It’s no longer uncommon to see old K-series BMWs go under the knife. But that doesn’t mean that every custom K is a home run. It remains a tricky bike to customize?and it takes a keen eye to get it right.
There’s no doubt that Chris Scholtka, better known as Motocrew, has cracked the code. Based in Cottbus in northeastern Germany, Chris is a firefighter that creates custom motorcycles in his spare time. His vibe is minimalist and modern, with an emphasis on aggressive lines.

The visual trickery that Chris has employed on this 1985 BMW K75 is inspired?but this job was more than just a makeover. The donor bike was in a less than ideal condition, so Chris first had to split the cases to make sure it wasn’t a total dud. ?The engine was rusty on the outside, and full of dirt and oil from the last 30 years,? he says. ?The speedo was lost, so it wasn?t possible to check the mileage for a quick assessment. I was flying blind on this build?I didn?t even know if it would start or not.?

Chris got lucky; the engine looked better on the inside. All it needed was new gaskets, O-rings and fluids, and a major scrub-up on the outside. He also deleted the airbox, replacing it with a DNA Filters pod filter.
The exhaust is custom?a pie-cut stainless steel affair that took about 22 hours of welding and cutting to construct. It snakes around the bottom of the K’s bricky engine, termination in a Leo Vince silencer on the right side. The placement was a delibera...