Is a 1997 R1100 RT a bike worth considering at 25 years old?

My current bikes include a 92 K75 RT, a 2014 Triumph Thruxton, and a 2002 Kawasaki Ninja. I have bought all my bikes used and to date I have been able to perform all my maintenance myself (nothing major like engine tear-downs).

I have located a 1997 R1100 RT about 25 miles from me. I've checked out the 18 photos online. It looks very nice, though I'm not a fan of the color - Glacier Green. The bike has 70K miles on it and the shop is asking $2,999 for it. It's a local dealer who specializes in used Harleys.

My questions for members of this forum are:
1) Is a 25 year old R1100 RT still a reliable bike?
2) how many miles do people put on these bikes? What is considered high mileage?
3) Are parts readily available?
4) Are there known problems with this model bike? And if so, are these easily repaired?
5) Are these bikes a money pit?

I love my old K75 and I have no plans to get rid of it. It's been the cheapest bike I own, and I love riding it and it is so easy to maintain. Will I be so fortunate with my next old Beemer?

Thanks of any insight that you can provide.

Whew, you’ll get a lot of responses.

My questions for members of this forum are:
1) Is a 25 year old R1100 RT still a reliable bike? Yes, they can and should be. For most of the questions, depending on how well it was maintained.

2) how many miles do people put on these bikes? What is considered high mileage? My 1100RT just rolled over to 234,000 miles today.

3) Are parts readily available? Yes. New and used. A lot of these are ending up with bike breakers, so used parts seem to be around.

4) Are there known problems with this model bike? And if so, are these easily repaired? There are a few things that should have been replaced and upgraded. The original rubber brake hoses should have been replaced with braided stainless hoses. The 1100 Oilhead is very maintainable by the owner. If you have to pay someone else to work on the bike, it will add up quickly.

5) Are these bikes a money pit? See above.

Nice looking bike, btw. The asking price is somewhat high, unless the maintenance history is perfect.

Always said that if I got a second Beemer, it would never be glacier green. After a few years, I got to accept the colour; have had it for twelve years. Currently my 98 R1100RT has 150,000+ miles. Brake lines should be replaced with stainless steel lines (Speilgler) and the Hall Sensor should be replaced if original. The gas filter is easier to access and replace if it is moved from the gas tank and located under the plastic. Mine is under the right side triangle allowing replacement without plastic removal. The rear tire size is not common and restricts options but I’ve never had problems. I prefer the Ohlins over the original shocks.

I have no mechanical background nor any expertise and do not do extensive repairs; those are done by folks above my skill level. However with book and video manuals, I am able to complete the 10,000 & 20,000 km services.

Being somewhat old school, non BMW mechanics can do work for me when necessary. However for the spline lubes, I have BMW mechanics complete that task a little over 40,000 miles. I believe the spline lube job is more involved that with our older Ks.

I would be surprised if you couldn’t get the price a bit lower with a older bike.

I can't address all of your concerns as I'm a fairly new Oilhead owner, but here are a few I can.

All of my previous motorcycles have been from three of the Japanese "big four" (haven't owned a Yamaha yet), and beyond a certain age parts for them can be surprisingly difficult to find. I'm slowly working on a 1980 Honda CB750K project, for instance, and it's almost impossible to find new OEM parts for a full motor and transmission rebuild on that bike.
By contrast, parts, especially maintenance parts, are very readily available for BMW motorcycles of many ages, which is one of the big benefits of the propeller marque. Even with all the work I've had to do to my own 1997 R850R I've never once had difficulty finding a place to buy a part. BMW still has pretty much all of them available and there are aftermarket manufacturers for many of them. My problem is far more often finding parts at a price I'm willing and able to pay and even in that respect I've had lots of success. A good number of Oilhead maintenance parts have automotive equivalents that are cheap and plentiful, like spark plugs and oil filters and alternator belts and fasteners.

