When a workshop focuses very tightly on one model of bike, it?s usually a good thing. They get to know what to modify, and what to leave alone. And where to get the biggest bang for the buck.
That?s the philosophy of the Brazilian shop Retrorides by Lourenço. Founded by brothers Gustavo and Rodrigo Lourenço and their father José, they?ve carved out a niche building very sharp BMW K series café racers?like this dark and handsome K100 RS.

The Lourenços are based in a town a couple of hours away from the huge city of São Paulo. Their company is known throughout Brazil for its slick work on cars and trucks, as well as BMW motorcycles.
It?s obvious where the passion lies, though. ?I’ve always been obsessed with the K series,? Gustavo confesses. ?The engines of these bikes fascinate me. I’ve done countless projects with them, but this time I wanted to do something different.?
Sadly, José passed away in December?but he would be very pleased to see the work his sons have done on this build. Retrorides have always focused on improving the lines of a bike, and that’s exactly what happened with this project.
They?ve taken inspiration from the more basic 1980s models of the K series, which were ?naked? roadsters, but made a critical change to the trickiest part of the styling?the fuel tank.

The original tank had a distorted bottom line, designed to accommodate the radiator. It looks reasonable when all the OEM bodywork is in place, but as soon as you ...