped it from turning into a surprisingly common alternative.
The important thing lies in the way you customise the K100. In case your technique is to shoehorn it into a conventional construct type, you’re destined for heartbreak. However for those who discover a approach to harness the K100’s quirkiness reasonably than battle it, the outcomes might be fairly rattling spectacular.
That’s the strategy that Motoism and Impuls have taken with this ultra-sharp 1983-model BMW K100 café racer. The 2 Munich-based outfits share a love for good design, and are well-versed in trendy manufacturing methods. With assist from VOR Sneakers, Kruno Trim Studio, Öhlins, ABM and Pirelli, they got down to reinterpret basic café racer ideas in a retro-futuristic type.
“This sporty contemporary K100 pays tribute to the 80s to the furthest excessive,” says Motoism founder, Ben Ott. “A throwback that mixes iconic options with futuristic artifacts. Illuminated wings, a pair of {custom} sneakers and rear mild flares get you able to put neon into overdrive.”
The concept was to construct the bike in such a method that the elements could possibly be replicated, to be offered as both particular person items or a package. So Motoism and Impuls leaned closely into 3D scanning, design and printing applied sciences to tug this off.
First, the bike was stripped all the way down to its bones and 3D-scanned. Then the group redesigned the complete bike digitally, from the headlight shroud and ‘aero wings,’ throughout to the refined tail part. From there, a mess of elements have been 3D-printed, utilizing a excessive efficiency copolymer and a carbon-reinforced copolymer.
Beginning on the entrance, Motoism mounted up a brand new headlight nacelle by means of laser-cut stainless-steel brackets. It homes a Koso Thunderbolt LED headlight, with a small Motogadget digital speedo neatly embedded up high. It additionally holds a slim row of LED warning lights, and a hidden RFID-equipped keyless ignition level.
The cockpit’s additional geared up with new ABM clip-ons, a Brembo brake management and new grips. The tidy switches are Motoism’s personal design, utilizing blacked-out 3D-printed housings.
Flanking the inventory gasoline tank are a set of translucent ‘wings,’ bolted to stainless-steel mounts. They clearly do little for the bike’s aerodynamics, however they do serve a function—apart from complementing the tank’s strains completely. Outfitted with LEDs, they successfully function as daytime working lights for added visibility out on the highway.
Decrease down you’ll discover a stubby 3D-printed entrance fender, mounted on laser-cut stainless-steel brackets. Motoism additionally designed new fork covers, which stealthy built-in flip indicators.
The forks themselves have been lowered a contact, and kitted with new spacers and is derived. A custom-built shock from Öhlins props up the rear finish, bolted to a custom-built subframe. Motoism and Impuls labored on the body collectively, welding collectively CNC-bent tubes to get the form proper.
It’s topped off with a {custom} solo seat, adopted by a 3D-printed hump. The taillight is a very bespoke, with translucent plastic fins illuminated by LEDs.
The remainder of the construct sports activities a smorgasbord of {custom} and add-on elements. The foot controls are a mash-up of ABM elements, with {custom} mounts and linkages by Impuls. Impuls additionally fabricated a brand new coolant enlargement tank, and the stainless-steel four-into-one exhaust headers. The muffler is a titanium unit from GPR, and the entire system has been completed in black.
The K100 additionally encompasses a new 3D-printed consumption manifold, and a 3D-printed battery field that homes two tiny LiFePO4 batteries. For the tires, the crew selected a set of grippy Pirelli Sport Demons.
Most of those elements can be found from Motoism’s on-line retailer, together with a number of gadgets not pictured right here. There are a number of choices for the tank ‘wings,’ plus a license plate bracket… however the paint job is as much as you.
Right here, Motoism and Impuls opted for a easy, but efficient, design. BMW Alpina white dominates the bodywork, punctuated by vibrant crimson stripes. Every little thing beneath the road has been blacked out, additional emphasizing the brand new package.
A pair of matching {custom} sneakers from VOR Sneakers completes the set. Though if this was our Ok, these white kicks can be filthy very quickly.
Motoism | Impuls | Pictures by Peter Langwieser
