What's a R100R Really Worth?

[ridewv]

Greetings,
I've not kept up with the Airhead market and could use some guidence from any of you that have.
Locally there's a 1994 R100R for sale, $4,000. It has 40K, bags, and seems to be in good, stock condition. I check NADA and find low book is $1,930, high book is $2,535. With bags it's $1,966 and $2,580. This is supposedly the average figure this model is selling for.
In the June BMW ON classified there is a 1993 R100R, 16.5K, bags and shield, asking $5,200. Another one with 8.5K asking $6,800.
I know what it's worth ultimately depends on how much one wants it but what would you consider as a "steal price", "fair price", and a "top, not to exceed, price"?
Thanks!

[bprigge]

I know that this doesn't answer your question directly but condition is everything on older bikes. Four thousand sounds like a fair price for that
bike if it's in good (ready to go on a cross country) condition.

If I were in your shoes I would offer the seller $3500 and be prepared to walk away without closing a deal. Give him (her?) your phone number and ask the
seller to call you if they change their mind. Very often the seller will succomb to a firm offer after thinking about it. If the seller doesn't call and you still want the bike call him and up the offer in a week.

Also, it would be a good idea to have the bike checked out by a good BMW
mechanic before you lay down your dough. Those air heads can have some
expensive problems that are not obvious to non-airhead people, like ANY
electrical problem, spun wheel bearing races, valve seat recession etc.

Also, don't forget that the market for older Beemer twins is small, they're
sure not for everybody, and the bikes seem to stay on the market a long time. Use this to your advantage when haggling.

Good luck, sorry for the lecture. Bruce

[bobw]

Many years ago I owned an antique auto restoration shop and I bought and sold old cars....lots of Model A's, '35 to '50 Chevy's, Chryslers, etc. When I would go to look at a car I would take an amount of cash....green bills. Like one time I went to look at a '29 Model A Roadster. Now bear in mind this was 1975 or so.....The guy was asking $1500. It needed a lot of work...mostly body, paint and upholstery, but it ran great. I lived about 250 miles away so I took my trailer. I pulled up in front of the guy's house. We talked about the car. He told me to drive it around the block. I pulled up right behind my trailer, turned it off, got out and held up 9 one hundred dollar bills....I said "this is what I can pay right now." He balked, I put the money back in my pocket, handed him a card and told him to call me but if I have to drive out there again I wouldn't pay that much. Before I could get in my truck he said he'd do it. We loaded the A on the trailer and away I went.
I got back to Okla.City and sold it before it ever got off the trailer.

Short version.....CASH talks!!!!

[ridewv]

Thank you Bruce and Bob, I'll heed your advice. I was thinking $3,000 would be tops but I may go a little higher. He sounded like he wouldn't take less than $4,000 so I doubt I'll be the new owner.
I'll be lurking here to become more informed on airheads. I'm most interested in a 94 or 95.
Rick

[username]

Bob W reveals a very effective means of getting good deals on things like vehicles. the lure of the cash, and seeing it in a little pile, usually makes ordinary people do goofy things.

it also lets them know that they can get paid something now, vs waiting for a little more.

i've used this technique, and it works.

[Braddog]

...but they're a lot older than that one. $4K is too high, even for a '94. I like the $3500 number better, that would be as high as I would go. Remember that NADA and Kelly Blue Book are guides, and when it comes to used bikes, it's whatever the market will bear.

Airheads have their inherent problems, but the fact is, since they haven't been made since '95, there's a pretty good chance that all of those "known" problems have been addressed. For example, I bought both of mine with fork braces, one had updated suspension and steel brake lines, updated ignition, etc. The key is to find out if the owner kept maintenance and repair records. That is key.

[MarkF]

It's worth what you are willing to pay. If you wanted it would you not buy it because of $500? I know there is a Graphite K1 with no graphics that has been listed in the ON for months. If I had some money in the bank I would pay whatever the guy wanted. Always wanted one of those K1 bikes.

That said I would buy an Airhead with a monolever not a paralever just cause of what I've heard....and I did!

[bobw]

A good thing to do is to decide what your top dollar is and take that much cash. But do not offer that at first.....say your top $$ is $3500. Show the seller $3000 at first. That leaves you a little room to go up if need be. Put the $3000 in one place and the $500 in another so they don't see it...it looks to them that you only have the $3000.

