Kevils Speed Shop might have become synonymous with BMW’s R Series but Kev and the team certainly aren’t one trick ponies. After an arm-twisting and a desire to work on something a bit different this Flying Brick landed in their Paignton workshop ready for a post apocalyptic, Mad Max makeover.
In for a penny, in for a pound. The donor is an early nineties 1100cc version with 4 valves per cylinder, a single sided swingarm and ABS with floating Brembos. All this weight and modernity gave Kev a nose bleed so the K Series was put on a diet, the first few pounds shed being the brake pump, control unit and associated plumbing.
The stock subframe also made it to the bin, replaced by an in-house fabricated unit welded in place rather than the bolt-on affair common to the workshop’s usual builds. Kev wasn’t content with the lines though so the rear was jacked-up courtesy of a more lanky R100GS monoshock.
To balance the single swinger a pair of Akraprovic pipes were liberated from an R nineT and fitted to the wrapped stock headers. The saddle is also thick enough to work visually and the non-slip suede should stop the rider from being splayed around that fat tank under heavy braking.
The donor was previously owned by a touring gent who’d clocked up gentle miles enjoying the winding roads of Europe so in a break from the tradition of a complete engine rebuild the KSS workshop were happy enough to let this one leave with just a inspection and thorough service. After all, just coz you polish a brick, it doesn’t suddenly become marble.
Part of the mash-up flavour was thanks to a trip to B&Q for a sheet of decorative mesh and some fake rivets. Something tells us Kev was unleashing the creative inside with this build.
In a departure from the usual detail obsessed boxer builds Kev and the guys have enjoyed themselves, putting together a bike perhaps more reminiscent of customs from the early days of the new wave scene.
Kevils Speed Shop have the largest Bike Shed Archive on the Bike Shed.
