One-Off BMW K 1100 RS Cafe Racer Matches Futuristic Looks With Improved Performance

It is the work of Tim Somers, who runs Powerbrick over in Rotterdam, Holland. You shouldn’t find it too hard to guess his specialty given the firm’s name – an obvious reference to the “Flying Brick” sobriquet associated with K-series BMWs. Tim deals with parts fabrication for such machines, but he also engages in fully-fledged customization ventures on a regular basis.

He tried his hand at modifying the K 1100 RS back in 2022, and the result is quite simply dazzling! Not only did Powerbrick’s mastermind give it a seductive cafe racer presence, but he also came up with a ton of performance upgrades to match the sharp looks. The engine, suspension, and brakes have all been dialed up to eleven, thus bringing the old '94 MY sport-tourer into the 21st century.

Starting with the rear-end modifications, Tim extended the motorcycle’s swingarm by 15 millimeters (0.6 inches), which was easier said than done given its Paralever design. The original shock absorber was replaced with a premium G-Racing unit from YSS, featuring full adjustability and a piggyback reservoir. Its upper end connects to a bespoke subframe built from scratch, and there’s a gorgeous solo seat placed up top.

The saddle flaunts a mixture of standard black leather and suede, all finished off with stylish honeycomb pattern stitching. A pointy 3D-printed tail section is mounted right behind the seat, and its rearmost tip houses a compact LED taillight. Tim attached a handmade electronics tray to the subframe’s underside, filling it with a NOCO lithium battery and Motogadget’s mo.Unit Blue control module, among other goodies.

Billet aluminum rearsets make an appearance lower down, and the Powerbrick treatment is in full swing at the front, as well. There you’ll come across a pair of CNC-machined triple clamps from the shop’s proprietary aftermarket catalog, clenching the beefy 45 mm (1.8-inch) inverted forks of an S 1000 RR. These bad boys carry Bitubo cartridges and Wilbers lowers, while a slim 3D-printed fender sits in between.

Moreover, a custom nose fairing found its way onto the Beemer’s front end, encircling a Thunderbolt LED headlight from Koso’s inventory. The cockpit area is an absolute charm, too, bearing clip-on handlebars and a digital Motoscope Mini dial supplied by Motogadget. Tim recessed the latter into the top clamp for a clean look, then he garnished the clip-ons with an array of top-shelf components.

These include Brembo control levers, a Domino throttle, and new switches, as well as Motogadget bar-end turn signals and Biltwell grips. We still find the factory K 1100 RS fuel tank center-stage, but it’s been outfitted with a fresh aluminum filler cap and CNC-milled BMW roundels. That just about does it for the machine’s upper equipment, so let’s have a gander at the unsprung side of things.

Powerbrick installed five-spoke alloy hoops at both ends, cloaking their rims in race-spec Diablo Rain tires from Pirelli. At twelve o’clock, plentiful stopping power is made possible by a full suite of modern Brembo items – floating Serie Oro discs and radial HPK GP4-RS calipers. The brakes are operated via Venhill lines fore and aft.

Now, Tim didn’t apply all these upgrades just for the sake of it, but to prepare the K 1100 RS cafe racer for a considerable dose of additional power. The bike’s 1,092cc inline-four engine made a respectable 100 hp in its stock configuration, though it could certainly do better on Powerbrick’s watch. Sir Somers ported the air intakes to let the transverse four-cylinder breathe more freely, and he added a quartet of DNA pod filters for the same purpose.

His grocery list also contained Bosch EV14 fuel injectors and NGK ignition hardware, as well as an aluminum RC Racing radiator to keep things nice and cool. Samco silicon hoses transport the coolant from the engine to the radiator and back, but it’s the other piece of plumbing that really grabbed our attention from the start. Of course, we’re talking about the striking pie-cut exhaust system which Tim pieced together in-house.

Built out of stainless-steel, the pipework snakes its way back in a four-into-one configuration, before ending in a stubby aftermarket silencer. Last but not least, the color scheme applied by Powerbrick is both sporty and elegant, employing a dark grey base topped with large white stripes on the bodywork. However, the red highlights are what really makes this thing pop, appearing on various items such as the forks, shock spring, brake lines, and coolant hoses.