Who has an R100CS still on the road?

[mrich12000]

Nice bikes

[suttondi]

Does anyone know where to get a stock fairing for a R100CS?
Thanks,
Dan

[kbasa]

Does anyone know where to get a stock fairing for a R100CS?
Thanks,
Dan

I'm in the process of putting mine back together, an 84 CS LE. I got hit by a Uturner last January and I've finally settled my claim and am starting restoration. I really miss riding it.

You can get fairings from BMW. The new fairings are made out of a plastic, rather than the old school fiberglass it originally came with, so they might be easier to get on and off the bike..

[dlearl476]

They are, therefore, relatively rare here, and can therefore command a higher price. This is simple economics.

"Can Therefore" There's the rub. In reality, the only "rare" BMWs that command higher prices are generally R90S' which, for some unknown reason, people assume to be hard to find and ultra desirable. The only people who would pay top dollar for CS, Motorsports, etc. are people like me, who would shop for a deal or only consider an immaculate, original example.

The good news is that an R100CS is one of the prettiest bikes BMW ever made. Nice on Mr. Swider. Good luck on the resto.

[kbasa]

The good news is that an R100CS is one of the prettiest bikes BMW ever made. Nice on Mr. Swider. Good luck on the resto.

Thanks, David. I've got most of the parts as of last Friday and got the bodywork out for paint last week. It'll get the stock Last Edition paint, along with new stickers. I'm hopeful I can find a solo seat for a reasonable amount of money.

I've got some used parts coming; rotors and such. Right now, I'm still on disassembly and inspection phase, but in another week should be well into parts cleaning, parts ordering and paint of miscellaneous bits prior to reassembly by February.

I hope to have it out and about in March or so.

I can't believe how much I miss riding this bike. This bike has a history and I'm duty bound by friendship to be a good custodian. This isn't going to be a perfect restoration, with a result that looks like a brand new bike, but rather a bike that shows it has some stories.

I think motorcycles are dynamic sculpture. They're nothing if they're not used and set in motion. I intend to ride this bike, not look at it, just like the other stuff in my garage. I was cleaning the /2 today and noticed that it's getting some of the signs of use. A stone chip here. A scuff on the top of the tool box from the bottom of the tank bag. A dead bug here and a little bit of road crud there. I don't mind. It seems logical to me that a device that's built to be operated should show the signs of that operation and that those signs should be an important part of its character.

[169347]

[QUOTE=KBasa;270990

should show the signs of that operation and that those signs should be an important part of its character.[/QUOTE]

Danny Liska would've been proud to hear that, I'll bet. In a world of cookie-cutter bikes ridden by posers out there, it's refreshing to hear the word character, from someone who seems to know what it means...

Woodgrain

[suttondi]

My bike still has the tire pump and toolkit, but is missing the owner manual. I would like to get it back to stock one day.
Dan

[tuber1]

wow Dave ,you still have that bike, I havent seen you in ages...I don't really do rallies anymore, but I was at VT nat'l since I live here now...where I also saw lots of other old rally friends
I had an 81 RS when when I was going to DCR/Finger Lakes, now I have an 83 S/CS 'lookalike' .

rob gondek
former New Sweden BMW
former BMW club/north jersey
Deadhorse

[DCRBMWC]

If you want to know the true model of your airhead go to http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
and enter the last 7 digits of your VIN. The site will tell you.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

Nice bikes, but I've still never understood what all the hype about a CS was. IMO, the only things that really matter (drivetrain specs, braking, etc) aren't any different than an R100S, any more than an RT is different from an RS. It's just a fairing and badging.

The CS badging seems to be a US marketing thing (apparently working to some degree)...but then again the Fatherland certainly made its marketing blunders such as the RT/RS Last Edition mystique corrected by a free BMW helmet when the model was continued just a few years later. To that point, the CS bikes weren't manufactured any differently than anything else, regardless of year to my knowledge...its just that upon uncrating in the US some had badges that read R100CS instead of just R100. I'd buy one if I were looking for an Airhead and the condition and price were right but I'd never go out of my way thinking I had found the Hope diamond. A rubber cow is a rubber cow.

