A K-Series cruise missile for a Belgian racing driver…
At one time, the K1100 was “the bike” for BMW, a high-speed tourer with an 1093cc, 100-hp version of the “Flying Brick” engine — so-named for its unique longitudinal position in the frame. The bikes became legendary for their combination of speed, comfort, and high-mileage toughness. Says one rider on the BMW Motorcycles of America forum:
“The K1100LT is the only bike my friend Dave Swisher, the “million mile man” (actually 1.6 and counting), will ride. He sells them off after they hit 350,000 miles and usually they’re still in good shape.”
Enter Jean-Michel Martin, a Belgian racing driver with multiple touring car championships under his belt, a long history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and experience in historic F1. When Martin, who is an official BMW dealer, desired a BMW motorcycle special, he went to TOMA Customs of Brussels, whose past builds we’ve had the honor of featuring. Together, they decided on a BMW K1100 as the donor bike:
“Jean-Michel wanted a bike that is reliable, with strong personality and with a retro touch. The K1100 was the perfect base for this project.”
Below, we get the full story on this muscular yet refined BMW K1100 custom!
BMW K1100 Custom: In the Builder’s Words
I’m the owner of TOMA CUSTOMS, my name is Thomas Jeukens. One and a half year ago, I decided to leave my job as Strategy Manager for a big consulting firm to open TOMA CUSTOMS and fully live from my passion, transforming and customising motorcycles. Mixing mental and manual activities generates a level of freedom and satisfaction that I’d never experienced before.
TOMA is a Brussels-based custom workshop. We transform, customise and hand finish motorcycles to create unique and personalised machines. Our artistic approach strives to extract the best potential of each bike and match the vision of their future owner’s. We aim to create unique, one-of-a-kind machines, with a clean and efficient style.
This custom project based on a BMW K1100 is a special bike made in collaboration with Jean-Michel Martin, Belgian racing driver. When we start a project we first want to hear about the clients’ wishes and transformation ideas. Thus, it is a great opportunity for us to get to know our client and enables us to visualize what his dream bike would look like. In this particular case, as Jean-Michel is also an official BMW dealer, the scope of the project was limited to a BMW donor bike, which are bikes we love to transform at our workshop.
After few meetings with Jean-Michel, thinking and sharing ideas, we came with a proposition to use the K1100 model as the base for the project. Jean-Michel wanted a bike that is reliable, with strong personality and with a retro touch. The K1100 was the perfect base for this project.
When the donor bike arrived at the workshop, we first dismantled it and removed any original accessories that were superfluous in order to analyze the general line we wanted to give to the bike. We decided to keep the original tank and rather align / shorten the rear part of the frame.
So, we cut and welded a shorter frame loop and replaced the original huge saddle with a custom seat base that was then sewed by our workshop. The finish and covering of the saddle is in Alcantara leather. Replacing the handlebar and changing the tires also helped work on the line of the bike.
All electronic components have been replaced by new and more minimalist elements (LED indicatorlights, LED taillights, Daytona speedometer, battery) to make the motorcycle look more modern.
List of modification also includes the build of a battery box and the modification of the muffler. In the front we removed the fairing and replaced it by a more aesthetic head light and an original yellow side light to give it a nice retro touch. The grey color of the bike is inspired by modern BMW M Performance.
Build Sheet
– modification/shorten of the rear part of the frame
– reworked the exhaust line
– custom plate holder
– new headlight and yellow side light
– new set of led indicatorlights
– new handelbars
– bespoke seat with alcantara leather
– bespoke battery box under the seat
– Daytona speedometer
– removed a lot of original accessories that were superfluous
Follow the Builder
Workshop : TOMA CUSTOMS
Location : Brussels, Belgium
Pictures: Olivier Truyman
Contact: Thomas Jeukens, Workshop leader, +32 479351638, [email protected]
Website: www.tomacustoms.com
Instagram: @tomacustoms
Facebook: TOMA customs