[James.A]

Ya can't hardly find an airhead worth having, as a rider, for less than $2500.
It would take twice that to seperate me from either of my /5's.
Obviously, they are "not for sale".
Then again, you could probably buy a ****ty, rung out, Harley Sportser for $4000.

[MarkF]

Ya can't hardly find an airhead worth having, as a rider, for less than $2500.
It would take twice that to seperate me from either of my /5's.
Obviously, they are "not for sale".
Then again, you could probably buy a ****ty, rung out, Harley Sportser for $4000.
http://www.geocities.com/markkf63/r65_1.jpg
I paid $2500 for my R65. It couldn't be my primary bike and I would love to have a R100RT or R100RS but at least it satisfied my airhead urge for now.

[CustomSarge]

Sage advice from BobW. For comparison, check the IBMWR classifieds & see what's in the neighborhood. Of course, check past issues of ON, as well. I'm with the above, $4k is tall. Good Hunting... <<<)))

P.S. My sister lives in Morgantown, Very cool riding area!

[The_Veg]

Can't really say without seeing the bike, but if condition truly is good then I'd call it a fair price. I paid $5500 for a '95 R100R back in 2003. Sounds high but I think I got a good deal because:

1) it had really been well-maintained and that showed
2) seller had a two-inch stack of receipts, records, etc. all the way back to the original dealer
3) lots of extras included, such as bag-liners and a painted-to-match S-fairing and heated grips and several other miscellaneous goodies
4) seller was extremely pleasant to deal with and went out of her way to accomodate me doing my homework and buying from out-of-state
5) A third party whom I trust gave me a referral on it

So while we can't really tell you if it's a good price or not, I think you can figure out if it is or not.
Oh and before I forget, the Paralever problems Mark mentioned are pretty much associated with the Airhead GS. The R's shaft-joints operate at significantly lesser angles than those of the GS due to to the R's reduced ground clearance.
For Airheads you really can't beat the R100R. It's the best of al worlds with the classic boxer engine, K75 fork and brakes that will outstop any previous Airhead.

[donkey doctor]

Hello; I paid $3000 for my 77 R 100/7. That was three years ago now, and with the benefit of hind-sight, I would say that it was a bargain. I have taken two long trips a year since bying it (over 5000 kms.) and haven t had any problems with it at all. I have put 30,000 miles on it since then, and it shows no sign of weakening. I measure the value of a motorcycle by how it suits my needs, and the grins I get from riding it. I knew what I was getting and what I wanted when I bought it, and have no regrets. If I had known what a wonderful motorcycle it was, I might have paid up to $5000 for it, and still been happy. Our dollar isn't as strong as the american dollar, about 80 cents just now, so the dollar values should be considered.

[ridewv]

That was helpful information on the K75 forks and brake VEG. I didn't know that.
Rick

[The_Veg]

You bet Rick! Those brakes are a pair of four-pistons Brembos with cross-drilled discs up front. Rear is a drum, but the fronts are good enough that the rear is kind of a formality. :)

[ridewv]

So I go to see the 1994 R100R for sale for $5,000, "take it or leave it price is $4,500."
It starts right up and idles like a good running airhead should. There's no oil seepage around the head or base gaskets or pushrod seals. The odo shows 38k. The Metzelers look 75% good and the wheels are true. The oil looks clean. The paint on the side covers, fenders, and tank is original and good condition.
This, the second owner, is a 60's year old, taned, golf playing looking man. He doesn't have any service records.
At the right side frame down tube near the steering head is a flat section with two small holes. I thought that's where the vin, manufacture date, model year plaque should be? I may be wrong, but if so it wasn't there.
The frame has small rust pits most everywhere and major rust is evident on the header cross over and front bag mounts.
There's rust on the fork tubes above the sliding area.
All the aluminum cases and wheels are oxidized probably because the bike was from St. Petersburg FL.
The brake fluid looks like molassas but it still works and isn't leaking.
I noticed somw light grey over spray on the dark section of the seat. Owner says he sprayed light grey paint on the lighter grey front section to "freshen it up."
When he bolted the Harley Davidson windshield to the headlight brackets using longer bolts they were over tightened and "shattered" the paint.