Known "big" problems for a 1997 would be few, but here are the ones I know.
1. The crank position sensor, aka the Hall Effect Sensor, was built with non-heat-resistant wiring from the factory and every single one of the original ones will eventually get cooked into failing. When it fails the bike will either not start, or will die on you while you're riding. If this bike has had the Hall Sensor replaced with the updated part or rebuilt by a professional (like GSAddict on these very forums), then it's not an issue. You can't tell whether it's been replaced without taking pieces off of the bike so it's something to be aware of. This issue isn't terribly expensive as the new part is about $200 and a rebuild is less than that. The part is not difficult to replace at home and I've worked on mine a couple times in my apartment parking lot.
2. The left side cam chain tensioner piston put in by the factory will eventually stop properly tensioning, resulting in a cam chain rattle on start-up. If not fixed it can snap the plastic cam chain guide rail, throwing plastic shards inside the engine; this requires significant engine disassembly to fix. This can be fixed by installing an updated part which costs anywhere from $85 to $130 depending on where you buy it from and whether you buy genuine BMW. You can see if this one has been done if you look in the right place on the left cylinder head with a bendy mirror and a flashlight, and if it hasn't been done it is not difficult to replace at home.
3. M97 Oilhead transmissions sometimes suffer from an issue where a gear on the input shaft shoves itself repeatedly into the bearing next to it. The symptoms are usually metal flakes in the transmission oil, as well as the oil coming out chocolate brown and smelling burnt. This issue affects some transmissions much worse than others but supposedly will happen eventually to all of them; the difference is what mileage the wear becomes a problem. Some transmissions go 200,000+ miles with no issues and some start failing at less than 50k because of this issue. If left unfixed after the signs are seen, it can cause a catastrophic bearing failure, which usually means a replacement transmission. Fixing this issue is pretty difficult as it requires a complete disassembly of the back half of the bike (basically the same amount of work as a clutch replacement), plus opening up and servicing the transmission. If you do the labor yourself it can be relatively inexpensive to fix; I'm doing mine soon for less than $500, but it does take a decent amount of time, easily two or three dozen hours for a slow home mechanic like me, and you must have a good-sized garage with a good number of tools to perform it. Labor is the largest cost if a professional does this fix and it is expensive. A transmission rebuild can cost you $1000 and the dealership might charge you $3500 or more for the entire job.

For Oilheads, maintenance history is far more important than mileage in determining whether a particular bike will be a money pit. A well-maintained bike will likely not have issues with its engine, transmission, final drive, or ABS unit for 100,000+ miles.
The list of potential issues goes from 3 to 20 or more if the bike has been sitting or been poorly maintained; one very expensive example is the ABS system, which if maintained per BMW's instructions will last a very long time. If not maintained with fresh brake fluid every year like the manual says, the ABS unit usually fails, and a new one is $1500 or you have to send it out to get rebuilt for $500 or more. It's also a big pain to get to and replace on an RT.

My story is probably the best example of "what not to buy" because my bike was, indeed, a money pit for the first few months of ownership. The previous owner left it sitting mostly untouched in his yard, uncovered, for three years. I had to replace every part in the fuel system and ended up spending more than I intended but I now have exactly the bike I wanted, in great running order, for less than $3500.

If this one's been well-maintained, then $3000 is not a terrible price even for the mileage. But the maintenance history is very important.

As the owner of a 1996 RT I agree with what the others have said. In 2018 I rode it to Alaska 12,000 miles round trip with no problems. These bikes are relatively easy to work on even with limited mechanical knowledge. The support you can on this site is simply amazing. There are a lot of really smart people here (I’m not one of them) who can help you with any repair you need to do. I think the price is a little to high though. How are the tires and have the brake lines and hall sensor been replaced? If not these will need to be addressed right away. Also check the marketplace, there’s a similar one on there that might be a better deal.

Voni and I went out for a ride on Christmas day. She was riding her R1100RS. It now has 413,000 or so miles. The original engine only went 402,000 miles.

Hey guys, I appreciate all the feedback thus far.

The comments regarding the $3,000 price being too high seem to be a consistent theme. Ironically I just found another 97 R1100 also in Glacier Green (ugh), at MAX BMW, with 40K miles, but theirs is $4000, but with "some" service history for the past several years.

I suspect sellers expect they can ask more since 2021 was a year of scarcer inventory and that has impacted the secondary used market.

Thanks for sharing your insight and keep 'em coming.

Welcome to the forum!

Around here, replacement windows are 1,200.00 each (average) installed. 1K isn’t what it used to be.
On the older machinery, I like to wonder what it’s worth in the used parts market.
OM

chazzman said:

The comments regarding the $3,000 price being too high seem to be a consistent theme. Ironically I just found another 97 R1100 also in Glacier Green (ugh), at MAX BMW, with 40K miles, but theirs is $4000, but with "some" service history for the past several years.

I suspect sellers expect they can ask more since 2021 was a year of scarcer inventory and that has impacted the secondary used market.

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Possibly there’s some of that thinking, but used bike prices haven’t been impacted nearly as much as used car and pickup prices. Both are trending downward now, and as always the real value isn’t determined by the asking price but by the price where buyer and seller have executed.

