Bolt?s BMW K100: The flying brick finally comes of age
There?s something strange going on with the BMW K-series. A couple of years ago, most bike builders wouldn?t touch one with a ten-foot pole. But the unloved ?flying brick? is now becoming modisch?and a few crafty customizers seem to have cracked the code on how to make a K look good.
It comes down to availability and pricing: good R-series airheads are hard to find in most markets, whereas the later K-series oilheads are plentiful?if not exactly cheap.
This K100 from the Spanish workshop Bolt Motor Company is something of a template. The creases have been ironed out, the lines straightened, and the components tastefully upgraded.
It?s a restrained yet skilled transformation, as you?d expect from an outfit that shares its home (and personnel) with a Formula 2 race team. And hopefully, it?ll open the floodgates a little wider.
Bolt boss Adrián Campos takes up the story. ?We made this BMW for our good friend Rubens. The 1985 donor bike wasn?t in optimum condition, but it mostly worked.?
The slightly tatty K100 was actually a 1985 RS model, with the angular fairing?which was ditched on account of showing 33 years of wear and tear.
Unusually, the build process started with a swingarm swap. ?It was not a hard job,? says Adrián. ?We used one from an R1150GS, along with the wheels.?
?Then we started to change the rear sub-chassis, and tried to do something different. That was a hard job.?
The goal was to get a straight line to follow the line of the tank. And once the...
-------------------------------- |
|
Backcountry Discovery Routes | Ep. 70 Rider Magazine Insider Podcast
27-04-2024 08:34 - (
motorcycle )