AMOL Precision - I need your help

Arthur Baxter (or "Mr. B." as he was affectionately known) was a long time AMOL customer, going back to the '60's. There weren't a lot of motorcyclists back then, never mind black riders. A couple of other good guys from the Teaneck/Englewood area were Eli Epps and Larry Douglas, and they would stop by AMOL's and talk shop as well. Mr. B was a NYC subway motorman for years. He was a tall, big guy and had an affinity for wearing a big 10 gallon cowboy hat and chaps, maybe he thought he should have been out west. He also had a mid-'80's Harley Heritage Softtail and would wear a duster when riding. He was a customer of Bergen County HD in the old Rochelle Park,NJ location as well. Anyway, Mr. B's favorite expression was "Good God!" and would pepper that in to conversations. The bike you have was an original 1977 R100RS that he asked to have the fairing removed, I couldn't tell you why just that he liked to be different. I think Joe Tweedy and Fred did the work in the 90's and I think they are now at a central NJ BMW dealer. Don't bother with the guy's saying it's not worth anything without the body work. Anyone who knows Mr. B or AMOL's will recognize it as a unique find with personal history. I worked at AMOL's from 1983-87 in the Parts Dept and am friends with guys that worked there in the 60-70's and raced at Butler & Smith. I also stayed friends with the family all this time and it really was a mom and pop store the likes of which are pretty much gone. You'll probably start getting more feedback about the bike. If you are ever by Belfast, ME on the coast there is a store Belfast Bikes owned by Mike McDonald. He worked at AMOL's as the service manager in the 70-80's, knew Mr. B very well, and is a great guy. It's actually a bicycle store and not motorcycles. Good luck with the bike.

Wow!!

Thanks a LOT for the information! I thought I was going to be at a dead end with it. I had no intention of doing anything to the bike beyond what is needed to make it rideable. We went out to the MOA national in PA last year and I rode the RS out and back. While it did miss beats on the way home (dropping the left cylinder - still sorting that problem out) it did get me there and back. And I rode it to the MOV rally in September without a hitch although I did have new plugs installed at Franks BMW.

Do you know if Mr. Baxter is even still alive?

Again thanks!

amol decal

Ever seen one of these? PM me. Terry

'77 RS came with twin disc, spoke wheels, and blue anodized calipers. R100RS engine badge. Extra gauges and not to forget pinstriped rims. Big Bings and big valves. It may have the 40mm exhaust pipes. This says 70 HP. All these things give value. If the VIN says RS, it's an RS. Since the bike has the BMW spotlamp kit, add the BMW OEM windshild set and you have one very cool one off RS with a dealer badge to top it off.

71slash5 said:

Ever seen one of these? PM me. Terry

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Now THAT is very cool!

mymindsok said:

Whoever owned and outfitted that bike like that obviously loved it and rode it and took care of it.

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Not if they took the fairing off.

535is said:

Are you sure it's a '78? It looks like '77 colors - and I thought '78 RS's came with alloys, not spokes.

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you misread something that wasn't there (or else it was changed)- but it was stated to be a '77, in several locations in his first post.

It's definitely a '77. The VIN bares that out.

Another name that might help in my search if anyone knows how to get ahold of him - Rich Dampf. He worked at AMOL in the 70's and then for BMWNA?

You might try getting in touch with Tom Cutter. He worked at Butler & Smith and they were just around the corner from AMOL. If he can't help, he can probably put you in touch with someone who can.

I just heard that Arthur Baxter may still be very alive! I found an address with a location that leads me to believe it might be the same fellow. So I wrote him a letter. Put in a few pictures of the bike. Who knows?? I sure would love to find more information about the man.

Yeah it's been a few years... But....

