F1-Inspired Brick: BMW K100 Cafe Racer

The Flying Brick that inspired The Cafe Racer Bible…

While the BMW K100 has become a darling of the customs scene in recent years, there’s one builder who’s been a fan of the “Flying Brick” since he was a kid, Gustavo Lourenço of Brazil’s Retro Rides by Lourenço — a family-run workshop whose K100 CVT cafe racer we recently featured. Says Gustavo:

“BMW K100’s are very rare here in Brazil, and since I was a kid I’ve been a fan of them. I always wanted to do something different than what I’d seen in other modified K100’s. The tank and subframe lines were never aligned in other projects and it always bothered me.”

A few years ago, Gustavo decided to create his own K100, using an ’86 model as his donor and Formula One cars as his inspiration. First off, he decided the bike should be the same blue as the F1 cars of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet.

But it was the F1 suspension design that would prove the most influential and lasting influence on this build:

“I’ve always been fascinated by the suspension of Formula One cars, and the shock absorber installed horizontally inspired me a lot. After months of development and testing we got the final design made entirely of machined aluminum. In fact, the entire bike was manufactured in machined aluminum, as this is one of our specialties.”

The suspension, triple trees, levers, tail, mirrors, and rearsets were all fabricated from machined aluminum. The result was a lightweight K100 cafe racer that would take home trophies from the country’s most prestigious bike shows and inspire tons of questions:

“This bike was so successful that after so many questions we had to create The Cafe Racer Bible to teach people how to create their own bikes on their own…”

Today, this bike continues to inspire builders across the world, and Gustavo says the pandemic has only increased the number of photos that people send him of the bikes they’ve built in their own garages:

“With this pandemic period, many people trapped at home decided to occupy their heads with their projects. Parents decided to start projects together with their children to create more connection, which makes me proud.”

Below, we get the full story on this gorgeous, F1-inspired K100 cafe.

Flying Brick Cafe Racer: Builder Interview

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

BMW K100, 1986.

• Why was this bike built?

BMW K100’s are very rare here in Brazil, and since I was a kid I’ve been a fan of them. I always wanted to do something different than what I’d seen in other modified K100’s. The tank and subframe lines were never aligned in other projects and it always bothered me.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I have always liked Formula One cars, as they are so technologically advanced. I always wanted to make a motorcycle that somehow had elements that would refer to a Formula One car.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

The first thing that came to my mind was that the bike should have the same blue color as the cars of Brazilian triple world champion driver Nelson Piquet.

I’ve always been fascinated by the suspension of Formula One cars, and the shock absorber installed horizontally inspired me a lot. After months of development and testing we got the final design made entirely of machined aluminum. In fact, the entire bike was manufactured in machined aluminum, as this is one of our specialties.

Parts like the suspension, triple trees, levers, reartail, mirrors, rearsets, were all made of machined aluminum. And now, we finally had a subframe aligned with the tank.

The spokes of the wheels had to be manufactured one by one to ensure the offset was correct. The end result was very satisfactory, the bike looked very aggressive, a legitimate cafe racer.

The bike took home trophies in the most prestigious events in the country, and was also voted the fourth best cafe racer in the world by subscribers to the youtube channel “Racer TV.”

• Does the bike have a nickname?

No, just “Flying Brick.”

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

When starting the bike, you can already feel the sound of the engine amplified by the customized exhaust. The bike is very comfortable to ride.  We did a remap on the injection module to gain some horses and due to the weight relief it’s very fast too…

I often go to places where there are other custom bikes, and this bike really makes friends.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

This bike was so successful that after so many questions we had to create The Cafe Racer Bible to teach people how to create their own bikes on their own …

Many people are creating their own bikes in their garages. I receive weekly messages and pictures of the bikes built, which makes me very happy.

With this pandemic period, many people trapped at home decided to occupy their heads with their projects. Parents decided to start projects together with their children to create more connection makes me proud..

Anyway, The Cafe Racer Bible has helped people realize dreams and that makes me very very happy.

Follow the Builder

• Web: retroridesbylourenco.wixsite.com/brasil
• Instagram: @gustavo_retrorides
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/retroridesbylourenco
• Photographer name: Rodrigo Lizardi (@lizardirodrigo)