BMW R100

[DEVO!]

A friend of mine just dropped off a 1978 BMW R100 at my house he rode it for a while untill it ran out of oil and started knocking pretty bad. Does any one know anything about BMW's? I think I might have to call Nick but just looking at the motor it seems pretty strange.

[fastwin]

My best friend has a '78 RT with about 100K miles on it. He has a late model GS he rides a lot but a few years ago he wanted to get the RT back up and running for old times sake. Not restored, just refurbished running and useable. He lives in Austin, TX and said the local BMW shop didn't seem to give a shit about the older airhead boxers and the techs weren't interested either. Someone steered him toward an older Bimmer tech/mechanic who now worked out of his home shop. He ended up being the go to guy/wizard for older boxers. He had forgotten more than any of the guys at the local shop will ever know about those scooters. He apparently has a nice home based business of restoring and working on the tons of older boxers still out there on the road. I have an '83 R100RS that's dead. I should give him a call!

Maybe try and find a similar boxer go to guy/wizard in your area.

[LA]

One of the best bikes ever.  They don't hardly ever ware out. They can be rebuilt forever if they do wear out. The bike will handle remarkably well if in competent/deft hands.  Parts from all the years of the /5, /6 era are completely interchangeable. 

My bro-in-law just made a set of triples to fit a whole White Power front end off a KTM 950 sm onto a  early 80's 1000GS and it's awesome.

I really like those old bikes.

LA

[Speeddog]

A friend of mine just dropped off a 1978 BMW R100 at my house he rode it for a while untill it ran out of oil and started knocking pretty bad. Does any one know anything about BMW's? I think I might have to call Nick but just looking at the motor it seems pretty strange.

Give me a call, I've spent a good bit of time with a '74 R60/5.

As long as it didn't waste the crank, it'll be pretty straightforward to fix.
Them cylinders hangin' off the sides make it a lot easier.

[1KDS]

I'm sure Nick can get you steered in the right direction but there is a bunch of good reading material in the airhead section at ADV

[Speeddog]

Absolutely, ADVrider has a serious bunch of BMW fanatics.

[NorDog]

One of the best bikes ever.  They don't hardly ever ware out. They can be rebuilt forever if they do wear out. The bike will handle remarkably well if in competent/deft hands.  Parts from all the years of the /5, /6 era are completely interchangeable.  

My bro-in-law just made a set of triples to fit a whole White Power front end off a KTM 950 sm onto a  early 80's 1000GS and it's awesome.

I really like those old bikes.

LA

What he said goes double for me.

I would love to have a mid to late '70s BMW airhead twin again.  I've ridden a R100/7 and an R90/6 set up with rearsets and cosmetically like an R90S.  The R100/7 was a beater, or so I thought, to keep me on the rode while I finished work on a ground up custom I had been building; sold the HD for money for the project and rode the BMW.  I thought it was ugly, especially the cylinders.  Then one night I was on the highway heading home after an evening out, looked down at the cylinders sticking out in the wind, reflected on how solid the whole thing was, and have been in love with airhead twins ever since.

Though I do hate the chassis redesign of the airhead twins when they were reintroduced in the ‘80s after having been discontinued for a couple of years.

[mickyvee]

  My old '75 R90s was the best bike I ever owned. I curse myself daily for ever selling it. The engineering is as solid as it gets, and they are piss-easy to work on. Parts are plentiful and won't break the bank, and there are plenty of books and literature, as well as some independent specialists. I did over 50,000 miles on mine, and it never let me down. Not once.

[bikepilot]

Yep, mostly easy to work on, some stuff is annoying.  The metal parts are mostly well designed, the electric bits are mostly crap.  My dad has had airheads longer than I've been alive and has owned his R100RT since new.  Some stuff is funky, like you have to take the rear caliper off to have any hope of bleeding it, the stock bodywork blocks all the air to some of the electrics and they overheat and melt as-standard - you've gotta fit aftermarket electrical bits and vented bodywork to have any hope of surviving a traffic jamb in hot weather. The handling isn't bad for the era, though its a bit weird if you aren't used to shaft drive bikes with the motor mounted long-ways rather than transverse.  The naked ones didn't have nearly the heat/electrical issues of the RT models. They've had some issues with tanks rusting so keep an eye on that. Overal unique and fun bikes - like most old bikes the lore is rather exaggerated (i.e., airheads aren't all that reliable, kawasaki H1s and H2s aren't actually all that fast, etc).

Gearboxes are more tractor than motorcycle (even compared to clunky ducatis!), but get the job done.

Loads of parts and information. Also quite a few good airhead indys that'll sort it for you if need be.  Definitely one of the best supported old bikes there is.

I'd have a kick-start R60 if I were to go airhead. 

[extra330]

Yep, simply wonderful machines. I've got an 84 R100rs that's my bike of choice for long distance riding. They handle well enough and go fast enough to have a hell of a good time on. Like everyone's been saying, they pretty much last forever with some basic TLC.

[fastwin]

Wow. Looks just like my '83 R100RS!

I bought a new 1981 R100RS and rode the shit out of it. Even put Krauser 4 valve heads on it. FAIL!!!! Don't ask. Sold it. Bought a then new '85 K100RS. Hated it! Sold it. Then later in life bought the '83 R100RS that was same color, etc. as my original '81 R100RS. The cycle was complete.

The older air heads are rock solid bikes. They just do what they do... forever. What's not to like?