When I asked how he came up with the asking price his response was something to the effect that "I have over $7,000 in it, so $4,500 is the least I'll take."
When I point out that the NADA high book is $2,600 (admittedly low in this circle) he says "the book is always too low when I'm selling and too high when I'm buying". I say given the condition I think we're pretty far apart. He says "thank you" and just walks back into his house.
In a week, if he still has it, I may offer $3,000 and go to $3,500. Or I may not. It just pisses me off that some people so neglect a machine and think they should get top dollar!
Sorry for the rant but since I started this thread I thought I should update you.

Rick

[The_Veg]

The VIN on these is not in the same place as older Airheads. Look on the frame tube below the right jug. There should be a label there with the VIN and production date. The VIN will also be stamped into the frame just rearward of this label.
Sorry to hear that the bike was so neglected! Finding a good R100R can be tough though. When I was shopping, some web searches revealed about six for sale on the whole continent at the time. Luckily the nicest one was also, at 1200 miles away, the closest one. Have patience and persistence and you'll find what you want.

[bigb]

I got my first beemer a few years ago a 82'R100RT. My insurance agent who has a BMW was going to help me find one from one of his clients. I got to see the bike and it looked good, normal wear for a twenty something year old bike. The guy a bought it from had notebook full of receipts from him and the previous owner. The bike ended up being a great bike a real strong runner, and I paid $2900, well worth it. Its had its problems some from just being old and some of my doing, but all and all a great bike. About a year later I wanted another bike and decided to call my agent to see if he could hook me up again. He told me about a guy who had a /5 for sale, I always wanted a /5 so I was excited. I went to see the bike and it looked good, new paint, new speedo, the exhaust was scraped up but other than that it looked OK. I was told it had just had a top end rebuild and a new diode board and other work. He said the work had been done by a guy who used to work on BMWs for a living. He also said he didn't have any receipts since he had this guy do the work. I thought it was strange he didn't have the receipts for the parts, but hey I got great bike the first time so I bought it. Have you ever heard the saying lipstick on a pig is still a pig, well I found out. Basically everything that I was told was done was not and spent a small fortune getting this piece of **** in good running condition. I have spent more money on this bike and I'll be lucky to get half of it back. Anyway always get receipts and if they don't have them I would think twice about buying. You can see the results on my homepage by clicking on my icon. :banghead

[Braddog]

I bought my '77 RS from a guy who was selling it for his brother. My impression was that he was a good guy, he talked about how he and his brother did almost all of their own motorcycle mechanic work, and had done so since they were kids. He had a garage full of motorcycles, the majority of them running. He had receipts for the major engine rebuild, which they had done by a shop. He said all fluids were regularly changed, and the bike was in good shape. After owning this bike for almost 5 years now, it seems to me that the previous owner paid a lot of attention to the engine, but not much attention to the other parts of the bike. The rear shocks (factory originals) were shot, the brake fluid looked like coffee, and the front springs were nearing the end of their days as well. I found out 2 years ago, that the rear drive was going soon, the clutch and the tranny weren't far behind, and this on a motorcycle with less than 60K miles. The mechanic that did the work for me suspected that the previous owner(s) probably didn't pay much attention to the drivetrain past the engine. So, I replaced the final drive, the clutch, the rear brake shoes, part of the tranny, all seals, etc. etc. it's a long, somewhat spendy list. The bike is most definitely "right with the world" now.

I bought my 2nd airhead, a '77 R100S, from a gentleman that had put significant time and money into this bike. This purchase was just last fall. Some he did himself (he had receipts for the parts), some he had a local BMW shop do. When I came to look at the bike, he produced a file folder full of receipts, all dated. It basically had almost every mod you've ever read about to make an old airhead better. The purchase of this bike was a no-brainer to me.

Ask me which bike I feel is more reliable, and literally which one I like better? That's a no-brainer, my original purchase. Looks rattier, but runs stronger (I'm betting a 1050 kit?) has a more even powerband like airheads should, while the "newer" purchase hits it stride in the higher RPM's. Now that I've fixed the suspension, tires, etc., it's much better.

I think the key here is knowing about the bike you want to buy, whether it's from receipts, knowing the previous owners, or being knowledgeable enough to tell by riding it what issues may be there. I didn't have a frickin' clue when I bought my first airhead, but I do now.