Here’s an example not far from me:

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/56860074

Omega Man said:

On the older machinery, I like to wonder what it’s worth in the used parts market.
OM

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Not as much as one might think, on the oilheads. There were a lot of them sold and for the spendy bits like body panels, transmissions, and engines today’s shipping costs can equal or exceed what one might get for the part.
I have a friend with a picked-over R1100 carcass where a number of smaller items, and the wheels, sold quickly but the frame, engine, bodywork not so much.

The Oilheads are still my favorite engine of all the newer generations of boxer. Plenty of power, simple to work on, and in the GS versions they still have enough flywheel to allow slogging down to a near stop without stalling or getting snatchy. I miss my R1100RSL!

Best,
DeVern

Agree with 99% of what’s been said above. Easy to work on, disposable maintenance parts are always readily available, and there is a very supportive aftermarket, like Beemer boneyard etc. My 2000 R1100 RS just turned 92,000, and is running very well. The only major repair, was an oiled clutch Disk at 60 K.

In my experience, the biggest issue is the steep depreciation curve, as most pre 2001 oil heads seem to be sub $3000 bikes.

chazzman said:

Ironically I just found another 97 R1100 also in Glacier Green (ugh), at MAX BMW

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I doubt anyone was more ant-glacial green than me but one can get used to it over time. Depending on the light and where it is parked, it can appeared to be silver or brown.

In my case it came with many of the accessories I had previously installed on my K, making the colour a non-issue.

Someone on this forum once said the R1100s might very well in time have the reliability, longevity, reputation and the affection that the Airheads command.

Time will tell.

chazzman said:

Hey guys, I appreciate all the feedback thus far.

The comments regarding the $3,000 price being too high seem to be a consistent theme. Ironically I just found another 97 R1100 also in Glacier Green (ugh), at MAX BMW, with 40K miles, but theirs is $4000, but with "some" service history for the past several years.

I suspect sellers expect they can ask more since 2021 was a year of scarcer inventory and that has impacted the secondary used market.

Thanks for sharing your insight and keep 'em coming.

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I paid $2500 for mine[2000] with close to 80k. ss brake lines, fair tires. the only issue is leaking fork seals [ bought but not yet installed, $50 for seals] , and the HES AND CAM TENSIONER have NOT BEEN UPDATED. It's a great, comfy, mile muncher. est windscreen I've hAD ON A BIKE.

eastbay said:

?.... the only issue is leaking fork seals [ bought but not yet installed, $50 for seals] ....

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Probably the easiest fork seals I’ve ever replaced, about a 20 minute task. However, not sure where you bought the seals, but $50. Sounds pretty expensive.

Paul_F said:

I doubt anyone was more ant-glacial green than me but one can get used to it over time. Depending on the light and where it is parked, it can appeared to be silver or brown.

In my case it came with many of the accessories I had previously installed on my K, making the colour a non-issue.

Someone on this forum once said the R1100s might very well in time have the reliability, longevity, reputation and the affection that the Airheads command.

Time will tell.

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I will plan to ride it only in direct sunlight, to capitalize on the Silver hue.

Spiegler Brake Kits

Since several of you guys have posted about upgrading to Stainless Steel Brake Lines, I checked the Spiegler website to price them out. I was curious about any differences between 1997 R1100 RT ABS Brakes and later models, since the Spiegler site only lists 1998 through 2001 for the R1100 RT. Was the brake configuration changed between model years?

I would call them, have worked with me on similar issues.

walshj1024 said:

Probably the easiest fork seals I’ve ever replaced, about a 20 minute task. However, not sure where you bought the seals, but $50. Sounds pretty expensive.

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Max BMW .2@ $21.71 each. I picked the seals and an R1100rt up in CT and rode it back to FL

chazzman said:

Since several of you guys have posted about upgrading to Stainless Steel Brake Lines, I checked the Spiegler website to price them out. I was curious about any differences between 1997 R1100 RT ABS Brakes and later models, since the Spiegler site only lists 1998 through 2001 for the R1100 RT. Was the brake configuration changed between model years?

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I don't think so. They changed with the 1150's servo brakes.

This might be a great deal for you. Take off the sidecar and sell it and you might recover half the purchase price.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/d/brentwood-2002-bmw-r1150-rt-only-4k/7422498337.html

Sidecar is probably worth half the asking. Unbelievable low miles. Zooming in, appea4s to have some surface corrosion on some fasteners, maybe parked outside?
Btw, anyone know what brand that car is?

akbeemer said:

This might be a great deal for you. Take off the sidecar and sell it and you might recover half the purchase price.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/d/brentwood-2002-bmw-r1150-rt-only-4k/7422498337.html

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