BMW R100RS cafe build thread
Discussion
Evening all.
I’ve always liked bikes, even owned a Kawasaki KX and a Honda CX but never got a license.
After a move to Finland a few years back there was a worry that Brexit would mean my car license would be invalid and I’d have to take my driving test again. To head off this obviously embarrassing tragedy I swapped my license over for a Finnish one. When it turned up, there was a motorcycle category included! Thanks Brexit, you saved me a bundle!
So the plan this summer was to buy a lancia from Italy and drive it back to Finland but you-know-what put the scuppers on that idea.
So what better decision for a petrol head than to make 2020 the year Jake gets a bike?
I found a nice old boxer about four hours from me, bought it, and taught myself how to ride on the way home!
The bike is a 79 100RS, in nice shape but needing some love. These make a great base for a cafe project and in Finland 98% of bikes are weekend Harley office boys so here’s a chance to do something different.
I’ve always liked bikes, even owned a Kawasaki KX and a Honda CX but never got a license.
After a move to Finland a few years back there was a worry that Brexit would mean my car license would be invalid and I’d have to take my driving test again. To head off this obviously embarrassing tragedy I swapped my license over for a Finnish one. When it turned up, there was a motorcycle category included! Thanks Brexit, you saved me a bundle!
So the plan this summer was to buy a lancia from Italy and drive it back to Finland but you-know-what put the scuppers on that idea.
So what better decision for a petrol head than to make 2020 the year Jake gets a bike?
I found a nice old boxer about four hours from me, bought it, and taught myself how to ride on the way home!
The bike is a 79 100RS, in nice shape but needing some love. These make a great base for a cafe project and in Finland 98% of bikes are weekend Harley office boys so here’s a chance to do something different.
underwhelmist said:
It's your bike OP and you do you, but if it was mine I'd restore the RS to as good a standard as possible, it's a great looking classic bike. I think they're getting rare now because people keep converting them to cafe...oh.
Lovely seeing an old boxer anyway, thx op
Many very correct comments, and i kind of shot myself in the foot by posting that immaculate RS as an example of stock.
Mine however, was of course no where near that nice, dropped, broken fairings and high miles meant that it would cost as much if not more to make it factory as it would to make it in my image. However, i am on the lookout for an original model to conserve, if an air cooled GS doesnt come along first!
Cafes are almost unheard of in Finland, and as an ex pat Brit, i consider it my duty to bring a little of our heritage and biking culture and spread it around a little. Plus i just enjoy the bonding experience of building a bike yourself and the joy that brings. More pics to follow. Thanks for your responses and opinions.
Mine however, was of course no where near that nice, dropped, broken fairings and high miles meant that it would cost as much if not more to make it factory as it would to make it in my image. However, i am on the lookout for an original model to conserve, if an air cooled GS doesnt come along first!
Cafes are almost unheard of in Finland, and as an ex pat Brit, i consider it my duty to bring a little of our heritage and biking culture and spread it around a little. Plus i just enjoy the bonding experience of building a bike yourself and the joy that brings. More pics to follow. Thanks for your responses and opinions.
I inherited this 1981 R100S from my uncle.
It was a bit scruffy, so I have had the wheels and the sub-frame powder coated and had the tank painted.
It's pretty much standard, apart from progressive fork springs, Goodridge hoses, K75RS bars and a stainless straight through exhaust.
Never seen another with the daft ears on the fairing. Makes it look like Mickey Mouse, but they keep out the draft.
For a 40 year old it is a surprisingly competent tourer.
These things used to be everywhere, but these days you don't seem to see them about much.
It was a bit scruffy, so I have had the wheels and the sub-frame powder coated and had the tank painted.
It's pretty much standard, apart from progressive fork springs, Goodridge hoses, K75RS bars and a stainless straight through exhaust.
Never seen another with the daft ears on the fairing. Makes it look like Mickey Mouse, but they keep out the draft.
For a 40 year old it is a surprisingly competent tourer.
These things used to be everywhere, but these days you don't seem to see them about much.
Pat H said:
I inherited this 1981 R100S from my uncle.
It was a bit scruffy, so I have had the wheels and the sub-frame powder coated and had the tank painted.
It's pretty much standard, apart from progressive fork springs, Goodridge hoses, K75RS bars and a stainless straight through exhaust.
Never seen another with the daft ears on the fairing. Makes it look like Mickey Mouse, but they keep out the draft.
For a 40 year old it is a surprisingly competent tourer.
These things used to be everywhere, but these days you don't seem to see them about much.
That looks great although, [nerd-mode] as it has the flat air filter rather than the round one, I think it should be a CS, not an S [/nerd-mode]It was a bit scruffy, so I have had the wheels and the sub-frame powder coated and had the tank painted.
It's pretty much standard, apart from progressive fork springs, Goodridge hoses, K75RS bars and a stainless straight through exhaust.
Never seen another with the daft ears on the fairing. Makes it look like Mickey Mouse, but they keep out the draft.
For a 40 year old it is a surprisingly competent tourer.
These things used to be everywhere, but these days you don't seem to see them about much.
The "ears" are non-standard add ons.
black-k1 said:
That looks great although, [nerd-mode] as it has the flat air filter rather than the round one, I think it should be a CS, not an S [/nerd-mode]
The "ears" are non-standard add ons.
Yep.The "ears" are non-standard add ons.
I think the V5 actually says R100/7, but in any event the bike started life as a plain jane R100.
The cockpit fairing was a later addition.
Pat H said:
black-k1 said:
That looks great although, [nerd-mode] as it has the flat air filter rather than the round one, I think it should be a CS, not an S [/nerd-mode]
The "ears" are non-standard add ons.
Yep.The "ears" are non-standard add ons.
I think the V5 actually says R100/7, but in any event the bike started life as a plain jane R100.
The cockpit fairing was a later addition.
[nerd-mode] with the flat air filter it should be a R100T rather than a R100/7 but 1981 was the year they changed from the round air filters (as fitted to the OPs bike) to the flat air filters, and from one set of model designations to another, so the DVLA database may have been a little behind. [/nerd-mode]With the flat air filter it'll be the 70bhp engine. While not a huge amount against today's numbers, the torque makes it a very usable road bike. It should happily keep up with all traffic and can cover the ground, especially on long runs, at a pace many modern bikes would be jealous of.
black-k1 said:
[nerd-mode] with the flat air filter it should be a R100T rather than a R100/7 but 1981 was the year they changed from the round air filters (as fitted to the OPs bike) to the flat air filters, and from one set of model designations to another, so the DVLA database may have been a little behind. [/nerd-mode]I suspect Doug Hacking was just having an off day when he sent the V55 to Swansea.
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