history lesson - '84 R100CS

khittner said:

If you're looking at one of the pearl white "Last Edition" versions, there weren't many of those (<175), but unless you're jazzed by the paint scheme, or by the "Last Edition" marketing materials that were associated with it, it's really just another '84 twin-shock bike. The "Last Edition" CS was delivered by dealers with a set of saddlebags, and both the dual and 3/4 cowled seats, so a little zootier there. The "Last Edition" bikes were supposed to be the end of the line for 1000cc airhead production, as BMW was rolling out the K-bikes, which were designed to be more competitive with the Japanese bikes of the day, and compliant with noise and emissions standards in Europe and the U.S., and the "Last Edition" bikes were supposed to be the end of the big airheads' production, hence, the commemorative ads, certificates, etc. There are more knowledgeable BMW historians than I, but, as I understand it, getting better pollution performance was problematic without fuel injection, catalytic converters, and the electronic/sensor infrastructure and engine temperature control of liquid cooling. There was reportedly enough blowback, from BMW's then-existing, long-time faithful ridership demographic, about the intended end of big-bore airheads, that BMW management caved, and revived 1000cc airhead production again in 1988, though in the newer monoshock frame design, and continued through 1995.

There's a fellow on E-bay now who's got his "Last Edition" CS starting-priced at $8000 (I think he started at $9K), but he hasn't gotten any bidders in several rounds of failed bid-seeking. Naked and S-faired twin-shock bikes are pretty desirable in the market these days, but he's still probably $2500 too high in his expectations---unless, of course, he finds someone who'll pay that. I have a very nice "Last Edition" RT, but the big fairings are not what most riders want. The "Last Edition" '84s had the same valve recession problems as the rest of the '81-'84 bikes, so unless a bike from those years has had a valve job done on it, a buyer should plan for a $1-1.5K expense for new valves and seats fairly promptly. Otherwise, they're just great airhead bikes.

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khittner said:

That's a reasonable concern about the rubber/sealing bits on an unused/little-used bike. The parts are all available, and some replacement parts have improved upon the originals, but it'll take time and/or increasingly-rare skilled labor to deal with them. Most roundel-equipped dealerships won't work on airheads any longer; while they're often characterized as very simple machines, that doesn't really mean that anyone/everyone is sufficiently knowledgeable to handle most/any repairs, or even routine maintenance.

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