Opinion on 84 R100

[dubvmv]

Hey everyone.... I'm new to the forum and to these bikes. I'm interested in the one linked below. Was hoping to get some opinions. Thanks!

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/4069719711.html

[Major Softie]

If a lightly cafe'd bike is what interests you, this one looks like a very decent possibility.

The brakes are a nice upgrade - not like going to dual piston calipers or anything, but still nicer than stock. The speedometer is an upgrade if it's something you like, and a detriment if you'd prefer the stock instruments to be included.

All in all, it looks pretty clean (stock exhaust on a cafe is unusual). It's a decent price if it shows good compression. Anything you can get knocked off the $3500 (such as, because of the unknown mileage) is gravy. If I wanted it, I'd offer $2800 and feel pretty good if I walked away with it for $3200 (again, IF it measures good compression).

Check Duane's page about compression testing, even if you're already familiar with the process on other engines. Note especially the Compression tests on the /5 and later section The CV carbs make for some special issues.
http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/compression/

[khittner1]

Looks like a post-crash "bitsa bike" to me. If seller "invested $6500" in it, he's counting up every receipt for the labor and parts needed to transplant a surviving drivetrain (of unknown mileage) into a new frame, buying a new-to-him tank and fenders, painting those bits, and adding the new bars, cables, the aftermarket speedo, and replacement valve covers. Don't take financial planning advice from him. With sketchy mileage and a probable "salvage" title, it's worth whatever the value of the airhead riding aesthetic of indeterminant (maybe short) duration is worth to you; it has next to no value as a bike to an actual BMW "collector". You can find a reasonably nice, known mid-mileage survivor for what he's asking. Pay no more than $2K for it if you have to have it. He'll probably be "insulted", but that's really all that it's worth.

[Toga]

I had no real idea of what they are going for in USA so had a quick ebay gander and found these, the dearest is $3800 -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-R-Series-19 ... otorcycles
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-R-Series-BM ... otorcycles
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-R-Series-19 ... otorcycles
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-R-Series-19 ... otorcycles

[Ken in Oklahoma]

Major Softie and khittner1 both offer some very good, though not necessarily congruent opinions. I'm probably out of touch with airhead values nowadays, but the asking price sounds pretty hefty to me, even taking into account a significant negotiation reduction.

To me the bike would succeed as a chest-on-the-tankbag road burner, but not as a cafe racer. As a cafe racer it has little "cool factor", and zero "wow factor". But cool and wow, I suppose, are in the eye of the beholder.

Perhaps the thing that disturbs me the most about the bike is the loss of the instrument cluster. Certainly the BMW instrument cluster on a naked low bar bike is, charitably, a bit on the ugly/klunky looking side. The lone speedo is clean. But if a buyer is going to do any "cafeing" or "posing" he surely needs a tach for street creds. But, aesthetics aside, the truly disturbing thing is that the missing instrument cluster means there has been a "massive" modification to the stock wiring. Think about that. If you're on a ride and the engine starts missing, or the lights seem like they're getting a little dim, even though you're carrying a digital multimeter in your tool tray, what are you going to probe?

I've never bought an airhead via Craig's list, but I have in the last two years haunted craig's list for shop tools (quite successfully I might add). Craig's list ads are free and that gives rise to what I call a lot of dreamers and trollers (as in trolling for fish). In fact, in my biased opinion, the majority of Craig's list ads are placed by dreamers and trollers. That doesn't negate the fact that good and great buys can be had through Craigs list. The subject bike just doesn't strike me as quite rising to that level.

Ken

[Major Softie]

Perhaps the thing that disturbs me the most about the bike is the loss of the instrument cluster. Certainly the BMW instrument cluster on a naked low bar bike is, charitably, a bit on the ugly/klunky looking side. The lone speedo is clean. But if a buyer is going to do any "cafeing" or "posing" he surely needs a tach for street creds.
Ken

I'm sure that digital instrument has both tach and speedometer in that single unit.

Toga, U.S. prices have little to do with ebay prices. You see some crazy prices on ebay, even for stuff that sells. Many of those crazy price sales fall through. We're big enough that prices can vary a lot by region. There's a lot of money in the Bay Area where that one is listed.

khittner1 makes a lot of assumptions about it being a frankenbike which may or may not be true. Regardless, he's absolutely right about the value to a "collector" or to a general BMW stock bike enthusiast, but that's because neither of them would ever consider such a bike. That's why I prefaced all my remarks with "if that's the kind of bike you want." Many people do not want that kind of bike. You can't really judge the value of a machine by the value placed on it by those who would never buy it.

If you start with the price of a stock bike, and have all the work done by a pro shop, $6500 comes VERY quickly.

[Jean]

My Euro R100s cost $3200 when it was 3-1/2 years old...I'm still on it.
I think that's a lot of money for a "put-together" bike.
f you want a nice older bike, check the IBMWR website for their bikes for sale, R-bikes and compare what's offered there.

[khittner1]

I don't think that device is even street-legal---I'm looking at the pictures for some sort of turn signals (little LEDs or whatever), and I'm not seeing any, front or back. They can obviously be added, and should be unless you want to buy probable cause for a stop by Trooper Friendly, who'll certainly know that it's not old enough to have been built without them. We haven't even touched on the usual early-to-mid '80s airhead frailties and long-interval maintenances, etc.; my offer would be getting lower unless the folks at the Chico shop have a lot of knowledge and documentation on it.

[Major Softie]

I hadn't noticed the turn-signal issue. If it does have turnsignals, they've been hidden extremely well.

[Jean]

MS (and others) I saw a neat R100 DIRT Bike this weekend that had a nifty electronic unit on it in place of the usual "clocks". It told you everything you'd almost want to know EXCEPT RPM.
The owner demonstrated all this to me when I asked how it worked...I also noticed he had to press buttons to get it to show the various pieces of info.
I still like a couple of round analog dials with easily read pointers which do not require a free hand to read, and only an instataneous GLANCEwill suffice to give you the information you need (relative position of the pointer.)