• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Who has an R100CS still on the road?

KBasa;270990 should show the signs of that operation and that those signs should be an important part of its character.[/QUOTE said:
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
 
1981 R100cs

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:usa
 
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' .:wave

rob gondek
former New Sweden BMW
former BMW club/north jersey
Deadhorse
 
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. :stick
 
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.
 
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? :scratch

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.:hungover

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.


:hide
 
Just picked up an 84 R100CS LE

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.
 
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?
 
Very interesting. I just acquired a 1982 R100 (Says that in the Serial Number and on the side covers. It has the CS fairing and is painted the CS Black with pin striping throughout. This one has a stainless 2 into 1 exhaust system, some kind of after market shocks with red coils on the bottom of the coil stack, bags and a Corbin seat. An absolute beauty of a bike that I got out of a shed that had stuff piled on it, covered in 5 years of dust and grime (but didn't damage it, other than one chip out of the front fender paint and one hinge on the Corbin seat was missing. Stunning bike once I got it cleaned up!

Anyway, the first four numbers of the serial are 6175. Anyone got an idea of whether this is one of the legendary CS models? Doesn't much matter as it's going to get a Canadian Collector Plate and be recreationally driven.

Thanks folks,

Pat
 
I had gone over all of the available info. on the R100's and couldn't find any numbers that started before the 6175XXX and finished after it, by extension, including this number. Only interesting.

The bike isn't in the US, it's a Canadian bike. I read in a secret document that only eleven Canadian CS models were built and they were all sprayed with Maple Syrup, that's why they are Legendary....and also a very sweet bike. And if you're with me on that, I have a great deal on a bridge for sale...just down the road.
 
Quote: 'I have a great deal on a bridge for sale...just down the road.'

That would be the bridge from Powell River to the Lower Mainland?
 
A Bridge!

:cry The bridge to "no where"...... my town.

In reality... my town to the International Airport. that's fact and the truth.

Ketchikan to the Airport on the next island.

jim:cry
 
Original Intent of This Thread

Unfortunately, my original intent of starting this thread has never been met. Not one posting tells me what the serial number of the R100CS you own (or know about the existence of).

Let's start over...

If any of the readers of this thread think they have an R100CS, please post the serial number so I can include it in my tabulation. If you are unsure about the model of the bike in question, please consult the web site below:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

Type in the last 7 digits of your VIN and it will return this information.

"Last Editions" will come up as R100T's. Unless you remove the Environmental Plumming and install 9.5:1 Pistons, you will not have a 70HP (51KW) engine.

Simple as that.

See you in Bloomsburg!

Dave Good
dcrbmwc@aol.com
 
Cycle World had good Road Test article on the BMW '81 R100CS in it's August '81 issue. I have in the Cycle World soft cover book ON BMW 1981-1986. Enjoyed reading the article. Nice bike. '81 was a year of a lot firsts, most good and some not so good.
 
R100CS S/N 6188154 Found in Canada

Received an email from a person in Canada today stating that he owns 6188154. This is the kind of info I was looking for on this thread.

DaveG
MOA # 5559:brow
 
Back
Top