Then again, I've got a plain ole '83 R100....that is now an RT and will someday wear my RS fairing...maybe if I get an S fairing I could also call it an R100S, or a CS if I have any letter left in my Ronco Sticky Letters kit. Depending on my financial position, I could vary my net worth by converting from one to another. Not.

I don't mean to poke too much fun at the whole "CS" thing, but if you are really into collecting...seems to me that a Henderson or an old Vincent would have more collectable meaning that a couple of stickers. Or on the BMW front, I was looking at a beautiful white R50/3 the other day, with the spec stamp on the steeringhead. Now that qualifies as "rare" to me and was a sight to behold. Calling an 80's bike rare because of the badging by comparison, to me is like claiming a 1970 Plymouth Duster is 'rare' even when parked next to a 1932 Duesenberg SJ. The Duster was essentially a fastback version of a Plymouth Valiant, the SJ a ground-breaking new machine from the ground-up. Time will tell what's more collectable, but I know where I'd seen long term value.

Just one guy's opinion, who doesn't own anything collectable just a reliable two-wheeled road tractor.

[lkchris]

The good news is that an R100CS is one of the prettiest bikes BMW ever made.

It is with the original paint job.

Without, it's nothing special at all, except for how much better '81-'84 Airheads are than those that came before.

What would have made the CS truly "cool" would be if USA dealers hadn't talked BMW into fitting snowflake wheels instead of wire wheels--which were the whole "point" of the model being called "classic" and which were indeed fitted in other markets.

[mymindsok]

Do any of you old farts remember what was going on in the Brit car industry starting in the 60s?

It was called "Badge Engineering"... You know... BMC would build a new AH Sprite and the immediately market it as an MG after adding a chrome strip and wire wheels. It worked to a degree because the folks who hated the standard wheels could get wires on the MG and it really did look better with the chrome accent strip!

But to say that our Sacred Cow would do that... Oh...! The horror! But lets be realistic, by the beginning of the 80s not only was there a recession goin gon but BMW had pretty much shot it's collective wad. The type 247s were putting out about as much power as they could and still maintain reliability and the laws in the US and Europe were beginning to strangle performance. With no new models to offer, what was BMW to do?

And then, some crazy German engineer who just happened to like British cars stood up in a meeting and screamed "Badge Engineering!!!" Hes still in an asylum somewhere in the Black Forest but the company was saved by the incoming procession of "New Models" that were entirely based upon paint jobs.

Inmy book, the only thing that the CS models represent is the first iteration of the "Last Edition" bikes (IIRC, the MotoSports were next.) and BMW only stopped pumping out paint bucket engineered bikes, when the situation became truly embarrassing. and boring.

Sorry kids but if you think that your bike is especially valuable because of what colors BMW painted it, you need to go ride your bike.

[58678]

I just bought a great running CS with the last edition paint job.
there are a few scratches and one dent in the tank, but other than that its all there.
I haven't decided whether or not to keep it yet.
Wish I new more about the production numbers.

[58678]

Here it is after a bath

[bikerfish1100]

It is with the original paint job.

Without, it's nothing special at all, except for how much better '81-'84 Airheads are than those that came before.

What would have made the CS truly "cool" would be if USA dealers hadn't talked BMW into fitting snowflake wheels instead of wire wheels--which were the whole "point" of the model being called "classic" and which were indeed fitted in other markets.

Glad someone else recalled that little bit. i remember seeingsome CS models when they first came out, and again later at the Columbus Day/Yankee Beemers event at the Lars Anderson Transportation Museum in Brookline, MA- and they had spoke wheels. Kinda threw me when i saw those pics here iwth the snowflakes. Maybe some got wired, while others got flaked?