Description
This offering has literally been in the works for over three years thanks to Covid; we are truly excited to finally make it available. We’re also pleased to share that this is the second Canadian R100R Classic Bob has hunted down and acquired for our customers; it’s much rarer than the US version. The staff is a bit surprised that after all the work and time involved Bob didn’t keep it for himself; he loves this particular model. Note that this bike has a km/hr. speedo on it which shows the kilometers ridden; we’ve done the conversion to miles in the listing.
1995 was the last year of production for what we and many BMW aficionados and enthusiasts consider the best-looking standard airhead ever designed and built. It certainly gets high marks from the airhead community. These facts alone make this a very rare offering. BMW constructed these R100R’s starting in 1992 and ending in 1995 on the best airhead chassis they ever designed in this time frame. When built, the production numbers were low every single year and consumer demand was high, so they sold out quickly in 1992, 1993, 1994 and most 1995’s were sold long before their arrival at authorized BMW dealerships.
Many prospective owners were left wishing they had handed over a deposit sooner. And for what it might be worth, Bob owns four of these 1992 to 1995 R100R’s including one still in the crate so it would not have surprised us if he’d selected to keep this one as an investment, especially as none of the others are Euro spec machines. Perhaps he’ll change his mind by the time it’s added to the website?
Bob owns the very first 1992 (VIN 0001) R100R, two signed Battle of the Legends R100R bikes (a 1992 and a 1993) plus the 1995 in the original BMW shipping crate (is that like having the original box a model kit came with?) and another 1995 example that he rides regularly. Demand far exceeds supply of the best examples with low miles, few owners, good care all along and have not been abused, neglected, crashed, repaired, etc.
The crated bike is on display at Bob’s BMW every day and is the very last 1995 R100R built in the world. That one is not for sale, but people ask if they can buy it often. Even BMW Motorrad asked if they could buy it back, but Bob politely declined the conversation that might have followed.
One of the things, on a list of many, that make this specific 1995 R100R so special is that it’s a Canadian or European spec model. Canada got a very small number of R100R’s by comparison to the USA and the rest of the world because the market is simply smaller. But it’s the technical stuff that gives it a little more oomph in the engine department because it came from BMW with larger, 40 mm carburetors.
These rare examples may also have larger intake and exhaust valves, but we can’t definitively confirm this on this machine and did not want to disassemble the heads when doing basic servicing. The US versions all have 32 mm CV Bings. That alone makes this bike breathe healthier and run better and perhaps a little more enthusiastically as the R100RS and R100RT were equipped in that era.
And when the waste gas recycling system is removed, they run even better and that was done by the prior owner to make for a smoother and more energetic ride. We did set aside those original parts for the very discerning owner who gets to enjoy this bike in the years ahead. Of course, we went over this bike as closely as possible, starting with our detailed evaluation, a process done twice due to the length of time involved – once via dozens of images, video, and live calls and the final once it arrived at Bob’s. We also did a complete MSI or Maryland safety inspection which it fully passes.
And along those same lines we did everything we could to keep this bike as stock as possible once it was in our hands so in addition to being a great bike to ride it will also be a very correct and original example on which almost all the superb cosmetics are still original as delivered from BMW in Berlin, Germany in 1995. To our knowledge only the left and right headlight brackets were replaced about ten years earlier when those parts were still available from BMW in primer. The paint is flawless and if we did not disclose this you would not know it to be but was done because these were prone to vibration stress cracks on the original parts.
Clearly anyone interested can look over the photos to see how beautiful it is, but you can’t hear it run (we can arrange that for a serious buyer who is not just down the road) so most would like to know what we’ve done to go over this bike to bring it up to the highest possible standards to command a higher-than-average price tag. The list is long and so the next paragraph is too; read it all and keep in mind the bike arrived in really nice overall condition to begin with.
We’ve just performed a full biannual service and replaced the oil pan gasket for good measure, replaced the 4-way flasher switch, installed a new Odyssey battery with a fresh charging lead, installed new Pirelli Sport Demon tires front and rear including new valve stems, we replaced the front brake pads despite the low miles as they were old, we installed new and correct BMW spark plug wires with the molded-in caps, we replaced a small assortment of rubber bits like the shift rubber, the rear drive exterior boot, replaced the missing side stand spring so it works like new again, added a new speedometer cable boot and then took it our for yet another good test ride – all together our service team found time to log 44 kilometers on this fabulous and beautiful classic BMW 1,000 cc Airhead so we could state with confidence it runs like a new BMW from 1995.
It starts smoothly, shifts into all five gears easily, handles as good as these machines ever did on a very solid, stock suspension. It stops smoothly and quickly (remember it has new brakes pads up front on those drilled rotors) and all the switches, gauges, instruments, and lights work perfectly. It is a joy to look at and even more of one to ride.
As for the cosmetics, they are about 98% all original as this machine left the factory in Berlin over twenty years ago. And they are in beautiful condition even judged against a new BMW. But with even just under 15,000 miles a few very tiny scratches are to be expected of any machine that has been ridden. You will be hard pressed to find any that we identified except for the small scrape on the right and left side cylinder guards, and we suspect that the original BMW valve cover on that side was replaced at some point in the past. To see that scrape you’ll need to get down on your knees.
Our professional detailer did a superb job as always at the very end bringing out the maximum level of shine.
It comes with a set of BMW touring or integral cases that are in pretty fine condition, the removed EPA lines, the original BMW tool kit, two BMW keys, and the general assurance that we likely will never have another one like this to offer up. Alas it came in without an owner’s manual and despite a good effort we could not find a NOS or used example to purchase and include but we will happily include either the Haynes or Clymer Service manual with your purchase.
The sales team would be pleased to show you the last and still new in the crate R100R Classic in the dealership or serial number 0001 that is currently residing in Bob’s office or one of those in the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Museum for comparison if you are looking for something very special to own, ride, hold onto and cherish.
