The first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein was 310 pages long, and if you’ve read the work you understand that the story required every single one of those words. Hemingway on the other hand, more than adept at long-form, also managed a story in just six words. Some tales are just easy to tell and the chronicles of this K100 are one of them. The lads from Croatia’s Incerum Customs are simply one of the best workshops on the planet when it comes to transforming BMW motorcycles into one-off masterpieces. So when their chief mechanic wanted a road bike he could also race at the local track, the boys simply got down to doing what they do best, building a blistering BMW with style.
Incerum is located in the small town of Požega and as head honcho Antonio Ferhatović tells us, it has a nice addition, “This bike is built for our chief mechanic, who is still a little bit race track oriented rider. Which isn`t strange, because our town race track ‘Glavica’ is literally in his back yard.” So, first I had to look this track up for myself, and being a massive road racing fan, it’s right up my alley. A short circuit with only a handful of turns, it appears to be a largely public road with power poles and other lethal ‘furniture’ close to the edge. Then there is a nice back section under the trees and a long straight to wind out your two-wheeled weapon.
It would suit a super-twin or even a 250cc two-stroke, a full-blown litre track bike would both be overkill and probably get you killed. So now the choice of the big K bike made a lot more sense, something that’s comfortable for the road, but can still be muscled through the turns and has the top end for the single straight. With an appropriate donor bike picked out, the boys tore into it, pulling off all of the big K bike’s unnecessary parts that wouldn’t be required, bagging and tagging what they wanted to use, and getting things down to a bare frame.
This was then blasted and drastically tidied up, with not a blemish to be seen and all the unrequired tabs cut off. A new shortened subframe was fabricated, there are no panniers for this big girl, and then the whole thing was finished in a dark grey powder coat. The slightly textured feel looks brilliant and the rest of the powder-covered parts are finished in matte black for an ultra-clean appearance. Which quickly became a theme for the rest of the bike with only the most vital elements retained.
This is especially true of the bodywork, with the big touring fenders gone, the rear utilises an incredibly neat tail section that incorporates the generously sized K1200RS taillight in one of the better installations we’ve seen. Below, on the powder-coated swingarm, a custom number plate bracket has been attached and secures via an elegant mount. At the front of the bike, what looks to be a heavily cut down factory fender is mounted tight to the rubber with some beautiful round bar mounts. With the final element of the tins completed with that big bruiser of a tank.
“For details, and to hide some exposed parts we hand-made custom parts from perforated steel and powder coated them in black texture.” This is a custom touch I can see being heavily copied in the future, and rightly so, it looks neat, provides excellent protection to the parts it covers, and in no way disturbs the rest of the bike. And why would you want to disturb that stunning paintwork, taken from the BMW catalogue, the white and blue is a beautiful replication of the Bavarian company’s badge, and extends down onto the wheels.
Of course, there are plenty of custom touches to make the bike perform better on the track, and the clean as can be engine screams through a brilliantly crafted exhaust that exits via an aftermarket muffler, originally intended for a Ducati Monster S4RS. The suspension has all been rebuilt with a new rear shock and overhauled factory front forks. While the Brembo brakes are rebuilt, recoated, and given new lines and the foot controls are a custom set of racing rear sets just for this build.
The new flat bars allow the rider to muscle the big K bike around both road and track and are fitted up with the best kit from Motogadget. In front of them is an absolutely inspired choice for the headlight, an aftermarket unit originally intended for a BMW GS1250. To finish out this brilliant BMW build, the boys laid on their own custom graphics, fitted up a custom overflow, and clicked into place that gorgeous Alcantara seat.
It’s easy to see why Incerum Customs has become so well known for ultra neat BMW builds, and now we know they also risk life and limb racing them too, boys, you have our full respect.
[ Incerum Customs – Instagram | Photography by Matej Pilaš ]