When it comes to motorcycle ownership, owners tend to collect around a few different driving factors for riding. You have the sport bike riders, who hover between just wanting to occasionally go fast and having a legitimate death wish; you have your Harley riders, who are seeking a gateway to their past selves or what they wish were their past selves; and then there’s the grand tourer, the rider who wants to pack his limited luggage space with only the essentials and drive far, far away, man united with machine. This 1980 BMW R100RT listed here on craigslist is the bike for that last category of rider, and in many ways, is the poster child for high-speed, long-distance touring.
The seller is asking $3,200 for this tidy R100RT, and it comes with the rare and desirable hard cases – essential accessories for pursuing your goals of riding from camp site to camp site. The idea of using a bike for an extended period on the open road is romanticized in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I admit played a role in my buying a barn find 1990 BMW K1 last year. I just got word it’s about ready for the road, a trip I will have no time for in the immediate future but hope to indulge in before too long, as my K1 is built with a similar ethos in mind as the R100RT shown here: fast and sporting when you need it to be, but really, built to go 100 miles per hour all day long without breaking a sweat.
When this R100RT was introduced, it took the motorcycle world by surprise. Here was a bike with a beefy, big valve engine that was familiar to loyal BMW riders but unlike the bike shown here – which has lost a few pieces that renders it a “naked” design – an R100RT in bone-stock condition would have a full fairing and wide handle bars. While the design ultimately knocked the top speed down a bit, it also undoubtedly aided in making sustained touring more feasible. I’m not surprised to see the fairing missing, as the “cafe”-style design is far more popular at the moment, and you can always add the fairing back later on if so desired. This isn’t a true cafe racer by any means, but the fairing delete gets you a bit closer to the spirit of such a design.
However, I would bolt that fairing right back on, along with the hard cases, so put the cherry on an OEM-spec configuration for an original R100RT. The seller reports that his bike is a strong runner that starts every time, and this being a 1980 model, it should have the desirable Brembo brake calipers along with the light flywheel engine. It should also have the Kinomatic gearbox system that improved shift quality dramatically. Overall, this R100RT looks like a fun bike that can be used just as easily for a run downtown as it can be for an extended weekend escape – and the price certainly seems right. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Tony Primo for the find.
Nice try, Jeff, a great try, in fact. Fantastic machines, I just don’t happen to like them. Here come the pitchforks,,now hold on,,to be clear, I was at a yard sale, and the person had a R1100RT. I asked if I could check it out, sure, they said. What an awesome machine. It was comfy right away, everything placed properly, I was impressed and I didn’t even ride it. My personal gripes on BMWs are my own, I don’t care for the opposed motors, even my GoldWings, and the shaft drive, while bulletproof, has quirks I don’t care for either. Motorcycles are seemingly coming out of the woodwork, happens every Spring, and I still keep tabs on classified ads, just in case that ’75 Z1 is for sale cheap right down the block,,,yeah, right, still, this is a great deal for an outstanding bike and could easily be made into a cruiser again.
“We don’t quit riding because we got too old-we got old because we quit riding”. Doesn’t matter what you ride just keep riding Howard! 👍🏻 I get what you’re saying about the shaft jack, the left side “torque pull” when you rev some opposed style engines and the power band difference between a V Twin and them, more so with upright inline bikes but that’s all about what we each prefer in a bike.
Sincerely hope too that you find the Z1 you want a price you want! After all, riding is our 0-60 second arrival at Zen..
Ride 🏍 on Howard 😎 👍
Thanks Lavery ✍️
I’m with you, Jeff-find or buy a duplicate of the original fairing, handlebars, seat and front fender then go ride it for hours on end.
And congrats on your K1 find! Talk about an eye catching game-changer. Will you be doing a feature on it (hopefully!)?
Where is the front fendr?
That’s a lot of miles on this bike. Probably going to need a little required maintenace. True, these bikes are capable of accumulating a lot of miles, but nothing lasts forever.