BMW motorcycles come with a reputation. Part of that reputation is that of overwhelming quality. It is not uncommon to run across a BMW with over 100,000 miles. During the seventies and eighties, many of the motorcycles you saw taking long trips were BMW-opposed twins. One even transited the Pan-American Highway and went through the Darien Gap. Those of us who follow motorcycles on a casual basis are seeing something else as well: rising values. Collectors are starting to snap up these motorcycles. If you want to pick up two very good examples and an almost parts bike that could be brought back to life, then Rocco B. has found the package deal for you. This trio of BMW motorcycles for sale on Craigslist in Pinckney, Michigan can be yours for $4,800. Do you think that is a good investment?
There are three bikes in total in this deal. The first is a 1975 R75/6. This motorcycle is in good condition and has 69,300 miles on the odometer. This one is more in line with the look and feel of a sixties BMW. It has the traditional tank with knee pads, wire-spoke wheels, crash bars, a traditional seat with an added sissy bar and pad, and a very cool set of hard bags out back. It looks fantastic in the trademark black BMW paint with white pinstriping. This one is said to be in really nice overall condition, but there is no mention if it runs and drives. It can be had by itself for the very reasonable sum of $2,500. Unfortunately, we have no idea if the fairing in front of the bike goes with it.
The second bike is believed to be the one pictured above and below. This one is described by the seller as “having been ridden hard and long.” The true mileage is unknown, and the headlight is missing. There is no explanation for the huge fairing sitting in front of this bike. Was this fairing formerly attached to this motorcycle? Does it have a headlight, thus requiring the removal of the factory headlight?
While it may be ridden hard and has countless miles under its wheels, these are motorcycles that can be rebuilt over and over. The seller is asking $800 for this one as it sits. There is over $800 worth of parts sitting there. If you wanted to dip a toe in the BMW motorcycle world, this is a rather small investment. You could take it home and start refurbishing it piece by piece. If you lose interest, just sell it off in pieces. If you follow through, then you will have built quite an education on how these bikes work and how to fix them.
The third bike is a 1979 R65. The seller says that this one is in nice condition and has a low 23,658 miles. It can be had by itself for $2,200. In contrast to the first bike, we can see that BMW had updated the styling by this time to a later seventies-appropriate look. The tank is more angular, the snowflake wheels look much more modern, the jugs and cylinder covers have a more modern cut to them, and it carries BMW’s versatile hard bags. These have always been a necessity of sorts for long-distance touring. Unfortunately, BMW chose a design that would be at home carrying an old reel-to-reel projector. A product of the times, but they just seem so bland and institutional compared to the ones on the previous bike.
If you are looking for a long-distance touring bike, then the third choice may be the one for you. In addition to the previously mentioned hard bags on either side of the rear wheel, this one also has a large trunk to hold your helmet and a few other soft items. Soft could also easily describe the aftermarket touring seats we see clearly in the picture above. Both passenger and pilot would be well cushioned from any bumps in the road while perched atop those marshmallow seats. Add that to the low mileage and you have probably the best day-to-day motorcycle of the three.
In all, this is a great deal for three boxer engine BMWs. They can be purchased in a package or a la carte. We still don’t know which, of any, run. The good news is that these are relatively straightforward motorcycles to understand. Parts and the information to fix them are also out there in copious amounts. They were spectacular bikes then and they still manage to be good bikes for someone who wants to ride today. Hopefully, a reader will head on up to the Detroit area and load these up.
Have you ever owned a BMW motorcycle? What was the experience like? Please let us know in the comments.
I know, here come the violins. Never cared for the BMW, they say makes a wicked dual-sport, IDK, it’s inherent quirky handling, I’d have to think would be amplified on irregular surfaces, but one simply can’t deny what fantastic machines they are. These were someones life right here. Bought new in the 70s, when bones were young and biking on a BMW cross country, was the best there was, and this person knew it. Naysayers comment on how dangerous they are, this here shows a lifetime of safe riding can be done. Why is this still here? I’ll tell you why, whether you want to hear it or not, interest just isn’t ther anymore, and this proves it to me. No junk here, and anyone into bikes knows that. I guess now would be a good time to add the crickets thing,,( crickets chirping)
Nothing wrong with the BMW motorcycle handling once you get used to it. I have owned a 100RT 100 and an R69 S I think it was. I didn’t like the 100RT because the gear change was very klunky and the R69 I sold a few days after I bought it because it handled like a dog. The guy I sold it to came back for the registration papers about a week later and told me that it handled so badly because the tyres were flat! I took it for a ride and found it to be a lovely bike after all. My bad. For the money being asked for these three bikes seems like a steal to me.
I’ve never had an R-bile, but I have ridden an 85 K100RT for 13 years now. I will attest that they are well engineered bikes. BMW still makes parts for old bikes, don’t let parts availability scare you off. These are all nice enough for me, even the “parts” bike. It is nice to see someone else who rides a bike and enjoys it. You’ll see more BMWs with high mileage than other makes, because it seems the guys who buy them ride the snot out of them. Best of luck to the seller, and I hope the buyer takes it out and plays with it!
