Says Larry, “Then one day in 2004 I was in my garage when our postal carrier noticed me at work on a bike. She said, hey, I’ve got a BMW sitting in my garage, been there for many years, and I don’t ride it anymore after it was damaged in the Northridge earthquake. I went over to house, she opened the garage, and there sat a purple 1990 K75 Standard, a triple. It was in very good condition, the only damage being a scuff to a saddlebag. I only paid $500 for the bike and after getting it running, had my first ride on a K bike and couldn’t believe it. It sounded like a sewing machine and yet so powerful, smooth and comfortable. I thought, you know, this is pretty cool. At that point, I knew nothing about K bikes, but I was willing to learn. Then an idea began to percolate in my mind’s eyes… maybe I could come up with a way to gild the lily, so to speak, taking the K along a different styling path based on my penchant for classic ‘60s and ‘70s bikes.”
As they say, the rest is SpecialK history and we’re not talking the breakfast cereal. Fast forward to 2014, several projects and part designs later, Larry has created several outstanding variations on the K-bike theme…commuter, cruiser, sport tourer, super sport bike, 60-70’s café inspired. “The plan was keep the bikes serviceable by BMW shops and within overall design parameters that would retain the true BMW essence. I wanted all our SpecialK versions to represent that level of factory sophistication and class those bikes carry…plus with some of my own personal enhancements.”
Powered by a modified K1200 producing 145 HP four-cylinder, the KAFF is about to launch into “stardom” via a film documenting the full story of its design and fabrication. Larry who spent untold days and nights working on the bike, says, “It was crazy grueling. I actually lost 35 lbs. during the build. He laughs and adds, “Call that the BMW crash diet, without the crash. The bike itself shed about 100 lbs. from stock. “
The initial meeting of the newly minted SpecialK and Jay Leno took place during one of the regular Woodland Hills Mall parking lot staged Supercar Sundays. It was June 2014, the featured supercar being Ferrari. Jay Leno, often attending all kinds of car and motorcycle events, rode in on a vintage bike, and naturally the crowds gathered around him with a slew of questions. Jay then saw, and heard The KAFF rumble by, stopped Larry and started asking his own questions. Says Larry, “Four days later I get a call that they want the bike and us up at Jay’s garage for a filming of one of his webcast Garage Show segments. It was a great experience sharing the KAFF with Jay’s world-wide Web audience of nearly 2,000,000 subscribers. And Jay agreed with me when I say the greatest compliment the SpecialK bikes have received is that they are often mistaken for factory machines, which has motivated me to keep at it and take it to the next level.”
Rumor has it that Jay is looking around for a K bike, one that he and Larry may collaborate on for a SpecialK Garage Show TV appearance, so we shall see how it all turns out…And maybe they’ll tag it… a SpecialK for a Special J.
Greatness is in the Details:
Larry has produced several SpecialKs, both in three-and four-cylinder models, all often confused for factory bikes. More information at www.specialks.net or call Larry Romestant at 818.231.3014
