Muscular, with a little 80s style; that was the brief given to Spain’s 72 HKG Performance by the owners of this custom BMW K75. The bike originally belonged to their father, but it had been relegated to the garage for the last few years. It needed resurrecting, so they figured they might as well have it customized at the same time… and 72 HKG was all too happy to oblige.
72 HKG Performance is an ongoing collaboration between established Spanish custom builders Antonio (72 Cycles Performance) and Jorge (Hell’s Kitchen Garage). And in the year or so that they’ve been working together, they’ve already produced magical results.
‘Muscular and 80s’ pretty much describes their signature style—so when the BMW K75 was booked in, their ideas quickly snowballed. “Sometimes it’s comforting to find clients who are clear about what they want, especially if we also like what they like,” Antonio and Jorge tell us. “We all agreed to give the K a good second life!”
“We pictured a radical front-end with updated components, a single seat, a 180-wide rear tire, and a mono-shock. It would have to be visually large, but it would also have to be compact and planted. And it had to have our signature; elegant, but a little rogue.”
72 HKG picked out a slew of repurposed parts to overhaul the classic K75’s running gear. The upside-down forks come from a Kawasaki ZX-10R, as do the twin Tokico brakes. As for the alloy wheels—they’ve been lifted from a BMW R1100.
Moving to the back, Antonio and Jorge employed a trick that they used on their last custom BMW K75. Using the driveshaft from a BMW R850 and a little custom fabrication wizardry, they grafted on the R1100’s single-sided swingarm. “We had done it before, and we knew it worked perfectly—so we replicated it,” they explain.
The R1100 also loaned the K75 its rear brake and shock. All 72 HKG had to do now, was move the upper shock mount to accommodate the R-series setup. So they got to work designing a new subframe, with one major caveat…
“In Spain, you cannot legally modify the central triangle of the BMW K. So we always look for creative ways to avoid homologation problems. This time, we built a tubular subframe that crosses the original structure, to give the bike a continuous line from front to back.”
It’s a clever trick, and it’s produced one of the tidiest subframes we’ve ever seen on a K75 café racer. Up front, custom-made side panels integrate neatly into the OEM fuel tank, forming a baseline that can be traced through to the tail. Out back, a new seat sits up against a handmade bum stop, which was designed to subtly mimic the blocky designs of 80s sportbikes.
72 HKG shaped the tail bump and front fender using a mix of fiberglass and carbon fiber. They also produced the BMW’s generous belly pan; its gaping maw inspired the bike’s nickname, ‘Mobula’ (it’s a type of ray). That theme is carried through to the BMW’s 3D-printed ‘aero’ winglets.
Antonio and Jorge are fans of Motogadget electronics, so this K75 was rewired around the company’s Bluetooth-equipped mo.unit blue control box, with a wireless RFID ignition. A Motogadget speedo does duty in the cockpit, tucked behind a sleek windshield. The K75 is also equipped with new clip-ons, grips, controls, and switches, and custom-made rear-set foot controls.
An LED headlight lights the way, with a slim LED taillight strip embedded in the tail. The license plate and rear turn signals sit on a swingarm-mounted bracket, with all of the requisite wiring neatly hidden away.
One thing that 72 HKG nails on every bike they build, is the livery. This BMW K75 is no exception—the base color is Mini’s ‘Rooftop Grey Metallic,’ with sporty pistachio highlights that carry through to the contrast stitching on the seat. It’s a tasteful, albeit unusual, combination.
Finishing things off is a burly three-into-one exhaust system, terminating in an upswept muffler that further enhances the K75’s retro sportbike vibe.
The mid-80s K not only looks a heck of a lot sharper now, but it’s significantly lighter too. It now weighs 204 kilos [450 lbs], and its wheelbase has been extended by two inches. Antonio and Jorge are pleased to report that it’s a runner, with improved road manners and extra highway stability. And the fact that it bends necks wherever it goes is pretty cool too.
72 HKG Performance | Images by Eduardo Recuero