Oh! One more thing, there are tool kits! Those are the first thing to go missing.
What a deal!!! If they were closer I’d find a way to make it happen. Through they’re not the highly sought 900/1000 cc they’d still be a great buy-almost TOO good…
Yes the headlight is built in to the fairing so if you’re going to leave it off you’ll need a mount from another.
Having started young in riding and occasionally affording numerous bikes of all brands from Allstate to Zundapp, BMW stands out as being exceptionally well built mile munching machines, with the older ones like the R65 having an owners manual that showed how to rebuild the bike; the R80 less so, but the info in the handbook with my K1600 Grand America the shop info is limited to tell me simply not to drink the water from the battery..
Be that as it may, each and every bike had its own “personality” and quirks making them unique.
The ‘79 R65 was slow but steady, the R80 was a joy on mountain roads, the ‘05 K1200GT was a highway star, the ‘07 K1200GT was an interstate and canyon road rocket ship, but the new K1600 is their version of a two wheeled earth orbiting NCC 1701.
I just got a 2004 BMW Montauk R1200C that has 100,000 on it, still going strong. These bikes are a steal.
Yes!! Fantastic deal!! I currently own 39 motorcycles, and one is an R1200RT BMW. I long for the simplicity of the Airheads, and I may purchase one as soon as I sell a bike or two to make room. You need to be a true enthusiast, to ride an older and sometimes quirky machine. But, often that is the fun in ownership. Just like older Jags, compared to the new variant… ;)
I’ve owned an ‘80 R100/7 and an ‘86 K100RS. I preferred the boxer to the brick. Not as quick, but a rock-steady bike.
For someone BMW-inclined, this appetizer be a nice deal.
Agree on the deal being perfect. If you can only make one runner, you will get the initial investment back in parts. A new trend is building cafe style boxers. They look great, and I’ve been looking for a good base bike. Too far unfortunately.
I have never owned an old BMW bike – or a new one, for that matter. My one and only entry into the world of the Roundel, was with a 2009 R1200GS.
High quality, as the writer says. Which seems to be something not totally present in the new ones – which seem aimed more for Planned Obsolescence. But I had no complaints, in use. Mine was a demonstrator for a dealer – that’s something that’s rare for cycle dealers to have/do; have a demonstration model there. But this one was it.
They can be finicky. BMW aficionados will say not; but the dealer, with a DEMONSTRATOR, didn’t get the throttle-bodies sync’d properly. I’d resigned myself to some vibration…decided the legend was greater than the reality; but it was on a road trip through Plano, Texas, that I learned what a trained mechanic could do. The bike was due for first valve adjustment and oil change – cost was close to two grand, together with the coffee and donuts in the customer lounge.
But when I got it back, I really thought I had a different engine on it, it was so much smoother. I had to go back, talk to the service writer: “Oh, yeah, we send our mechanics to school in Germany, learn how it’s done.”
Not encouraging for the home mechanic. Of course by this time the bikes had FE and computer-controlled ignition. Not so complex as today’s models, but bad enough.
The only bad thing I can say about it, is the dry clutch. So what? The wet clutch pack of a typical UJM, is right on the side of the engine, allowing a clutch change with minimum drama. To change a BMW Boxer clutch, you have to break it in half – as you would a tractor. If you’re doing it at home, you better have a lift and an assistant.
And you better plan to do it. The input shaft has to be greased with moly at about 30k miles. It’s costly to pay someone and it’s deadly to skip on it. And since you have the bike apart, you may as well replace the clutch – which is as involved as with a car or truck.
I didn’t have to live through that, though. My personal finances were changing, and it was an opportune time to sell. I put 20k miles on mine, and sold it for about $2000 less than I paid. One of my better motorcycle buy/sell moves – BMWs at the time really held their resale value.
The reason for me considering selling my R1200RT, with 130,000 miles-is the eventuality of replacing the clutch… This is a $5,000 or so job for BMW to do it on my 2007. I think the motor will run forever, and I do all of my own work…but, this is not one that I have the time, or proprietary BMW tools to do. The entire bike is split in half, and then put back together. I hear this was changed on the newer models, but on the 07’s it’s a definite thing.
I put a clutch in my ’85 K100. No lift or special tools needed, just lots of time. I took off the panniers and rear body work, then hung it from the garage rafters with ratchet straps. It was a bit of work, but you could tell it was designed to be worked on. There were no access issues or hidden fasteners. I think I spent a month of spare time doing it, I just wasn’t in a big hurry.
Not sure why BMW got silly with the later bikes. The love and draw of the earlier bikes was/is the ease of maintenance and repair, even on the side of the road…
This is a screaming deal at the ask. I am still riding the R-100/7 that I bought brand new in 1979. I would buy these except that the one I already have will last me for the rest of my life.
One more thing, those flat looking side bags are designed to pop off with the touch of a button and be carried as suitcase luggage. and they are deep enough to hold a full face helmet.