I thought I'd give you all an update of how far the 77RS has come since 2012 when this thread was last active. This was a month ago when I was on my way to the Finger Lakes and RA rallies. Yes, that's an S fairing. If you recall, the bike didn't have a fairing on it when I bought it. It didn't have much. Dead shocks and steering damper, no battery, no side covers. The fairing is Boxer Cafe. I had the fairing painted over the winter of 2016. Then it didn't match the rest of the bike but I liked it so much that I decided to have the rest of the bike painted. No, it's not a matte finish either. It's an original RS that is no longer in original condition and I'm fine with that. While the tins were being painted I did a reseal, pulling the heads, cylinders and timing cover off. New diode board solid mounted. Barrington Motor Works massaged it last fall including a carb rebuild and got it running in tip top order. The ODO read 4500 miles when I bought it in 2010. It's now around 15k. My trip to the Finger Lakes and the RA took me 2000+ miles including Skyline Drive and she didn't miss a single beat. I never heard from Mr. Baxter and that made me a little sad. But I think I've done the bike and Mr. Baxter proud, she gets compliments everywhere she goes. I rode it up to David Percival's place here in Maine and he said he would LOVE to own an AMOL bike. I wouldn't part with her for anything tho....

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'77 R100 without RS fairing; Ok. What does it have. The big Bing carbs, drilled air box, big valve heads, 70 hp engine, twin disk front brakes with cool anodized calipers, unique blue siver paint and striping. RS badging, aftermarket San Jose fork brace. All nice stuff. My own personal preference for wind pertection is a BMW oem standard windshield set. Either EURO OR USA bars will work with this set up. One really nice bike; ride and enjoy.

I see you've added an S fairing, very nice.

barryg said:

I see you've added an S fairing, very nice.

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You missed the Luftmeister pipes on it too! And the dual plugged heads!

Yep, I missed a few additions. Back in the day, I did a lot of BMW motorcycle head work. Dual plugged quite a few airheads; and bored out exhaust throats for larger diam head pipes. Auh, the good old days.

Nice looking 77RS. A couple of years ago there was a 40th anniversary celebration of the 77RS. The bike's designer Hans Muth came over from Germany and gave several nice little talks about the design process.

There is a registry of owners for the 77RS. It can be found here (I have corresponded with the feller that owns the 77RS made next to mine on the assembly line ) -
http://ibmwr.org/rs77/form.htm
http://ibmwr.org/rs77/top.htm

One can purchase interesting 77RS stuff (e.g., t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) here -
https://www.cafepress.com/rs77

Some photos and info from the 40th anniversary celebration -

https://falgerho.com/?p=4347

https://www.ampmphotos.com/blog/2017/9/celebrating-hans-a-muths-silver-daughter

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?90245-R100RS-40th-Anniversary-Celebration-Harleysville-PA

https://r100rs.nl/bmw-r100rs-40th-anniversary-rally/hans-a-muth-latest-reply-to-the-boxer-fans/

Great Bike. Wish it was mine and you had a nicer one.

Front fork is braced with an early two piece hoop style probably made by Pokie Midgley in the 70's. His had rounded mounting tabs. Rear shocks look like Nivomat$ which are a perfect example of better being the enemy of good enough. They came originally on the RT in 78 and wore out quickly. Nice stock seat. Paint work looks like it got waxed - OEM was satin silver/blue. Probably a 40mm exhaust - 'big valve' motor. Well worth owning in any trim. Take care of those wheels - One year only and so pretty! One of only (about) 2500 shipped to the US late 76 to mid 77. My preference is for the RS fairing and ergonomics but that machine is certainly set up to ride.

Na Cl K9 said:

Front fork is braced with an early two piece hoop style probably made by Pokie Midgley in the 70's. His had rounded mounting tabs. Rear shocks look like Nivomat$ which are a perfect example of better being the enemy of good enough. They came originally on the RT in 78 and wore out quickly. Nice stock seat. Paint work looks like it got waxed - OEM was satin silver/blue. Probably a 40mm exhaust - 'big valve' motor. Well worth owning in any trim. Take care of those wheels - One year only and so pretty! One of only (about) 2500 shipped to the US late 76 to mid 77. My preference is for the RS fairing and ergonomics but that machine is certainly set up to ride.

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Hi John -

Thanks for the info on the fork brace. However, the shocks are simple replacement Hagon's. You are correct about the paint. I opted for a brighter finish mostly because I could and if BMW could have back then, they would have as well.
You are correct, it is set up to ride and I LOVE riding it.