Reflections On BMW Pricing - A Relative Bargain

I thought that Campfire seemed like the appropriate place for this. I'm sure that a moderator will move (or delete) it, if not. No politics; merely my thoughts on pricing and inflation over the past fifty years.

I purchased my new 2023 R1250RS yesterday. I paid just under $21k for it. The non-biking crowd would likely consider that an astounding amount to pay for a motorcycle. However, in the context of value, it's really a relative bargain, in my opinion. Allow me to elaborate:

When BMW released the R90S in 1974, it sold for just under $4000. I believe that MSRP was ~$3600 and went to four grand the following year. My best friend's dad bought a '74 Ford Mustang II (a dreadful car) in the summer of '74. I'm pretty sure that he paid right around $4000 for it. Fast-forward nearly a half-century to 6/3/23 and my R1250RS purchase...I am pretty certain that even a bare-bones, stripped-down 2023 Mustang is going to cost well over $21k. A reasonably well-equipped one will go for FAR more than that.

So compare my new R1250RS to the mac-daddy (in its day) R90S...in terms of value, the new bike is actually not that pricey at all. Heck, look at a candy bar. They sold for 15 cents in '74; well over a dollar today. It's all relative, isn't it? But my point is that a BMW motorcycle is really a better value today than it was fifty years ago.

Welcome to the forum! I checked an internet inflation calculator and $4000 in 1974 is the equivalent of almost $26000 today.

20774 said:

Welcome to the forum! I checked an internet inflation calculator and $4000 in 1974 is the equivalent of almost $26000 today.

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Thank you for the welcome, Kurt! It's quite amazing isn't it? I remember the mid-70s when a Big Mac, small fry, and small Coke sold for $1.25 including sales tax ,(4% here in Florida at the time).

sharpestjim said:

Thank you for the welcome, Kurt! It's quite amazing isn't it? I remember the mid-70s when a Big Mac, small fry, and small Coke sold for $1.25 including sales tax ,(4% here in Florida at the time).

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1962: Henry's Drive-In: Hamburger 15 cents, Fries 12 cents, Coke 10 cents. Tax 3 cents = $0.40 for lunch! Hourly wage: $1.25/ hour. Lunch cost 20 minutes of earnings. About a half hour with two burgers.

PGlaves said:

1962: Henry's Drive-In: Hamburger 15 cents, Fries 12 cents, Coke 10 cents. Tax 3 cents = $0.40 for lunch! Hourly wage: $1.25/ hour. Lunch cost 20 minutes of earnings. About a half hour with two burgers.

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About a dozen bottles found in the bar ditches on bicycles, to the local 7-11 for deposit change and a pedal to the Burger Chef for a .19 fish sandwich and a .20 soda!
I was working at Sizzler when you could get a steak and potato for 1.79.

Compared to a loaded out H-D… BMW still a bargain! BTDT

It's even more fun to translate historic prices with a currency-conversion step included. I own a 1970 Lotus and I have the sales receipt from when the first owner bought it over in England, where he paid 1800-odd pounds for it (I forget the exact figure and don't feel like digging out the receipt to look). I translated that to USD using the exchange rate for that month and year, then converted those 1970 dollars to 2022 dollars (the year I did this) and arrived at a price equivalent to $28000-something today. A real steal, since you can't get a new Lotus now for under $80K.

20774 said:

Welcome to the forum! I checked an internet inflation calculator and $4000 in 1974 is the equivalent of almost $26000 today.

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Note that at the same time, you could get a Honda CB750 for about $1495, which is only about $9K now.

I mean, just for comparison. A $26K motorcycle is, IMHO, an expensive bike. I paid less than that for a used Porsche with 23K miles on it.

kbasa said:

Note that at the same time, you could get a Honda CB750 for about $1495, which is only about $9K now.

I mean, just for comparison. A $26K motorcycle is, IMHO, an expensive bike. I paid less than that for a used Porsche with 23K miles on it.

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Yeah, my '76 CB550F was $1750. I bought it as a two year leftover (the orange ones and the yellow ones were the leftovers. I chose the orange) off the dealer floor as the '78 models were just coming out for $1500. That would barely be $7000 today. What a deal that would be!

kbasa said:

A $26K motorcycle is, IMHO, an expensive bike.

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I paid much more than that in Canadian dollars for my new RT. Worth every penny when I'm out riding it.

sharpestjim said:

Thank you for the welcome, Kurt! It's quite amazing isn't it? I remember the mid-70s when a Big Mac, small fry, and small Coke sold for $1.25 including sales tax ,(4% here in Florida at the time).

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Two cheeseburgers, fries, apple pie and a coke cost $0.99 in 1972.

Change back from my dollar!