As the founder of Spain’s 72 Cycles Performance, and one-half of the collaborative outfit 72 HKG Performance, Antonio Rodriguez has developed an affinity for custom BMWs. So when he recently moved his operation to the US, choosing a BMW R100R café racer as his first project on fresh soil was a no-brainer.
“After building more than 60 motorcycles in Spain, and due to the restrictions we have when making substantial modifications to our motorcycles, I had it in my head for a long time to move to the United States,” Antonio tells us.
“Three years ago, I was on vacation in Houston and fell in love with the passion they have for all things motoring. Every weekend there’s an event related to classic cars, sports cars, classic motorcycles, or any other type of motor vehicle. There’s a great devotion to everything classic and restomod—it was the perfect place to continue with my motorcycles!”
“Everything went fast. I met Cole and Brad, my current partners in the company, and from the beginning, they understood my passion for motorcycles in general, and especially for BMWs. That’s how 72 Performance USA was born!”
Antonio was keen to get cracking on his first American-based build, but he and his colleagues hadn’t found a workshop yet. So he borrowed space from Wolfsmiths Heights—a café and custom shop in Houston. With a 1993 BMW R100R on the bench, things began to take shape.
“I wanted my first project to be a perfect mix between the essence of the airhead engines, and the aesthetics of a light and fast café racer—but I needed something more surprising,” he explains. “I had already utilized a bullet fairing before, so it was the perfect time to use it again.”
The changes on this BMW R100R are more than just skin deep. Antonio is all about balancing form and function, so he upgraded the bike’s running gear with modern components to make sure it would ride as good as it looks. The front forks are from a Triumph Speed Triple 955i, but they’ve been upgraded with stronger springs.
Antonio transplanted the Triumph’s front brake calipers too, matching them to 320 mm floating discs, a Brembo master cylinder, and braided stainless steel hoses. The rear shock is a custom-built Hagon unit, set up for the exact stance and ride characteristics that Antonio wanted. The wheels were stripped, powder-coated, and rebuilt with stainless steel spokes and new bearings.
The BMW’s boxer motor was still in great condition, so there was no need to crack it open. Nevertheless, it was stripped, cleaned, painted, and polished. The old Bing carbs were tossed, with a pair of Mikuni TM38 flatslide carbs offering a snappier throttle response.
Next, Antonio and his crew fabricated a burly stainless steel exhaust system that runs over the cylinder heads and under the seat. “There’s enough space not to burn your butt” he ensures us. Under the hood, the bike features an all-new wiring loom with a Motogadget controller and keyless ignition, an electronic ignition, and a Lithium-ion battery.
Structural changes include reinforcements to the main frame’s backbone, with a bespoke subframe to support a single café racer-style seat. The R100R’s unsightly pillion peg mounts were trimmed and repurposed as brackets for the fully adjustable rear-set foot controls.
When BMW designed the BMW R100R in the 90s, they borrowed most of its parts from the R100GS—including its fuel tank, which always looked a little out of place on the road-focussed ‘R.’ The HK Performance USA crew quickly swapped it out for the more classic reservoir from a 1972 BMW R75/5.
The fairing, tail section, and belly pan are one-offs, shaped out of kevlar-reinforced fiberglass. “From the beginning, I wanted a ‘well-dressed’ bike,” says Antonio. “The front fairing, lower fairing, and the rear make the BMW a bike that protects the rider while making it look different.”
The fairing’s mounted on custom-made brackets, with the original R100R headlight mounted inside it. The rider’s view includes an elegantly-molded dashboard, with a Daytona speedo integrated into it. The cockpit also includes clip-on bars with new grips, switches, and bar-end mirrors.
Antonio cleverly blended some automotive influences into 72 Performance USA’s debut café racer. The paint color is called ‘Leaf Green,’ and it’s straight out of Porsche’s late-60s playbook. And then there’s the seat—a luxurious mix of aged leather and houndstooth fabric, upholstered by a long-time collaborator of Antonio’s, Senen Leather Works in Spain.
Finally, a custom-made LED taillight adds some modernity to the build, while neatly echoing the boxy shape of the tailpiece. From front to back, the whole setup feels like the perfect balance between a café racer and a classic sports car.
Dubbed ‘Aurora,’ this BMW R100R café racer kicks off 72 Performance USA’s story in stylish fashion. It’s no slouch either, according to Antonio…
“The bike is very intuitive, very stable, remarkably loud, and, during the last test ride, reached 118 mph [190 km/h]. Real madness for a boxer!”
72 Performance USA Instagram | Images by Arturo Olmos
