Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Discontinued ..
So surely the next niche classic .
It looks better than a lot of cafe racer customs and has the newer air/oil cooled engine and all the modern safety aspects .
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one on the road

They really aren’t. Bit of a pig to look at depending who you are. I had one for a short bit, but was tempted by angrier bikes. Stupid move getting rid of it. It was great.
Preventative maintenance takes care of a lot of problems.

@DethBeard rode a lot with a guy I got to know who had one when I was living abroad a while. It was even more mental to ride near it in person. In red too.

If I kept the KRS I'd want to ditch the mirrors and have a rear view camera with a display above the instruments. I don't know whether that would work. But, yes, they are an issue in traffic. I also had a K11LT and got the fork springs changed and a 4 way adjustable rear shock. A bit of a transformation. I had a K100LT long ago and really hated the engine, it was always tight and was horrible to rev. I got the R11GS when they came out and everyone thought they were a joke. Then got the 1150. GS world was nice and cosy until the twats on the telly ruined it. I wish KTM had said yes to them.

In fairness I think BMW was starting to appeal to that type of rider with the GS and they were the visible aspect of that. If anything people should have looked at that series and bought an Enfield Bullet.

Terrible reviews because of comfort/riding position. Maybe fixable with helibars ot something? Or perhaps better to buy the fairing and put it on the R9 base? Then you'd have a pillion seat.

It would probably make sense to customise another model with the screen. I'd prefer a darker colour anyway.

It probably fits some people I guess?

Can't help thinking if I'm going to have no luggage space and weight on the wrists I'm back to an older R1 or similar.

Then I have no business going that quick!

I love your fairing. Not sure what is on mine. I’ll be getting it up in a couple of weeks which will be great to spend some time with it. So the gaiters are different on mine ?? Bloody hell there’s a lot to learn with these things !!!!

This guy is a guru :-

https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/

There are a lot of variations in the models over the years. I had the fairing in a box for 5 years having tried unsuccessfully to get it fitting properly first time round.

It's worth looking for the old 90S screen with the metal fittings included.

The flatracer kit seems to have everything you need :-

https://www.flatracer.com/flatracer-bmw-r90s-replica-cockpit-fairing---full-kit

Otherwise Motorworks and Motobins are go to for parts.

I can probably point you in the right direction if it turns up with problems, I've been spannering mine for nearly 20 years now.

Snowbum who owns the website I linked at the top is mental as a resource though, I always read his articles before I attempt a repair. He makes such a meal of things but it helps to pay attention to things like pre-loading front wheel bearings.

Yours looks like the lower sporty type bars which would normally go with a S type fairing but someone has tacked on an aftermarket spoiler.

Are you thinking ride and fix, rolling resto or money gun.

Not sure what is on mine.

Mk1 Le Mans I think https://smgmedia.blob.core.windows.net/images/113420/640/moto-guzzi-le-mans-742b8ae2b4b5.jpg

Or early 900 Sei https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benelli_900_Sei_orange.jpg

Other Italian bikes of that era had the same fairing I think. Maybe it was made by an Italian aftermarket manufacturer. It always seems to be in orange but on a red bike!

But he's got the R65LS, not the R90s

I was having trouble id'ing it. I thought that era only had 800's for some reason. I had guessed early 80's from the later airbox, the carbs look like later Bings. Moulding on the rear of seat definitely not 70's.

Great that it's not a monoshock too.

They must have been naked or some weird fairings on release. Bars look like the sportier models.

Really, even with the shaft and gearbox seal issues?

The K1 is a icon, Still looks futuristic to me like a pop up Katana.

Bikes weren't that reliable, remember which bike was the most reliable ;)

Problems on the 1100-1200 era or deeper than that.

I think they proved they were too top heavy. Too tall for a lot of riders.

The 65LS was a one-off with a unique fairing and seat unit. https://www.rideapart.com/motorcycle-lists/1983-bmw-r65ls-for-sale-henna-red/

Designed by the same guy as the Suzuki Katana. He also did the R90S, R100RS and R80G/S https://www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/hans-muth-and-suzuki-katana-connection/

The modern (ish) era, older ones don't seem to have the issues.

Always fancied the R80GS, the paris dakar winning bike.

Loved the Denpr/Ural bikes.

I guess it's that thing of the future is now, we've seen it, and we don't like it.

That's why we jizz over nostalgia.

ICE motorcycles are largely about tapping into that. I mean BMW has a whole range called heratige.

CE04 has pretty modern vibes tho

(albeit with a bit of a retro call-back)

The k1100rs is one of the few bikes I’d buy again it wasn’t for ulez.

We had a k100rs and as you say night and day difference between that and the 1100 (although I believe the k750 was quite well regarded). Our old Ipswich office ordered a K1 as a surveillance bikes, the dealer rang up someone more high up to mention they’d ordered the most visible bmw in the world for a covert role and the order got squashed.

CE04 is incredibly cool. The range and recharge time would also be completely useful for me as a commuter (82km each way) but I feel like the price (starts c. €12,500 here in Ireland) is a bit steep for me at the moment for something that would only be a commuter and unlikely to be used for anything else...

Was it that long ago they were around? DOn't think I've seen one recently, though maybe they are just hard to spot, as look (as a blur) like many others on the roads. Imagine they are a proper get some miles done kind of a bike.

I keep circling back to a similar Triumph sprint 1050 as kind of ideal, do most things but keep my license a little longer, kind of a bike. Gearbox's on all the ones I've tried have felt like a spanner in a rock crusher.

Yes got there eventually. Not that interesting a variant for me, the original fairing looks pretty awful to my eyes.

From the wiki photo I've seen the original triangle fairing was still coupled with higher (normal) bars.