The old saying ‘good from far, but far from good’ can be applied to many a custom bike you see around the traps. Certain models of motorcycle, especially newer machines, will allow you to do a few bolt-ons and have a very nice outcome. But a complex old bike that’s been sitting around and had half a hack job carried out often means absolutely every last part of the bike will need going over. Which is exactly how Queensland’s Ellaspede operate, they never leave a stone unturned in the pursuit of custom bike perfection. And in the case of this gorgeous green 1984 BMW K100, they had on board a client who was just as committed to creating true BMW bliss.

As the bike owner explains, it was picked up about three years ago as a “poorly modified brat racer that had been sitting around awhile and didn’t run’. I was mostly inspired by the RetroRides build from a few years back where they transformed the rear end. There was a CafeRacerTV video on it that wound me up fairly well too.” With the big BMW in his possession, he got down to business making a load of the transformations he desired, but then he struck a hurdle of not having the time to really learn the skills needed to finish the bike to the level he desired.

“Having seen some Ellaspede builds, they are local, professional and have a good eye for modifying bikes. I could trust them to run with it.” So, the semi-built bike and some boxes of parts were loaded onto the trailer and it was off to the Brisbane workshop to have the bike built up to the final product. The guys are big believers that when it comes to building a K100 you have to go the whole hog. They’re overweight, have complex electronics and the visuals only come together when you pay attention to the entire bike.

“First port of call was sorting out the rear end. It had previously been modified to make use of the popular ‘RetroRides’ rear suspension and subframe kit. We like the style of this kit and just tweaked it a little to suit our design and reshaped the rear seat cowl to be more visually pleasing.”

The empty section under the rear cowl was used to maximum effect, with a CNC-machined tail light housing holding a pair of strip LEDs, that combine to give an ultra-neat futuristic appeal. With the lay down shock and subframe styling of the rear end, the team wanted to carry that look through the rest of the build. So to achieve the look, a custom set of forward side covers have been brilliantly integrated into the stock tank.

The shape of the rear cowl is mirrored into the design and they serve to act as radiator covers too. A custom front guard, carbon fibre rear hugger and a new belly pan with heat shielding stuck to the underside complete the look. “Final welding was done on the RetroRides rear end, you need the engine out to properly weld the frame tabs for this kit, and the important parts and pieces were all sent off for paint or powder coat.” The Khaki army green was chosen by the owner, who felt it suited the combatant-like stance of the ride, and it looks absolutely amazing.

Having the engine out gave the guys a chance to give it a good going over and some old perished parts and the bike having sat a while meant it needed some attention. “So the replacement parts list grew with seals, o-rings, hoses and rebuild kits, chasing the inevitable leaks and fixes to bring this bike back to new.”

The stock headers have been retained and having been cut down they merge into a collector before finishing out in a custom stainless muffler. Being an early fuel-injected bike, there are a host of components to hide and a neat as can be battery box that sits beneath the seat helps to tuck them away.

Above a custom seat pan was designed and fabricated, before a perfectly padded piece was put together and upholstered in high-quality black leather. To get the functional side of the bike spot on, Ellaspede turned to some of the best suppliers in the business. “A Motogadget gauge now displays critical information, controlled via the matching Motogadget switches and indicating turn signals via the Motogadget pin indicators. An aftermarket slanted headlight looks forward with the aforementioned LED’s in the custom housing creating the tail light effect at the rear. Daytona D-mirror bar end mirrors keep an eye on things out the back.”

Looking spectacular, functioning like new and with that big engine running as smoothly as ever, such a good build deserves to handle like a dream. And that is taken care of with a set of upside-down Suzuki GSXR forks and front end conversion with a custom upper triple clamp. The rear shock keeps pace being a YSS Black edition that is adjustable to get things perfectly dialled in. “The owner had the custom hub/disc spacers machined up to fit the 310mm discs to the factory K100 front wheel.”

Those refinished stock rims really suit the identity of the bike and are wrapped up in Heidenau K60 Scout tyres. It’s a credit to all involved to see the build right through, the K series of bikes are not an easy thing to get right, but built this well, who could possibly argue with the incredible result.

[ Ellaspede – Instagram | Photography by AJ Moller Photography ]